What's In A Name?
I have always used Mallorca, with two "l's". This site uses a "j". For the purposes of this blog I have therefore adopted the site's usage. Fair enough. But does it matter? Not really. The alternative spellings are equally as good, so long as you don't speak or write in the local languages, but the two "l" version has become far more common in English as well.
The "j" Majorca smacks a bit of the Madge-orca pronunciation, which is never correct. Use the "j" or the double "l" and the sound is still meant to be "y". But a question is where does the name Mallorca come from and a further is why is the local spelling as it is?
The root of Mallorca (Majorca) is the Latin maior for larger. There is though some debate as to why the double "l" usage has ever come about. The closest words in Spanish and Catalan to maior are mayor and major, both can mean bigger, but neither is spelt with a double "l". Indeed the Catalan word fits perfectly with the English usage. As far as I am aware, there is no word in either language which is "mallor". So why is is it Mallorca?
I have also discovered that the word "majorca" is meant to mean "tithe land" in Latin. I have no idea if this is true, but if it is, perhaps all the theories behind the meaning of the name are wrong anyway. Still doesn't explain the double "l" though. At least in Menorca, there is less debate. "Menor" exists in both Spanish and Catalan and means less in both and can mean smaller. And moreover, the whole world seems to now have adopted "menor" - farewell, Minorca. Major, minor, I reckon this tithe land notion is a red herring, but whether you use "j" or "ll" is, in truth, all a matter of personal preference.
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