Pronunciation of 'Majorca'

[chakka35]

How do the Spanish pronounce 'Majorca'? In English the 'j' is obviously pronounced as in 'jam' and I've always considered 'Mayorca' to be pure affectation. But I may be wrong. In words like 'Juan' and 'Jerez' the 'j' is pronounced like a rough-edged 'h' - thus 'Huwarn' for 'Juan' and 'Hereth' for Jerez. So do the Spanish say 'Mahorca'? I need to know for playing the Prince of Majorca in a comedy sketch.

[Budlet]

The 'j' in Majorca sounds like 'y'. The Spanish name is Mallorca and the 'll' is soft - like a y.

[chazza]

We were taught that the english say it that way, but the Spanish say it like an ly, so Majorca would be pronounced Mayorca but Mallorca would be Malyorka

[Quizmonkey]

"Obviously"?? I have NEVER heard Majorca pronounced with the 'English' J as in jam!!

[claireyfairy]

erm, where have you been Quizmonkey? it's only ever said either in jest or by those who...erm..don't know better! (no i'm not one of them!) but it has been said.

[Quizmonkey]

Well, I'm glad I don't move in those circles... :)

[SteveD]

Although Castillian Spanish is spoken in Mallorca, the local language is Mallorquin, a variety of Catalan. Have a listen here:

http://weib.caib.es/Recursos/abast/paginas/ala bast-eng.html

[spudqueen]

quizmonkey - one of my Mums friends told me that her daughter had gone to MaJorca on holiday - when I queried if she meant MaYorka she said, no, there's two places, one called MaYorka and one called MaJorka and she's gone to MaJorca!

Another of my Mums friends went to War Wick (pronouncing both those words), not Warick as we would say.

Maybe my Mum just had some weird friends!

[joko]

english people do not pronounce the J

it is pronounced mahyorka

[chakka35]

Thank you all for your help, though there seems to be some muddled thinking here. I am surprised that Quizmonkey and joko have never heard the English word Majorca pronounced in the English way - with the j pronouced as in jam. To spell it the English way and then pronounce it the Spanish way makes no sense (as many literate people of my acquaintance well know) and smacks of pretentiousness. I do not pronounce Bombay like Mumbai or Peking like Beijing. If I want the latter pronunciation I use the latter spelling. It's simple logic. Anyway, I now know the answer: The English Majorca is pronounced Majorca and the Spanish Mallorca is pronounced Mahyorka. Thanks, folks.

[annavc]

Do correct me if I'm wrong but I'm sure that Peking and Beijing are not 2 different pronunciations - the city of Peking is not called that any more, it is called Beijing. Calling it Peking is surely like still calling Istanbul, Constantinople or still calling St Petersburg, Leningrad.

[chakka35]

No, annavc, Peking was the original English pronunciation of the capitol of China. Courtesy demands that we now recognise the spelling and pronunciation of Beijing which is what the Chinese want. So we now use either Peking pronounced Peking or Beijing pronounced Beijing.
Similarly, Majorca pronounced Majorca or Mallorca pronounced Mahyorca. Surely enough said by now. I was the one who asked the question and I now have a satisfactory answer.

[annavc]

No need to jump down my throat chakka I was simply making an observation about what I thought was an incorrect statement. If you don't want any more answers then you should close the question.

I'm already having a **** day and you've just made it worse - thanks a lot.

[lankeela]

Is that **** with a Y or an I?

[chakka35]

Sincerely sorry, annavc. Jumping down your throat was not intended and I apologise. I merely wanted to say (as you have suggested I do) that, my question having been answered, it is the end of the matter for me. I hereby close it, if that's what the rules say I should do. Best wishes.

[amelieflynn]

The name Mallorca is Spanish in a Catalan dialect. Catalan is the primary language on the island. More precisely, its derivative is called Mallorca. In Spanish, the double letter ll in most words reads like a short i. You don't pull it out but pronounce it quickly as if it were almost non-existent. To be clear, Mallorca can be pronounced as "Ma-your-ka."

This spelling is unusual for native Spaniards and Mallorcans. But for English speakers, the double ll in Mallorca is still two letters ll. This spelling needs to be clarified to most people. The "ll" was replaced by a "J" in the 1970s. That made life easier for the tourists.

The name 'Majorca" is grammatically correct. So in English pronunciation, Majorca is the same as Mallorca. Foreigners use the name Majorca along with Mallorca. And it never confuses anyone. Similarly, many Spanish-speaking countries in South America have replaced the 'll' with the 'J' in their dialects.

Read more at https://yes-mallorca-property.com/information/blog/mallorca-best-places/#1