the "How the hell do you pronounce THAT??!" thread

Post by **Relayer** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 2:26 pm

Atiaran was always A-tee-air-an for me, not sure if its right though.

Same for me.

Try Doriendor Corishev as if it's pronounced with a Russian accent...

Post by **High Lord Tolkien** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 3:09 pm

OMG! I just realized, as I read some of the words posted here that I don't even try to pronounce them as I read them!
I never noticed before.
I think I just look at the word like it's a picture or something.
I've never before today even tried to pronounced "Doriendor Corishev"
(I just tried it and got tongue tied)
But I know where it is on the map, where it is mentioned in the books and it's history in the Land.
That's bizarre!

Post by **Cameraman Jenn** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 6:38 pm

Isn't it pwee-sance?

Post by **Cagliostro** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 7:03 pm

I pronounce it:

POO-essence

The essence of poo.

Okay, no I don't.

Post by **Audio Covenant** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 10:11 pm

ControlFreak wrote:Exactly what the title says.

I'd be interested in knowing how you guys pronounce "rhadhamaerl"?

Okay, finally something I know about! I spent several hours on the phone with SRD going over the pronunciations for every word in his glossary, which at last count had reached 583 words/phrases. (That's a hundred more than DUNE, by the way.)

According to SRD, rhadhamaerl is pronounced RAH-duh-MAHRL. Similarly, suru-pa-maerl is pronounced soo-roo-pah-MAHRL.

I've actually assembled an audio glossary for the series, a collection of tiny mp3s of me pronouncing all these words, and was planning on making them available to SRD if he wanted to post them anywhere, with his permission of course. We did something similar with the DUNE series when we recorded that on audio, and as a fan, I figured that kind of thing should be available to whoever wants them, as long as the author's cool with it.

That said, I also accept the argument that series like this one, or Tolkien's, or the DUNE saga, become the property of the individual readers, and they're entitled to pronounce the words any way they want. In my head, I still do, sometimes. I admit to stumbling dozens of times when I had to say Haruchai (which SRD pronounces huh-ROO-chie, but I always pronounced HAIR--oo-kie in my head).

Best,

Scott Brick

Post by **Cameraman Jenn** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 10:30 pm

Wow, I have failed SRD miserably. I always pronounced it ha-ROO-kai, that last bit sounding like the first part of the word kite.

Post by **Audio Covenant** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 10:34 pm

Cameraman Jenn wrote:Wow, I have failed SRD miserably. I always pronounced it ha-ROO-kai, that last bit sounding like the first part of the word kite.

Ah, what's a little thing like a K instead of a CH? At least you got the long I sound, so you were a lot closer to it than I was. No failure at all, you've served SRD well.

Post by **Nav** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 8:27 am

Wow, sounds like you went to a lot of trouble to get everything right! An audio glossary would be a great accompanyment to the books though, somebody should probably suggest it to Iain Banks too.

I got Haruchai totally wrong, I'd always said it ha-ruck-ai so I was a bit taken aback the first time I heard SRD say it.

Post by **amanibhavam** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 9:23 am

Audio Covenant wrote:
Cameraman Jenn wrote:Wow, I have failed SRD miserably. I always pronounced it ha-ROO-kai, that last bit sounding like the first part of the word kite.
Ah, what's a little thing like a K instead of a CH? At least you got the long I sound, so you were a lot closer to it than I was. No failure at all, you've served SRD well.

Do you mean CH as in church or CH as in loch? And does he pronounce the final syllable as in English "pie" or as in French "vie"?

I've always thought that not being a native English speaker helped me to pronounce the trickier names (I do not tend not to pronounce the final vowels e.g.) but it seems SRD can give surprises to anyone

Post by **Relayer** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 2:28 pm

I've always said Ha-roo-chai (chai as in chai tea). Guess none of us got it...

Post by **Audio Covenant** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 4:39 pm

Relayer wrote:I've always said Ha-roo-chai (chai as in chai tea). Guess none of us got it...

That's it, actually. It's CH as in church, not as in loch. When I spell things grammatically I always put chie rather chai, because in some languages ai is pronounced ay. Now that I realize ie is different in French, I'm completely confused...

Scott

Post by **Cameraman Jenn** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 4:45 pm

Wow, so I was right. I was very wrong on some others.

Post by **Rocksister** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 4:52 pm

Good question, as I am re-reading TIW right now and that word is all over the place. My "brain" says it this way:

rod-hah-MARL

I sure would love SRD if he would put a pronunciation reference in the back of AATE. I love him already, but this would be SWEET.

Post by **sweetbread** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 1:06 am

Cameraman Jenn wrote:Isn't it pwee-sance?

Right you are, Jenn! Well, kinda, um, make that sorta.... You're closer than everyone else, for that matter....

puissance is pronounced [pwi-sents], but I always tend to pronounce it in my head as [pwuh-sonts]. It's the French word for power and for some reason, I really like to drag out that French accent.....

Haruchai has a Japanese feel to it for me, ha'ru-ki (rhymes with eye, sky, my, why, try, buy, lie). I know that SRD conceived Covenant in India, however, I really love how much diversity he packs into his books, simple things like British spellings of a few words here and there, to words that were constructed using the linguistic systems of other languages. I'm surprised that I haven't run into any Hawaiian sounding names yet....then again, Bhapi could qualify, I suppose....

Post by **wayfriend** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 2:14 pm

ControlFreak wrote:I'd be interested in knowing how you guys pronounce "rhadhamaerl"?

rad-HAME-er-il. Which I know is incorrect, but I do.

rod-HAM-ay-erl is probably closer to correct.

Unless the dh is meant to be taken as a single sound? That would be the sound of th in "these" and "those", but not in "think" and "thimble". I'm pretty sure that the rha- is meant to indicate an 'a' sound line in ball, not like in bat.

So rah-THAM-ay-erl? rah-THAM-er-il?

Vain wrote:DELI-KWEE-ES
or
DELI-KWES

The second is correct, the first isn't. It ends in -quesce, not -quiesce.

shadowbinding shoe wrote:How do you read "Silmarillion"? To me it's sil-ma-ril-yon (read quickly like so: Sil-MarilYOON)

I add one more syllable. SIL-ma-RILL-ee-on. So in cadence it is like nickelodeon.

There should be something authoritative on this somewhere?

High Lord Tolkien wrote:Gan-dolf ??
Not to me.

It is to me. Rhymes with Randolf.

However, I am reformed. I originally pronounced it GAN-DAFF!!!

Blackhawk wrote:I pronounce it Rod-Ha-Mare-el and Lill-E-an-Rill and Lore-Lie-uh-rill, Ello-Heem, Ran-Yen(now Ran-eh-heen), Mellon-Cure-e-un-sky-ware, Cure-ash-Plen-teh-thor & Quellen-Ear, ah-ma-neh-bah-vem

EE-lo-HIM
RAIN-a-hin.
Mellon-Cure-e-un-sky-wire
Cure-ash-Plen-eh-thor

drew wrote:And how many others called Atiaran Ah-tare-e-on...until they heard SRD say the name, and realized that you were reading it wrong ALL these years?

:raisehand:

Audio Covenant wrote:Okay, finally something I know about! I spent several hours on the phone with SRD going over the pronunciations for every word in his glossary

That's incredible and exciting, but with an overtone of the-party's-over.

Audio Covenant wrote:According to SRD, rhadhamaerl is pronounced RAH-duh-MAHRL.

Hey! I got the rah- sound correct!!!

Audio Covenant wrote:I've actually assembled an audio glossary for the series, a collection of tiny mp3s of me pronouncing all these words, and was planning on making them available to SRD if he wanted to post them anywhere, with his permission of course.

Post it! Post it!

Audio Covenant wrote:Haruchai (which SRD pronounces huh-ROO-chie

SRD is so wrong. :)

And if by huh-ROO-chie, you mean huh-ROO-chee, he is wrong AND silly.

Haruchai rhymes with "are you high".

Long live the fightin' HAR-oo-KYE!

Post by **Seven Words** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 6:54 pm

Rad-HA-mare-el

Low-MILL-lee-ah-lor

Ha-roo-KAY

RAN-ee-hin

RA-men

MEL-en-koo-ree-on

lil-lee-AN-rill

is how I've always pronounced them....

Oh, and it's "pwee-sints", I believe

Post by **wayfriend** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 7:03 pm

What about

"Melenkurion abatha! Duroc minas mill khabaal!"

That would be an interesting one to hear Mr. Brick pronounce. I say

MELL-en-KOOR-ee-un A-ba-tha! DURE-ock MINN-us MILL ka-BAHL!

Post by **High Lord Tolkien** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 7:40 pm

wayfriend wrote:What about
"Melenkurion abatha! Duroc minas mill khabaal!"

Mel le kuron abatha! Dur rock Minas Mill Kaball!

I make no excuses.

Post by **Relayer** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 8:07 pm

wayfriend wrote:What about
"Melenkurion abatha! Duroc minas mill khabaal!"
That would be an interesting one to hear Mr. Brick pronounce. I say

MELL-en-KOOR-ee-un A-ba-tha! DURE-ock MINN-us MILL ka-BAHL!

Spoiler

Well, you'll get to hear it in about a week

I say Mell-en-CURE-ee-un...

Post by **wayfriend** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 11:59 pm

In the Scott Brick audio interview, you can hear him pronounce Haruchai different ways.

Kevin's Watch

Kevin's Watch

the "How the hell do you pronounce THAT??!" thread

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