Proper Pronunciation of all D&D words!

[Viktyr Gehrig]

Aasimar:
Aasimon:

AA-ze-mar and -mon, respectively.

Baator:

Bay-tor or bay-uh-tor

Dweomer: DWEH-mer (rhymes with "hem her"), or DWIH-mer; sometimes DWEE-mer

I'd argue for DWEE-oh-mer, personally.

Geas: GEE-ass, or GYASS (both with a hard "g")

GAYSH. Word's Gaelic.

Genasi:

This one stumps me. Ain't figured it out, and I've never seen a pronunciation guide. Is it supposed to derive from "genie"?

Styx:

STIX. People wonder about this?

Tiefling:

TEEF-ling

Xaositects:

kay-OSS-ih-tekts.

Yggdrasil:
Ysgard:

EEG-dra-zill and
EEZ-gard, respectively.

 

[Clueless]

Genasi
This one stumps me. Ain't figured it out, and I've never seen a pronunciation guide. Is it supposed to derive from "genie"?

I dunno about it deriving from genie, btu the way I say it:

Geh-NA-zee

 

[davidschwartznz]

And that's the reason "clueless" (planescape term) say it as sij'il, they think it's the same word that's in the dictionary.

[checks dictionary] What do you know? "sij-il" is also an acceptable pronounciation. That's what I get for learning it with the proper latinate pronounciation.

 

[Ripzerai]

Is it [genasi] supposed to derive from "genie"?

Yes. They first appeared by that name in the Planewalker's Handbook.

"The genasi are planetouched beings, the descendents of a union of a human and an elemental creature (often a djinni, hence the name genasi)." - Planewalker's Handbook, page 71.

 

[Zendragon]

STYX- Greatest rock band of the '70's
DROW- rhymes with OW, as in get that poisoned crossbow bolt out of my eye

 

[Agamon]

Yeah, it's a personal pet peeve of mine when people pronounce "Bulette" as "Bulet" and "coup de grace" as "coup des gras". Grrrr.

 

[ssampier]

Blackguard is pronounced like "blaggard," incidently, if you go by the English word.

I've always pronounced it as BLACK-guard. A blaggard is something different entirely.


black·guard ( P ) Pronunciation Key (blgrd, -ärd)
n.

1. A thoroughly unprincipled person; a scoundrel.
2. A foul-mouthed person.

Neither fits the black-guard as detailed in the DMG in my mind.

Come get me, grammar police.

 

[Glyfair]

Interesting. I was just talking about these pronunciations with Nerissa, my fiancee, and she was telling me "but you know, the alternate pronunciations of names in D&D could be used in-game."
I asked: "How?"
She answered: "Well, for instance, naming a drow with another pronunciation could be an insult for them, as if you're treating them like they're from the surface world".

I tend to agree with Keith Baker's comments when asked how to pronounce certain Eberron words. He'll say "I pronounce it...." However, he'll comment that varying pronunciations aren't unlikely.

For example, Drow might rhyme with "Cow" in Northern Breland, but in Southern Breland it could rhyme with row (as in "row, row, your boat."

Rather than saying a particular pronunciation is wrong, it's probably easier (and less contentious) to say they are regional variations.

 

[Gansk]

Since when does "syth" rhyme with "tithe"?

 

[Viktyr Gehrig]

Since when does "syth" rhyme with "tithe"?

Always has, unless you're one o' them funny "linguistic" types that can actually tell the difference between "dh" and "th".