Aladdin Central Messageboard

Agent0042 · Streetrat Joined: 27 Nov 2004 Posts: 8

What is the official spelling of the name of Jasmine's tiger? A Google search for "Raja" partnered with "Aladdin" returns many more hits than one for "Rajah" partnered with "Aladdin." Yet close-captioning on the DVD spells the name as Rajah and Disney's official website also refers to the tiger as Rajah.
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Salukfan · Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2004 12:02 am Post subject:

Rajah. It's been Rajah for 12 years. Disney has...problems with it. *Looks on boxart for Jasmine toddler doll and screams*
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xfkirsten · Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2004 12:09 am Post subject:

I've always spelled it Rajah, and will alwas spell it that way. Razz

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AladdinsGenie · Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2004 12:27 am Post subject:

It says Rajah on the credits and that is how I spell it. It honestly depends on how the company feels at the moment to determine if they spell it the right way.

Agent0042 · Streetrat Joined: 27 Nov 2004 Posts: 8

Merkal · Sultan Joined: 17 Jul 2004 Posts: 466 Location: NL

And there are the millions who don't do their homework and just take a guess at the spelling.
Viva la Rajah

Calluna · Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2004 8:40 am Post subject:

In the credits and most of the older toys and books, it's spelled Rajah. On some of the newer stuff they seem to spell it the other way a lot. Rolling Eyes

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Aurora 101 · Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2004 9:43 am Post subject:

I think It's Rajah. That's how I spell it. Razz

But I might be wrong. Question

Nez · Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2004 11:43 am Post subject:

Yeah. When people spell it as "Raja", it's a Polish/Czech name.

It would be pronounced "RYE-ah".

Believe me. I was in the high school production of "I've Never Seen Another Butterfly".
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Agent0042 · Streetrat Joined: 27 Nov 2004 Posts: 8

I wonder how it is that the Raja error has become so insidious? Like I said, it's the more-used verison of the name when tagged with "Aladdin," based on a Google search. I guess a lot of people just don't know the proper spelling.
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I run a movie guide for Aladdin at a popular movie website, Movie Tome. Check it out here

Calluna · Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2004 2:33 pm Post subject:

I did a search myself, and it looks like most of the ones with "Raja" were selling Rajah toys and stuff. And all of you who've looked for Aladdin stuff on ebay know how badly the names can get butchered. Wink

I guess if they cared enough to find out the right spelling they wouldn't be selling it in the first place. Rolling Eyes

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AladdinsGenie · Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2004 2:52 pm Post subject:

Lennox Macbeth · Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2004 4:34 pm Post subject:

Rajah, though either can technically be correct. Historically speaking, historians and English-speaking authors use "Rajah" for it's phonetic value. Disney likes to borrow words that "sound" right for their series without bothering to see if they're accurate or not. In this case, they grabbed the title of a ruler for the tiger (just like a lot of people name their guard dogs "King", "Khan", etc).

ra·jah or ra·ja
n.

A prince, chief, or ruler in India or the East Indies.

[Hindi raja, from Sanskrit, king. See reg- in Indo-European Roots.]

Word History: Rajah is familiar to us from the Sanskrit raja, “king,” and maharaja, “great king.” The Sanskrit root raj-, “to rule,” comes from the Indo-European root *reg-, “to move in a straight line, direct, rule.” The same Indo-European root appears in Italic (Latin) and Celtic. Rex means “king” in Latin, coming from *reg-s, whence our regal and, through French, royal. Two of the Gaulish kings familiar to us from Caesar, Dumnorix and Vercingetorix, incorporate the Celtic word rix, “king,” in their names. (Rix also forms part of the name of that fictitious, indomitable Gaul Asterix.) Germanic at some time borrowed the Celtic word rix. It appears as reiks, “ruler,” in Gothic, as well as in older Germanic names ending in -ric, such as Alaric and Theodoric, the latter of whom has a name that is equivalent to German Dietrich, “people's king.” A derivative of Celtic rix, *rig-yo-, meaning “rule, domain,” was also borrowed into Germanic, and is the source of German Reich, “rule, empire.”

I know, I know. Enough with the etymology lecture. Rolling Eyes

Princess Lydia · Elemental Joined: 12 Nov 2004 Posts: 679

Rajah is the correct way to spell it if you read the story books, and the caption on the screen you will see it spelled that way.

Horse lover · Streetrat Joined: 09 Jan 2005 Posts: 5

It's Rajah