Like many of you here, I always pronounced AyA as "ay wye ay". In the past few years, I've come to respect the fact that this is an abbreviation of the founders' two last names, Miguel Aguirre and Nicolas Aranzabal.

My point is that we should call these guns by their correct name, and that is A and A, which is what AyA means. What say ye?
JR

Too-many syllabels and a bit of a tongue-twister. Even worse than U-gar-te-cha-ah! I'll freely admit that the use of the founder's names is more-proper, but AyA is fully within the gun-language lexicon now. What is gained by changing it?

Mr. Roberts: So much for my close-reading skills. To your point, A and A isn't so bad, but it seems we are anglicizing things a bit much? These are Spanish guns after all.

In Maine, they just pronounce it "Ah-yah", accent on the last syllable.

And a gun snob might say, "Well, it's not an English gun, so who really GaF".

I certainly don't GaF. I heard a guy at the local gun club say he has a pair of "ahhh-eeeee-ahhhh's". Result....immediate eye roll.

But "A and A" IS the Spanish way to say AyA, isn't it? The letter "y" means "and" in Spanish.
JR

I believe the spanish pronounciation would be ah e ah.

Do A and A guns have polished action flats?

Aye.
JR

Jerry's pronunciation is correct... Ah e Ah.

Say it at conversation speed and you get the familiar Ah yah.

If you ere to use the proper names of the founders of the company, it would still lead to mispronunciation, as the "z" in Aranzabel actually has the "th" Castillian lisp sound and most people ould not kno better.

Let's call it a day and be happy with Ah e Ah.

Jerry's pronunciation is correct... Ah e Ah.

Say it at conversation speed and you get the familiar Ah yah.

If you were to use the proper names of the founders of the company, it would still lead to mispronunciation, as the "z" in Aranzabel actually has the "th" Castillian lisp sound and most people would not know better.

Let's call it a day and be happy with Ah e Ah.

Mr. Lape is correct, the pronounciation is "Ah ee Ah".

If you were to use the founder's proper names, there would still be confusion, as the "Z" in Aranzabel is pronounced "th" (as per Weiland) due to the "Castillian lisp" and most people would not know better. I dare you to say it three times in a row in that fashion and you too will agree that it does sound a little too "Brokeback Mountain" for the average upland hunter types.

Let's leave it at "Ah ee Ah" and be happy to call it a day.

LOL , bye

Speaking of pronunciation . . . first time I ever saw a Darne on a table at a gun show (I'd previously seen them in France), the dealer told me that the correct pronunciation was "Darnay". I told him that that might be the American version, but that wasn't the way they said it in France.

I read Terry Weiland's SPANISH BEST some years ago, and recall him mentioning the pronunciation of the maker's full names. I believe it was something to the effect of Ah-gwi-ray ee Ah-rahn-tha-bal (with the emphasis on the "tha").

Practice saying it so that it flows off your tongue and you'll get raised eyebrows at the gun club. Important to keep a straight face when you do, as if you use that name often. "Ah-ee-ah" will have folks thinking you're a cajun, 'roun heah, specially if you emphasize the "ee".

SRH

Jerry V Lape, you are correct with the pronunciation of AyA.

It seems the folks in Maine have it right. That's the way the Spanish pronounce it at the AyA factory.

AyA factory

Tim

Well, you guys that insist on speaking like some European can say "ah e ah" like Tarzan all day long and get the commensurate snicker and eye-roll. The American translation for AyA is "A and A", which not only sounds a whole lot better, but is correct on this side of the pond, as well as keeping you from sounding like some "in the know", high-browed Yankee goober.
JR

It's Jag-waar, not Jack-u-hour too.

One of my heros was Dick Irvin Jr., who refused to give the French pronunciation to 'Roy'. It was never Patrick Waaa, just Patrick Roy.

Jerry may well be correct. However; I think I'd feel like I should be swinging thru the jungle on a vine every time I said it!
I have multiple "AHH EE AHHs" and frankly I believe they shoot better then the name sounds!
Jim

Actually, the "Maine pronunciation" would "pass" in many Spanish-speaking places.

Only by people who pronounce Porsche as "Porsh"!

My favorite butchery of Jaguar is "Jagwire". A local used car dealership that specialized in high end sport & luxury cars used to run radio adds where the spokesman repeatedly mentioned Ferrari, "Jagwire" & "Porsh" vehicles for sale.

I was always hoping they would get an Iso Rivolta or Bizzarrini in stock so I could hear how he handled those on the air.

Quote:
"It's Jag-waar, not Jack-u-hour too."

I have heard to pronounced Jack-u-hour by members of the British automotive industry.(see link)
Frankly I've always thought that Jag-waar was the American pronunciation.
Jim

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/first-drive-jaguars-new-f-448364

Going by the British pronunciation of any foreign word is the sure way to an international incident.

Why do you THINK they had to have so many gunboats back in the day? (The only foreign language they spoke well was Armstrong Vickers.)

Exaggeration and slander, of course, but man, could they mangle other languages when they took them into English. Almost as good as our California "Passerohbuls" for Paso Robles!

The Design Director of Jaguar is Scottish, so he is unable to speak English.
The CORRECT English pronunciation is "Jag you are ".

Sometime in summer 1967 I recall seeing a Bizzarrini Strada parked on the Via Veneto. It made Stan Mot's Pignatelli look plain. Later that evening it passed us on the autostrada. We were cruising around 100 and suddenly it was like the sun came up behind us and it passed us at what seemed like that much again. Impressive.....

"Jag you are "

oh, bollocks...