How do you pronounce "Mamiya"?

cherryhill · May 18, 2008

I have heard it pronounced at least three ways:

1) Muh-MY-uh (rhymes with Papaya)

2) Muh-ME-uh (like the Italian phrase "Momma-miya!" without the middle "ma"

3) MAH-mmy-Uh (like Mammy-uh, with the accent on the first syllable)

I recently got an RB-67, and when I'm out shooting with it, I sometimes get asked what kind of camera it is. I'd like to know how to say it right. I have started just calling it an RB67. :confused:

arigram · May 18, 2008

I guess, you could pronounce it like the Japanese do: mah-MEE-yah
(with an added intonation)

papagene · May 18, 2008

#1... that's the way I have always heard it pronounced.

gene

cherryhill · May 18, 2008

Thanks arigram! I'm amazed at how fast questions get answers on these forums.

cherryhill · May 18, 2008

papagene said:
#1... that's the way I have always heard it pronounced.

gene

Uh oh, we have controversy now... one vote for #1, one for #2. I've been saying it as #1 too.

bdial · May 18, 2008

#2 is the one I am most familiar with, and use.

Barry

keithwms · May 18, 2008

mah mee yah, no accented syllable.

Iwagoshi · May 18, 2008

keithwms said:
mah mee yah, no accented syllable.

Correct oh learned one!

aparat · May 18, 2008

#2 in ways similar to the Japanese pronunciation of Nikon (NEE-kon)

aparat

Drew B. · May 18, 2008

I called the company once...and the woman answered mah mee yah. I called for that very reason...

cherryhill · May 18, 2008

keithwms said:
mah mee yah, no accented syllable.

Keith, is the sound of the first syllable like choice #1 or #3? In other words, does Mah rhyme with Blah or are the first two syllables like "mammy" in #3?

cherryhill · May 18, 2008

Sorry if I'm being annoying, I'm not trying to be. It's hard to know for sure how to pronounce that first syllable with the phonetic spelling.

cherryhill · May 18, 2008

Drew B. said:
I called the company once...and the woman answered mah mee yah. I called for that very reason...

Ahhhhhh! Smart!

keithwms · May 18, 2008

The big surprise to westerners learning Japanese is the general lack of accented syllables. This is what makes Japanese, as spoken by a beginning Westerner, unintelligible to many Japanese. It's a bit like hearing an Indian deliver a word like "development" as DEVelopment. First time you hear it, you may not understand it at all.

Here's a tip: think about all the western ways you might accent it, e.g. MAmiya, maMIya, and mamiYA.... and know that it is neither of these. It is ma-mi-ya. You have to deaccent it

23mjm · May 18, 2008

Personally I pronounce it "one great camera" errrrrr in my case 4 great cameras!!!!!!

Mah-me-ya just like they answer the phone at Mamiya America!!

Iwagoshi · May 18, 2008

cherryhill said:
Sorry if I'm being annoying, I'm not trying to be. It's hard to know for sure how to pronounce that first syllable with the phonetic spelling.

If you really are interested click here for a short but annoying course in Japanese pronunciation.

Terry

cherryhill · May 18, 2008

Iwagoshi said:
If you really are interested click here for a short but annoying course in Japanese pronunciation.

Terry

Helpful, thank you. I've got it now. So, the answer is closest to #2. Just say #2 without any accented syllable, and that will do it.

Reading this thread.... I can't help but think it would be a great American advertising campaign if they were to do any. "How do you pronounce" (up comes the Mamiya logo) A bunch of Americans saying it half a dozen ways. Then along comes the last line "I just pronounce it one great camera." (23mjm could make a fortune on that line).

Anyway, thanks to everyone for the responses, and to Keith for the extra lesson on Japanese.

Sirius Glass · May 18, 2008

cherryhill said:
Helpful, thank you. I've got it now. So, the answer is closest to #2. Just say #2 without any accented syllable, and that will do it.

Reading this thread.... I can't help but think it would be a great American advertising campaign if they were to do any. "How do you pronounce" (up comes the Mamiya logo) A bunch of Americans saying it half a dozen ways. Then along comes the last line "I just pronounce it one great camera." (23mjm could make a fortune on that line).

Anyway, thanks to everyone for the responses, and to Keith for the extra lesson on Japanese.

#2

I got around the problem by trading it in to buy a Hasselblad [an 'asselblad?]

Steve

Curt · May 19, 2008

While in Japan the photo shops pronounced it: Mah-me-ya, just like the lady said.

Remember the earthquake? Kobe or Ko baaaaaa as it was soon to be called. So much for Kobeeee Beef, it's now Ko baaaaa Beef.

Iwagoshi · May 19, 2008

Curt said:
While in Japan the photo shops pronounced it: Mah-me-ya, just like the lady said.

Remember the earthquake? Kobe or Ko baaaaaa as it was soon to be called. So much for Kobeeee Beef, it's now Ko baaaaa Beef.

While in Japan the photo shops pronounced Polaroid...uh...Fhuji.

Alex Bishop-Thorpe · May 19, 2008

Mah-me-yaa, for me. But I've heard it pronounced the same as #1 too. Just personal preference, they still make a camera that you could break a russian tank with.

Antje · May 19, 2008

Sirius Glass said:
#2

I got around the problem by trading it in to buy a Hasselblad [an 'asselblad?]

Steve

A HHasszzelblaad, strong "h", sharp "s", dark "a"s, last "a" is longer than the first. The name means hazel leaf, btw. Nice name.

Antje

catem · May 19, 2008

never really thought about it, but say ma as in 'mam' (or bam, or wham) meee as in 'meee' then yah - as in the upper class English way of saying 'yes'. (close to yar or ...yargh...if you manage to throttle them first). Ma- meee- yah (yargh....). but I'm sure there are many ways to skin a rabbit....

FilmIs4Ever · May 19, 2008

mah mi (EEE for those ignorant of non-english vowel sounds) yah is the Japanese-correct way. Just like ni (EE)-kon is the correct way for pronouncing Nikon. However, in the US, Canada, and I'd assume the UK, there is always the tendancy to turn i (EE) into ai (A-EE), so as long as you don't accent or accent the second syllable, you won't make a fool of yourself.

Michel Hardy-Vallée · May 19, 2008

When I articulate properly, it gives this:

But sometimes I may slip, and introduce a colloquial Québec accent, and produce this instead:

How do you pronounce "Mamiya"?

cherryhill

arigram

papagene

Membership Council

cherryhill

cherryhill

bdial

keithwms

Iwagoshi

aparat

Drew B.

cherryhill

cherryhill

cherryhill

keithwms

23mjm

Iwagoshi

cherryhill

Sirius Glass

Curt

Iwagoshi

Alex Bishop-Thorpe

Antje

catem

FilmIs4Ever

Michel Hardy-Vallée

Membership Council

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How do you pronounce "Mamiya"?

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