The confusion between games and places
On several occasions, we come across a sentence that can generate doubts orally: are we talking about games or places? This fact is due to the way certain words are pronounced in Catalan. For example, some might say: ‘In Mallorca there are very nice games’, with a pronunciation that causes ambiguity. The [j] sound, present in words like maya, can create this confusion.
Pronunciation question: ma[j]orca and [j]ocs
Is it correct to say Ma[j]orca and [j]ocs? And even more: is it the same to pronounce these words with [j] than others like bee (abe[j]a) or eye (u[j])? The answer is negative. In this case, two different phenomena are distinguished: Ieism and iodization. Ieism is neither genuine nor recommended in Catalan, while iodization is accepted in several registers.
How is iodization manifested?
Iodization, also called historical ieism, is a phonetic phenomenon that affects pronunciation and not spelling. It is characteristic of certain dialects of eastern Catalan, such as north-eastern, some areas of central south-eastern Catalan and Balearic Catalan. This phenomenon consists of pronouncing with the palatal semivowel [j] some words that derive from the Latin groups C’L, G’L, LE and LI followed by a vowel.
Examples of iodization
We can find examples of iodization in words such as bee (
Cases that should not be confused
These cases should not be confused with words that have the letter ‘ll’ at the beginning, such as moon, tear, milk or place. Likewise, it is also not correct to pronounce *medaia for medal or *Maiorca for Mallorca, although the reason is a little different in the latter case. The form Mallorca prevailed as the main correction, including among Mallorcans.
Resources to learn more
To obtain a complete explanation of the phenomenon, it is recommended to consult the Catalan, Valencian, Balearic Dictionary available online. This dictionary offers a large amount of information about this phenomenon and other aspects of the Catalan language. For further language inquiries, you can contact the University of the Balearic Islands through the email address galmic@uib.cat.
Elga Cremades, University of the Balearic Islands (UIB), GALMIC