[Cygnus]

I about posted this as a reply to the fantasy questions in gameshows, but I'm trying to stay on the good side of FitzFlagg by not straying way off topic. This was inspired by a posting regarding the mispronounciation Raistlin's name. So, how do you pronounce it?

Some authors include phonetic (of a sort) dictionaries in their books which I find very helpful. For the most part though, I'm just winging it. I tend to dread having converstations about fantasy books because there is always serious disagreement on how to say about everything that isn't standard.

I had no idea how to say half of the names in Jordan's WoT until I watched someone play the PC game based on it! I didn't realize that I'd been saying Shannara wrong all these years until I saw Terry Brooks speak last year.

Anyway, I'm interested in some of the hotly debated names of fantasy worlds, places, people or whatever and how YOU think they should be pronounced! This may be silly due to the far flung nature of the members and the wide variety of languages and dialects, but I'm still curious.

For the record I pronounce Raistlin race-tlin. That's race like a car race. Totally wrong?

[This message has been edited by Cygnus (edited June 21, 2001).]

[Eventine]

I'm interested in how you actually pronounce Shannara?
BTW, until about 4 years ago I always pronounced Gandalf without the l.

[Brendan]

I think that you should put your own pronunciation on the names in books, it helps to create the character of the person, i always find that if ive been mispronouncing names form books and someone corrects me it gives me a different image of the character

[Cadfael]

Good point there Brendan, but I also think if a reader want to know how to pronounce names correctly to enhance the enjoyment, he should go right ahead.

I used to pronounce 'Celeborn' from TLOR as 'Seleborn', until I read the appendix and found out Tolkien's pronounciation was 'Keleborn'.

BTW... welcome to Sffworld, good to see you here at last... and before you ask... you become a full member after 30 post... http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif

[Cygnus]

I also agree with Brendan that how you sound the names out to yourself is really what matters.

From Terry Brooks himself it's pronounced shan-er-uh with shan rhyming with can. I've always pronounced it shuh-nar-uh, and can't get used to the "real" way now.

Dennizm, I'm positive that even with the guides for Tolkien's language I'm still pronouncing half of everything wrong! Oh well!

[Xayn]

I pronounce names like I think they are to be pronounced. If an author sees that differently, well he maybe should have come up with easier-to-pronounce names???
Personally, I never made much of these how-to-pronounce pages of books. I buy books to read the story therein, not to do a crash-course on Yetanotherfantasylanguage 101...
With Raistlin it's Raist-lin (with raist sounding like waste). And I pronounce his brother with a K.

[tamlyn]

i've gotten into quite a few arguments over names but it hasn't really bothered me except for the time when I was pronouncing the name Bree-anna, which i think is a nice name,but then i found out it was pronounced Bry-anna which i don't like at all.

[Cannon Fodder]

I don't really find that it effects my appreciation of a book whether I pronounce the names or not, it really makes no difference to my mind. I could care less how to pronounce Aes Sedai or whatever.

[FitzChivalry]

I had an arguement on the way to pronounce Tanis.
Is it Ta like in Ta-liban.
Or is it Ta like in Ta-ste.

Is it A or E sound?

[Zsinj16]

I don't even know how to pronounce my own screenname, Zsinj, and I'm a hardcore Star Wars fan! Shows you how pitiful I am, huh?! http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif
I've always imagined Zsinj pronounced like : Zuh-singe, but then again, I could be definitely wrong! I've been scouring the internet on how to pronounce that name, and so far, I've found absolutely nothing!
Cygnus, I've always imagined Shannara being pronounced shuh-nar-uh, and find it difficult to get used to the real way also!