# Catalan speakers: a name question

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catalan-speakers-a-name-question/325035>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 6, 2005, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catalan-speakers-a-name-question/325035 "2005-10-06T11:46:08Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\
**Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catalan-speakers-a-name-question/325035/1 "2005-10-06T11:46:08Z")

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I’ve come across a name several times on sites that appear to Catalonian.

The name is “Ma. Àngels”.

Am I right in assuming the “Ma.” part is an abbreviation of Maria?  
And how would one pronounce this name?

Thanks

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**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\
**Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catalan-speakers-a-name-question/325035/2 "2005-10-06T13:02:22Z")

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> [@BwanaBob](#):
>
> I’ve come across a name several times on sites that appear to Catalonian.
> 
> The name is “Ma. Àngels”.
> 
> Am I right in assuming the “Ma.” part is an abbreviation of Maria?  
> And how would one pronounce this name?
> 
> Thanks

Yes, “Maria,” pronounced as in English except with Spanish “r” roll.

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**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\
**Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catalan-speakers-a-name-question/325035/3 "2005-10-06T13:04:03Z")

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> [@Balthisar](#):
>
> Yes, “Maria,” pronounced as in English except with Spanish “r” roll.

Appreciate the answer on Maria.

But I was a bit unclear in my question. How does one pronounce Àngels?

Is this combination a common name in Catalonia and/or Spain?  
Thanks.

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**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\
**Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catalan-speakers-a-name-question/325035/4 "2005-10-06T15:19:30Z")

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> [@BwanaBob](#):
>
> Appreciate the answer on Maria.
> 
> But I was a bit unclear in my question. How does one pronounce Àngels?
> 
> Is this combination a common name in Catalonia and/or Spain?  
> Thanks.

Oooh! I just got out of Catalan class. Being as it’s my fourth week, I’m not what you’d call an expert. But the name would be pronounced “AHN zhls.” That is, /'an 3@ls/ if you can handle SAMPA. The first syllable sounds like “on” (at least in my dialect of English), and the second starts with the “s” of “usual”, and then a schwa. The “l” in Catalan is like the one in the English “hill” (which is different from the “l” in Castilian.) Note also that the "a"s in Maria are also schwas, not the more open vowel you’d hear in Castilian.

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**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\
**Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catalan-speakers-a-name-question/325035/5 "2005-10-06T18:13:11Z")

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Awesome. Thanks a lot for the quick Catalan lesson! 🙂