How do you pronounce 'melee?'

[Nifft]

Does anyone have 'evidence'?

melee - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

Try some other dictionaries, see if they differ.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Asmor]

Throat Warbler Mangrove

I pronounce it correctly.

Well, there goes two of my three snarky answers. I guess that just leaves...

"Rhymes with cow."

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

Do you say 'me-lay' or 'may-lay?'

I pronounce it the way the dictionary says to.

 

[Vartan]

What about "Lich?" Is it a long or short "i," and is the "ch" pronounced like "latch" or like "monarch?" Next up: Neogi

 

[Stoat]

Melee = muh-LEE

Lich rhymes with Itch

Neogi I pronounce with a hard "g"

Drow is pronounced "dark elf".

 

[pedr]

The Concise Oxford English Dictionary uses the symbol for 'e' that looks like a backwards 3 for the vowel in the first syllable, and the eI symbol for the vowel in the second syllable. That's m e[as in bed] l ei[as in day, pain, whey, or rein]. It puts the stress on the first syllable. (I don't know if there are ascii codes for those symbols. I can't find them if there are!)

Possibly an English/American pronunciation difference issue. Various US sources on the web suggest may-lay as you've said.

 

[Umbran]

I've not seen anything more than assertions that may-lay is the 'correct' pronunciation. Does anyone have 'evidence'?

Yes, several online and physical dictionaries, as well as several years of French lessons.

Personally, I pronounce it 'MEH-lay'. For some reason I think of this as the most French way to pronounce it, it being a word with a French origin (as with coup de grace, pronounced coo de grass [with a short vowel in grass])

In the original French, you'd stress the second syllable (making it "meh-LAY"). But in English accentuating either is acceptable. However, "mee-lee" is not, imho, acceptable. The first syllable varies from "meh" to "may" in English, but is never "mee".

And changing the pronunciation as jargon specifically for RPG use... that seems more than a little... silly and hubristic.

By the way, in "coup de grâce" the final syllable is more properly pronounced like "grahs", not "grass". Many would be tempted to drop the final "S" sound, as French drops most such. But note that in French it doesn't end in the letter "S".

 

[pedr]

By the way, in "coup de grâce" the final syllable is more properly pronounced like "grahs", not "grass". Many would be tempted to drop the final "S" sound, as French drops most such. But note that in French it doesn't end in the letter "S".

Yeah, now I sound it out a few times, I realise that I probably pronounce it like that as well! Which makes sense, as I pronounce 'grass' with a long vowel, making it very similar to (identical to?) what you mean by 'grahs'.

 

[Dzyu]

I used to pronounce melee "meh-lee", and lich "leesh" when I was younger. However, after becoming aware of the most likely correct pronounciations I've been saying "mey-ley" and "litsh" increasingly.
Coup de grace I pronounce "coo de graa".

 

[pedr]

I wonder where melee = may-lay came from. The dictionaries I've seen show an alternative spelling of mêlée which clearly indicates why the second syllable has an 'ay' vowel, but the circonflex on the first e suggests that it should have a different pronunciation from the second e. If it were mélée they 'may-lay' would be sensible, but Wikipedia suggests that "ê → /ɛ/ (open e; equivalent of è or e followed by two consonants) — prêt vs. pré" (in original French pronunciation).

So why would the word start being pronounced may-lay in the first place? I agree that mee-lee or mee-lay are unlikely pronunciations!

Wikpedia also has "(pronounced /ˈmɛleɪ, ˈmeɪleɪ/, from the French mêlée, pronounced: [mɛːle])" (the French use of IPA has the symbol 'e' for 'ay', but lists what we're representing by MEH-ley as the first English pronunciation, with MAY-lay as the second English one and meh-LAY as the French)