How do you pronounce "Drow"?

[woodelf]

[melee and scythe, respectively]

I usually say me-LEE, is that wrong?

Hmm... now that's one word I would not suspect to speak with a silent c...

Why? Just think of scimitar or science.

As for 'melee': yup, you're wrong. Wrong vowels, wrong accent.

 

[Turjan]

I dunno who these "Americans" are of which you speak, but i've never heard anything but the proper pronunication of melee in RL, and the dictionary certainly knows how it's pronounced ("mei'lei").

Oh, and my tongue-in-cheek characterization of French is pretty much just the opposite of that: i sometimes joke that the secret to pronouncing French words is to just completely ignore the last syllable, because it's silent.

Well, the idea probably comes from "melee" being originally French (mêlée), and there the stress is, indeed, on the second syllable (which, of course, is not silent ).

 

[Algolei]

I prefer to rhyme "drow" with "go," similar to the way in which the word "trow" [to think, to suppose] is pronounced.

However, my nephews prefer to rhyme "drow" with "cow" (the official pronunciation), and as I play in their group, I too have acquired this more popular variant.

 

[Faraer]

In case anyone is in any doubt, and cares, Bob Salvatore has always pronounced Drizzt drist.

Am i the only one that finds it a bit wierd to include a whole bunch of words that'll be in any dictionary? At least, for all those, they got the pronunciation right.

Except for the silly dropped-h US 'erb (which is technically correct US English, but so is herb).

I dunno who these "Americans" are of which you speak

A lot of people from the USA. Beret, for instance, or homage, whose second syllable is often said as if the word is French and hadn't been part of the English language for centuries before colonization really started.

Also, pronouncing the w in sword is OK, because Robert E. Howard did it.

 

[Desdichado]

Also, pronouncing the w in sword is OK, because Robert E. Howard did it.

Huh? What kind of authority is that?

 

[Faraer]

Moral authority. But I'm being slightly tongue-in-cheek.

 

[Desdichado]

I thought maybe you were...

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Huh? What kind of authority is that?

Conan type authority, that's what.

My players have never had trouble with pronouncing things the same way(which is really all that I want, so there's a common consistency to it)...but then again, they've not yet ventured into the part of my homebrew that is essentially Celtic Wales/Ireland. They are really going to hate it when I pull out those ll's and such. Ahh, the fun.

 

[Turjan]

My players have never had trouble with pronouncing things the same way(which is really all that I want, so there's a common consistency to it)...but then again, they've not yet ventured into the part of my homebrew that is essentially Celtic Wales/Ireland. They are really going to hate it when I pull out those ll's and such. Ahh, the fun.

I hope you'll have the equivalent of the town of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch in your campaign .

Edit: Even the browser fails to treat it as a single word .

 

[hrafnagud]

But why would someone, making up a new word, decide to spell it as horribly as the rest of the English language? That doesn't make sense to me. When I create a new word or name for a campaign, I spell it as phonetically as possible.

Except the word 'Drow' is not a fantasy word, and has a very specific pronounciation.

In twenty years of gaming, I never once heard 'Drow' as in 'go.' I must admit, it does sound more infused with doom as Dro, and almost wish I'd thought of it all those years ago. Alas, for me there is no changing it now. When possible (as in this case), I defer to a good dictionary.