D&D 5E Pedantic pet peeves

[Dannyalcatraz]

Of course, there's the rule in English that you cannot place two vowel sounds together, which is why we add that additional sound in between.

Like many things in our loose trollop of a language, there ARE exceptions, usually proper names/imports from other languages (aeolian, hawaiian) or scientific/technical terminology (molengraaffite, oogenesis, neencephalic). But then you get words like “individual” and “individuum“.

And of course, regional variations...

[video=youtube;Dd7FixvoKBw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd7FixvoKBw&sns=em[/video]

 

[Hussar]

But, when you pronounce "individual" you add a "w" between the u and the a. There's no stop between the two vowels. Try to pronounce it without that "w" in there and it's really difficult.

In class I always use the following sentence: I am going to a party. How do you say that? "I yam go wing to wa par tee"

What you don't say is Part ee. You never start a syllable with a vowel in English. ((Barring cognates and the odd science word that I honestly couldn't begin to pronounce anyway. )) But, do you actually pronounce the two a's in molengraaffite? Or is it simply pronounced as "graphite"?

 

[Syunsuke]

There's an important character named "Aoi no Ue" in The Tale of Genji (Genji Monogatari).
I hear many non Japanese speakers have rather hard time to pronounce her name.

 

[Hussar]

Owie (as in what you say when you step on a Lego) no Oo ay. I'd have to see the kanji to double check, but, that's pretty close.

 

[corwyn77]

Pronouncing the Warhammer chaos god Tzeentch Tiz-neech. I realize it's an alien sounding word and there could be possible alternatives, but none of them should have the n before the ee.

 

[Caliburn101]

Pompous windbags thinking they know D&D 'better' than anyone else and endlessly arguing about it would be a primary pet peeve of mine.

 

[corwyn77]

Having to remind players of their characters special abilities.

I dont like people telling others how to play but dang, i've seen this to much. Like when the party is getting slughtered by a dragon and they run up and do a normal attack! WTF dude, I know you can rage/smite/flurry or whatever.

I get that. I'm currently playing with a rogue who forgets sneak attack (of all things) or doesn't know/remember the ways to get sneak attack.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

But, when you pronounce "individual" you add a "w" between the u and the a. There's no stop between the two vowels. Try to pronounce it without that "w" in there and it's really difficult.

I sometimes pronounce “individual” us” double vowel without the “w” Sound, but I’m an unusual individual. I don’t find it all that difficult.

You never start a syllable with a vowel in English.

Oh really? It’s not aardvark to do exactly that. In fact, people do it all the time. You did it.

But, do you actually pronounce the two a's in molengraaffite? Or is it simply pronounced as "graphite"?

It’s based on the name of a Dutch geologist, so probably the latter...but I’ve heard it pronounced with both a’s. Since the mineral has been renamed, it’s possible the persons doing so had never heard the word themselves, and had only read it.

However, there’s a lot of that in geology (and other sciences) where discoveries get named for people or places that don’t follow English grammatical strictures.

 

[CapnZapp]

"Old English" spoken poorly. "Ye" as in "Ye Olde Pub" is pronounced "the." "Gaol" is pronounced "jail." "Blackguard" isn't "black guard," but "blaggard."

I used to be blissfully ignorant... and now neither are you

What's the point of using Ye Olde English if you pronounce it like normal words??

Sent from my C6603 using EN World mobile app

 

[Harzel]

Actually, that's not true. Try pronouncing piano without putting that y in the middle. It sounds really weird and it's actually quite hard to say. PEE a no. You wind up with this weird break between the e sound and the a. PEE ya no is how that word is pronounced. And, as far as "going" is concerned, that's not where you put the break when you say that word. Try putting the break after the "o". It doesn't work.

I recognize the manner of pronunciation that you refer to, but personally I do not find it hard at all to say those words without the insertion. Of course, once you start thinking about such a thing, it becomes nearly impossible to tell what you 'usually' do.

Of course, there's the rule in English that you cannot place two vowel sounds together, which is why we add that additional sound in between.

I am a native English speaker, and I like to think that I was reasonably attentive in school, but I have never heard of this rule. Do you have a citation or source of some kind for it?

On a side note, having learned a language where you actually can put two vowel sounds together (Japanese does this all the time) it's really, REALLY hard for a second language learner to hear them.

Which brings me to another pet peeve. Fantasy naming. Drives me nuts. I get that the words are obviously not derived from English. Fine. But, since they are transliterated from a non-Roman alphabet (or whatever system the native language uses), why the hell are they done so badly.

To make really, really sure you notice that they are weird and exotic.

What does that apostrophe in Drizz't mean? Is his name shortened somehow? Does he own a "t"? Are we supposed to add a clicking sound?

I associate this (apostrophes of uncertain purpose) most strongly with dark elf names. The first place that I noticed that association was Everquest, but it's quite possible that it had a D&D precursor that I missed. In any case, I've always thought of it as sort of an affectation, again intended to be a marker of exoticness.