Core book reprintings - Pronunciation

[LightPhoenix]

I imagine Yrthak would be pronounced EAR-thak.

I'm against pronunciations because while nifty, I think that page count is better taken up by things that are important. I think everyone knows you're talking about Drow whether you pronounce it "droe" or "drau". Maybe the difficult ones (Ixi-whatever) should be included, those are easier to communicate wrongly.

And I think I'm going to pronounce Drow as DROE-oo from now on.

LightPhoenix

 

[Dextolen]

I have a player that pronounces paladin as "puh-LAD-in" with the AD as in "add". It drives me bonkers.

 

[John Crichton]

A pronunciation guide is actually in print in the D&D FAQ on the WotC website:

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/DnDArchives_FAQ.asp

Aarakocra: a-rah-KO-krah
Arquebus: AR-keh-bus
Baatezu: bay-AH-teh-zu or BAH-teh-zu
Bardiche: bar-DEESH
Bulette: boo-LAY
Catoblepus: kuht-OH-bleh-puhs, also kah-TA-ble-pus
Chatkcha: CHAT-k-cha (thri-kreen throwing weapon)
Chimera: ky-MAEE-ruh, or ky-MAIR-ruh (rhymes with "care of")
Chitin: KITE-in
Cuirass: KWEE-rass
Drow: DRAU (as in drowsy; rhymes with now and how)
Dweomer: DWEH-mer (rhymes with "hem her"), or DWIH-mer; sometimes DWEE-mer
Falchion: FAL-chun
Geas: GEE-ass, or GYASS (both with a hard "g")
Gygax: GY-gaks
Halberd: HAL-berd, (not HAL-bread)
Herb: ERB
Ioun: EYE-oon
Iuz: YOOZ or EE-uz
Ixitxachitl: iks-it-ZATCH-i-til or ik-zit-zah-chih-tull
Lich: LITCH (as in ditch), *not* LIKE or LICK
Lycanthrope: LY-kun-throhp, LY-kan-throhp (like lichen rope/my tan rope)
Lycanthropy: ly-KAN-thruh-pee
Mage: MAGE (as in age), *not* MADGE (as in badger)
Melee: MAY-lay
Otyugh: AHT-yuhg
Sahuagin: sah-HWAH-gin
Scythe: syth (rhymes with tithe)
Svirfneblin: svirf-NEB-lin
Tanar'ri: tah-NAHR-ree
Tarrasque: tah-RASK
THAC0: either THAK-oh, or THAKE-oh
Vargouille: var-GWEEL
Vrock: vrahk
Wyvern: WIH-vern (as in did learn), or WHY-vern
Zaknafein: zack-NAY-fee-in

Holy cow (like drow), I've actually been saying most of this stuff correctly. I'm kinda shocked. I agree it would be nice to have the nonsense words pronounced in the books and especially the core books. I've had multiple conversations over the years about how to say things and it would be nice to have it official.

 

[Sanackranib]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Core book reprintings - Pronunciation

Standardization of pronunciation is not total even now. We all have regional dialects. I see no problem with some people saying "drow" or "droe". I think it adds character.

standardization would be fine if they (TSR) had started it way back in the day, but its a bit late in the game to try to get people to switch what they have been calling this stuff for the past 20 years "just because you say so"

 

[shadow]

I wouldn't mind some pronounciation guide. However, I would very much prefer that Wizards used the International Phonetics Alphabet ( http://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/IPA/fullchart.html ) for pronounciation. The system that Wizards uses is based on an English speaker's perception rather than actual phonetics. Moreover it lacks a way to represent non-English phonemes.

Sorry, I'm a linguistics major so I naturally love the IPA

 

[thundershot]

It's pronounced "shimmer-a". Not... whatever that is that I quoted.

No, it has, and always was ky-MAIR-ruh. That's one you can actually look up in the dictionary. I always pronouced it wrong too, until I saw an ad for a movie called Chimera, and I was floored at the pronounciation, so I looked it up.


Chris

 

[Mercule]

Actually, it should be pronounced "gaysh." Damned Celtic spelling.

And the correct plural is geasa, not geases.

The Drow/cow (drau) thing was in a Dragon article back in the mid-eighties (no, I don't have a number, but I remember changing my pronounciation).

Droe vs. drau doesn't really get me worked up. The guy who made them up decided to call them drau, so I call them drau. If you want to say droe, that's fine. It's just a minor vowel change and perfectly within the realms of artistic liscence (since it's all fantasy, anyway). Still, it decreases communication a bit since anyone using the standard pronounciation has to translate it slightly.

On the other hand, I definitely like to see standard pronounciation for real English (or Greek, or whotever) words and names. Everytime I hear someone say "py-ton" instead of "pee-ton", it grates on me the same as if they'd said "swerd" instead of "sord".

Of course, if someone insists on pronouncing "sword" as "bullfrog", I'll treat them like the freakin' moron they are.

 

[EvilMountainDew]

Originally Posted by Gnomeworks
It's pronounced "shimmer-a". Not... whatever that is that I quoted.

Sorry, I have to disagree with you

Orginally written by Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Main Entry: chi·me·ra
Pronunciation: kI-'mir-& (\&\ as a and u in abut),
Function: noun

The problem here is the English Language... look at words like Gorgeous... 2 g's & 2 different pronunciations (sp?)

 

[Chauzu]

I always pronounced Chimera like it looks, with the CH sounding like it does in "chick".


..........

 

[Tewligan]

Heh, this reminds me when the Chimera tank model came out for Warhammer 40K. The argument over the proper pronunciation went on for quite a while on the message board I frequented.