How is "Majora's Mask" pronounced?

[Sacred Jellybean]

I'm so sick of attending these parties with intellectual video game snobs and always feeling reluctant to talk about the 6th installment in the Zelda series out of fear of mispronouncing it and sounding stupid!

So how do you guys pronounce it? "Mah-hor-ah's" Mask, as though it had a Spanish origins, or "Mah-jor-ah's" Mask? They both sound pretty awkward. Is the accent on the second syllable? That's what I'd assume.

[Great Rumbler]

I pronounce it like this: Muh-jor-uh's

Is the accent on the second syllable?

I think so.

[OB1]

Like how GR said.

[Dark Jaguar]

Not pronouncing the J? Well, why would they inlude a J if it was meant to be silent? Remember, this is a Japanese game and this is the exact same subtitle as the Japanese game. I'm fairly sure the Japanese wouldn't want to confuse themselves with silent letters. That's a lovely English language "charm".

I say it like the second one you have there. "Mah-jor-ah". Yes, I do put the emphesise on the second syllable. It doesn't sound like a normal word, but I'd say it's about as natural as the name of the mask of insane calamity is going to get. *randomly dances like a Russian while screeching* Sounds good to me that way. That other way, with the u's... Sounds... well... hic-like.

[OB1]

Well everything sounds hic-like when you're a southerner. :D

[big guy]

i pronounce the j

[OB1]

I pronounce it like "Mo-hey-rains Markstingtunf".

[Dark Jaguar]

Indeed... Actually it's hard to tell if you actually mean that. Keep in mind where Oklahoma is ACTUALLY located on the map. It's more towards the middle. Further more, Oklahoma wasn't even a state during the civil war, so we can't be grouped that way either. Last thing, this state DOES suck, but it isn't the stereotype at all. No, this state sucks for completely unrelated reasons. It's not that each and every person in this state is a closed minded hic. It's that everyone in this state is a wishy washy hippy that can neither motivate themselves to stop working at McDonald's or make up their mind on ANY issue without resorting to the catch-all phrase "Well ya never know".

[OB1]

I was just playing on your apparent hatred towards southern things, even though I imagine you yourself have a southern accent. There's nothing wrong with a southern accent. I think it's quite neat, actually. I've seen my fair share of hicks (ever been to the Appalachian mountains? *shudder* ), but I don't consider anyone with a southern accent a hic, which you kind of suggested with that Muh-jor-uh comment. :D

[Dark Jaguar]

:D Hmm, perhaps you misunderstand. I don't hate the south, but generally I don't like this particular STATE. You wanna know a secret? I don't have a southern accent at all, nor does most of my family and friends. That's not to say no one in Oklahoma has one. It's just that generally the accent is relegated to really small communities. I'm honestly not sure why that is, but I can say that I've often been accused of not even being from this state due to my apparent "Northern accent", whatever that is. I'll only add that I watch a LOT of TV, a lot. Think about what accent most of them have and consider that I grew up watching TV for a moment. Honestly, I'm not exactly sure why some people even have a southern accent except that they don't have time to watch TV growing on a farm house and have but their parents to look to for learning how to speak.

Really though, aren't u's like THE vowel of the stereotypical southern accent?

[OB1]

Well yeah.

Oh and Johnny can't tell that he has an accent, so how certain are you that you don't?

[Dark Jaguar]

I guess I MIGHT have a "northern accent", but you know how it is, no one can tell what accent they have because that's just how they talk.

[OB1]

Right. Do you have a mic?

[geoboy]

I pronounce it "Muh-jor-uh" with an accent on the second syllable.

It hurts my ears when I hear people say it "May-jor-uh". Ughh.

[Great Rumbler]

I have a southern accent, though certaintly not as much as some people and I DO try not to say words like "ain't" very often but I do sometimes and I have a habit of saying "thang" instead of "thing" although I almost never notice it when I say it.

I wish I could get my mic to work.

[Dark Jaguar]

What, you wanna see if I talk "north talk" OB1? Aren't you from a rather standard accent place yourself? Wouldn't it be very hard for you to tell? It's not just that a person can't distinguish their own accent for what it is, it's that others with the same accent also can't tell.

I can only say I never notice an accent in people on TV, nor do my family and friends. I WILL add this. Recently watching some old home videos of Christmas past (let's just say a spirit wasn't happy with me starving little Tim, or whatever that kid's name was, well he's dead now so whatever...), I will notice that I used to have a horrendously southern accent. Never noticed it then, but it seems my accent changed over the years from when I was like 4 or something to now, so now listening to those tapes the accent REALLY just kinda screams at me. Weird. I'm not sure if TV is to blame (or thank as the case may be) or if that's the consequence of surrounding myself with people who are mostly from outside this grand old land of Oklahoma (my family on both sides are from much further north, and asking of the original stories of my friends tells me they are all from various lands themselves, one even from the distant land of Norway).

[Great Rumbler]

Sweet! I got my mic to work!

[OB1]

What, you wanna see if I talk "north talk" OB1? Aren't you from a rather standard accent place yourself? Wouldn't it be very hard for you to tell? It's not just that a person can't distinguish their own accent for what it is, it's that others with the same accent also can't tell.

I can only say I never notice an accent in people on TV, nor do my family and friends. I WILL add this. Recently watching some old home videos of Christmas past (let's just say a spirit wasn't happy with me starving little Tim, or whatever that kid's name was, well he's dead now so whatever...), I will notice that I used to have a horrendously southern accent. Never noticed it then, but it seems my accent changed over the years from when I was like 4 or something to now, so now listening to those tapes the accent REALLY just kinda screams at me. Weird. I'm not sure if TV is to blame (or thank as the case may be) or if that's the consequence of surrounding myself with people who are mostly from outside this grand old land of Oklahoma (my family on both sides are from much further north, and asking of the original stories of my friends tells me they are all from various lands themselves, one even from the distant land of Norway).

Well when I lived in Europe and came back to the U.S., American accents really stood out. I still sound "normal" to myself, but I realized that there's no such thing as a non-accent, which I used to think American was. I'm just curious if you have a southern accent.

[OB1]

Sweet! I got my mic to work!

Hahahaha!!! As hard as you try to sound like Agent Smith, that southern accent still comes out a bit!

[Great Rumbler]

:D

[OB1]

Do another one!

[geoboy]

Here's my accent. :D I think you'll find it very authentic.

[OB1]

Cool, you sound like a robot!

[Dark Jaguar]

This is voice synth!

http://www.yamaha.co.jp/product/vocaloid/en/sample.html

Finally, a company is going about producing simulated voices that are actually similar to the real thing, or at least doesn't sound totally retarded. "Did you know?" (Anyone who can name the old game-like program from long ago with that voice synth quote wins a dollar, a SAND dollar, a VIRTUAL sand dollar!) They aren't perfect yet, but in certain places it can actually be used just fine in songs. Soon, we won't need actors any more!

[A Black Falcon]

Yeah everyone has an accent. "No accent" to Americans generally these days means 'normal flat American accent like people on TV have'... but it IS an accent too. :)

That said I also have a pretty normal accent...

Um, did I mention that Maine is really rural? :D ... just spent a few days in central Maine skiing, that's why I wasn't here... it's "spring" break you see. :) Maine is really rural. I live in Southern Maine, and in a large (for this state anyway) town, so I don't notice it as much... but go inland and it's pretty obvious...

[Dark Jaguar]

Everyone has an accent except my bestest buddy Roboto.

Roboto: You stay, I go. No following.

*flies to destroy meteor* *thinks of bestest friend DJ*

DJ in Roboto's mind: Could you give me a pedacure?

*boom*

Roboto died so that we may live... truly a great friend...

[Laser Link]

That's funny that you said you used to have an accent DJ. When my brother was little he had a very strong New Yorker accent. I don't know how that happened because everyone in my family talks like the typical tv show person, and we had never even left California. It was pretty funny though.

[geoboy]

Maybe he admired Mario's strong Brooklyn accent.

[Dark Jaguar]

So... anyone check out that voice synth link? Having only heard sub par voice synth that's WAY behind the times before this, I found it to be a vast improvement.

[Geno]

From what I've heard in Nintendo commercials and the like, it's pronounced Muh-JOR-uh. Some people try too hard to think up some complicated pronunciation for it that they neglect the fact that maybe, just maybe, it's pronounced the way it's spelled.

[Weltall]

It's pronounced "The Save System is Shitty".

[Geno]

That title is very fitting to it. I don't think we even need to explain why that is. Everyone who's played the game knows what we're talking about.

[geoboy]

I checked out your link, DJ. It's very impressive and I hope they release a trial version of the software sometime in the near future. The real limitations of it, however, are that it was only designed for singing and not normal speech, and also that it is very difficult to create your own custom voice package. In other words, you're pretty much stuck with the voices Yamaha has to offer. :(

[Dark Jaguar]

I noticed that too, but the thing I was happy about was simply that voice synth is improving, rather than the same quality synth I've been hearing since the late 1980's. I had always been upset that EVERYTHING was getting more realistic EXCEPT that, and now it is. I imagine that a lot of work went into designing each and every one of the voices, so unlike previous voice synth apps this one requires a lot more than just altering pitch and tone to create a decent new voice. Anyway, applying this to speaking voice, I imagine, wouldn't be too much of a challenge after this. I wouldn't know though. Once those two are nailed, the only issue is making an easier interface for new voice set creation and the standard constant improvement on the quality.