Manjgura – where it comes from and how to pronounce it
Manjgúra, Mangura, Manjura… We’ve heard all kinds of pronunciations of the name of our mischievous little girl.
Here is a note about it in writing – it is pronounced Mànjgura, with the nj pronounced like ni in ‘minion’ and the g as in ‘get’. There is no hint of j as in ‘joy’.
‘Mànjgura’ is today an often forgotten expression from the Dubrovnik – Neretva region as well as the much more famous name of our public relations agency.
Many of you are aware that manjak, which derives from the Latin word mancipium and means ‘boy’ or ‘male child’, would have been a more accurate name for the agency than Mànjgura.
However, since Manjak is a somewhat awkward name for a company (nomen est omen), in 1997 the founders went for a second option. That is how Mànjgura, which in the Durbovnik-Neretva region refers to a female child – a mischievous one, was born. Once again nomen est omen! 🙂
Variations of the expression ‘manjgura’
There are several variations of the name manjgura, all with slightly different associations.
If you are passing through Dubrovnik and Konavle and you hear the words manjčica or manjica, we’ll have you know that it is referred to a female child or a young woman.
Manjgura also has an augmentative form – manjgurina or manjičina, which denotes a defiant young woman.