Proper Pronunciation of all D&D words!

[Charwoman Gene]

"Bulette" is pronounced "CAN-dee-gram"

 

[mhacdebhandia]

I know Baator is supposed to be pronounced bay-ah-tor, but I can't bring myself to say that. So it's baah-tor for me. Similarly, baah-teh-zoo[/b].

Apparently some people pronounce eladrin eh-lay-dren (at least, I think Keith Baker does, since he once called eladrin "elaydren", which is the name of a character in the Eberron adventure path), but I would say ell-a-drin.

 

[theredrobedwizard]

My takes.

Aarakocra: ar-ah-KOH-cruh
Aasimar: AY-sih-mar
Aasimon: AY-sih-mon
Acheron: ah-SHER-on
Arquebus: AR-kweh-bus
Baatezu: BAYT-zoo
Baator: BAY-tor
Bardiche: BAR-dish
Blackguard: Black-Guard.
Bulette: BYOO-lay
Catoblepus: kah-toh-blee-pahs
Chatkcha: CHA-tch-kah
Chimera: ky-MAY-rah
Chitin: KITE-in
Coup de grace: Koo-day-grahz (koop duh grayc)
Cuirass: Kyu-rass
Drizzt Do'Urden: Stu-pid Jak'tard
Drow: DROW (see Plow, Cow, etc)
Dweomer: DWEE-oh-mer
Falchion: FAL-chee-on
Fochlucan: fock-LUKE-in
Geas: GAY-iss
Genasi: jen-a-SIGH
Gygax: GY-gaks
Halberd: HAL-berd
Herb: herb
Ioun: eye-OON
Iuz: eye-OOZ
Ixitxachitl: ich-it-CHASH-it-al
Lich: LITCH (as in ditch)
Lycanthrope: ly-KAN-throw'p
Lycanthropy: ly-KAN-throw-pee
Mage: MAGE (as in age)
Melee: MAY-lay
Otyugh: Oh-tee-ug
Sahuagin: SAH-hoo-ah-gin
Scythe: SY-dh
Sigil: SIG-il (note: I pronounced the other version like this as well until I was "corrected".)
Styx: Sticks
Svirfneblin: sverf-NEB-lin
Tanar'ri: tah-NAH-ree
Tarrasque: tar-ask
THAC0: THAK-oh.
Tiefling: TEE-fling
Vargouille: VARG-oil.
Vrock: vrock
Wyvern: WIH-vern
Xaositects: Kay-oss-i-tekts
Yggdrasil: IG-drah-sil
Ysgard: EYES-gard.
Zaknafein: zak-NAH-feen

-TRRW

 

[cmrscorpio]

The proper pronunciation of Sigil, City of Doors, was provided in the original boxed set, page 4 of Sigil and Beyond in the flavor text quote. It is pronounced with a "g" sound.

 

[Charwoman Gene]

The proper pronunciation of Sigil, City of Doors, was provided in the original boxed set, page 4 of Sigil and Beyond in the flavor text quote. It is pronounced with a "g" sound.

That has been debunked. The designer thought the word "sigil" had a "g-like-grape" sound.

 

[Charwoman Gene]

Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.
Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.
Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.
Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.
Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.Drow rhymes with Cow.

 

[Taraxia]

Oh! I remember where I got the info. It's from one of the Planescape books. It might actually be on the cd that came with Player's Primer to the Outlands. I remember a character commenting about primes pronouncing it Sij-il and he said that only a clueless berk will pronounce it that way...something like that.

The dictionary says that "si-jil" is the preferred pronunciation for the actual *word* "sigil" (as in a symbol). Whether the city Sigil is actually named after the English word for a symbol is up to you -- pronouncing it with a hard G is certainly a great shibboleth to separate planars from primes, so to speak. I kind of find it annoying, though, as I do all capricious deviations from ordinary orthography. (Especially that "boo-lay" thing. WTF?)

 

[Taraxia]

I actually listened to those for the first time 2 days ago, it was interesting. There were a couple that I didn't believe were pronounced correctly. That is fan created right?


That's something that has always puzzled me. I don't understand why people always compare a "D&D" word as being pronounced incorrectly because "that's not how you say it in french/dutch/german/russian/ect". The same thing with the whole Sigil debate and it being a word in the dictionary. We are talking about words from a fantasy setting, not a French culture from planet Earth or an 'English' dictionary.

Personally, if TSR/WotC says a word is pronounced a certain way in their fantasy world, then I'm not going to tell them they are wrong unless they contradict themselves. But then again, I'm the guy that doesn't understand why everyones impersonation of a Dwarf is always Scottish and Humans are always English.

I'm more interested in compiling a list of pronunciations from official D&D sources...not what fans assume it is for whatever reasons they come up with in their logic. After completing an "official" list, then it's up to the individual to use whatever version he prefers. I wasn't intending on this thread to be a discussion on "right or wrong". I just wanted to see if there are sources from the guys that stuck those words in our D&D books

*groan*

Except that words like "paladin" really are words, and unless WotC actually presents them as "foreign" words spoken in a "foreign" language I prefer to sound like I know what I'm talking about and to acknowledge the real-world connections and connotations of D&D terminology instead of participating in the silly fiction that places like Acheron and Elysium and Hades are brand-new original creations of the fine folks at TSR.

Also because I prefer orthography to make some kind of sense, or at least be consistent.

 

[Charwoman Gene]

My takes.

Aarakocra: laym-berd-PEA-puhl
Aasimar: Ay-a-si-mar
Aasimon: Aa-a- si-mon
Acheron: ATCH-er-on
Arquebus: ARK-@-bus (the at is a schwa, and if you don't know what that is get outa the thread)
Baatezu: BAY-A-ted-zoo
Baator: BA-a-tor
Bardiche: bar-DEESH
Blackguard: BLAK-Gurd.
Bulette: boo-LET (After the Suloise)
Catoblepus: kah-toh-buhl-pos
Chatkcha: hoo-cairs-dum-bug-thing
Chimera: chi-MEH-ra
Chitin: KITE-in
Coup de grace: Koo-day-grah
Drow: DROW (see BOW, ROW, etc)
Dweomer: dwee-O-mer
Falchion: FAL-chee-on
Fochlucan: fock-LUKE-in
Lich: LITCH (as in ditch)
Melee: muh-LAY
Otyugh: smel-ee-things
Tanar'ri: tah-nah-REE
Tarrasque: ta-RASK
THAC0: THAK-oh.
Tiefling: TEEF-ling
Wyvern: Why, Vern?
Ysgard: AZ-gard.
Zaknafein: twink

 

[Taraxia]

Some of these are real words:

Acheron: ah-SHER-on

No. It's Greek, and the hard K sound is always preferable for chi. "AH-ker-on". (Yes, it is a real part of real Greek mythology.)

Arquebus: AR-kweh-bus

Sure.

Bardiche: BAR-dish

French. Accent is on the second syllable. Bar-DEESH.

And yes, it's every bit as real a word as "longsword", and changing its pronunciation is no more okay "because it's fantasy" than deciding that "longsword" is pronounced "long-SWORD".

Blackguard: Black-Guard.

I've had arguments about this. I still prefer "blaggard". For one thing, it describes the blackguard better in a literal sense -- a dishonorable bastard, taken to the extreme -- than taking the term literally, as blackguards are neither required to wear black nor guard things.

Bulette: BYOO-lay

If you want, though if you do this I want you to write me up a fictional guide to Suloise orthography and point out why the "ette" phoneme sounds like that.

It's not like it even sounds any better or anything. Apparently WotC thinks random silent letters make you sound cultured.

Chimera: ky-MAY-rah

It's been an English word long enough that it's acceptable, though shortening the vowels is preferable.

Cuirass: Kyu-rass

Acceptable, though "KWE-rass" is the closer-to-original-French pronunciation. (This, too, is a real, non-fantasy word.)

Dweomer: DWEE-oh-mer

REAL WORD. It's "dwimmer". Sometimes it's even spelled that way in certain sources. Maybe "dweemer". But that Old English "eo" is not meant to be stretched into two syllables.

Falchion: FAL-chee-on

No. Real word. "FAL-shon".

Fochlucan: fock-LUKE-in

Looks Gaelic to me; I'd say "FOCH-luke-ann", with a note that the "u" should be slightly shorter than in the name "Luke", and that the "ch" is like the "ch" in "loch" or "ach".

I'm betting this is, also, a Real Word, but don't know it off the top of my head.

Geas: GAY-iss

One syllable. Sounds like "geesh", "gaysh" or "gish". Terry Pratchett jokes about it in his books by punning it with "geese".

Genasi: jen-a-SIGH

Can't find a Real Word source, but this sounds awfully off to me. It's incredibly rare for "i" at the end of a word to become the "ai" diphthong. It's obviously meant to be related to the word "genie" -- I'd pronounce it as close to "genie" as possible, probably "jenn-AHS-ee".

Ixitxachitl: ich-it-CHASH-it-al

EDIT: Looked it up, and yeah, I agree on this one, although the Aztec "x" was closer to a "sh" sound. "Ish-it-SHACH-it-el" is closer to it, with as little sound between the t and l as possible.

Lich: LITCH (as in ditch)

Yeah. This was actually an obscure English word meaning "corpse" before it meant anything in D&D. Like the term "lich gate".

Lycanthrope: ly-KAN-throw'p

Real word, and the preferred accent is on the first syllable.

Scythe: SY-dh

Er, what? Scythe isn't even an uncommon word. Since when does it have two syllables? Are you using "dh" for the "th" sound at the end?

Tanar'ri: tah-NAH-ree

If that "r'r" is going to mean anything instead of being a pointless embellishment, it probably indicates a stop between those two syllables. Which means when you pronounce it you say "tah-NAHR-ree", with the two R sounds carefully separated, or at least one R sound lengthened. (The last two syllables should rhyme with "sorry", not "sari".)

It's a minor thing, but I absolutely hate apostrophes dropped into a word to make it look "fantastic" without actually giving them some meaningful way to change the pronunciation of the word.

Note that Stargate SG-1 is a show that does a good job of making the apostrophes pronounceable (and consistently pronounced) as stops in words. "Tok'ra" is always TOKE(pause)ra, and doesn't rhyme with "okrah". I like this very much.

Tarrasque: tar-ask

French, so emphasis on the second syllable. "Tar-RAHSK". Real Word, surprisingly enough, and a real legend.

Vargouille: VARG-oil.

Not a real word, but still obvious French orthography. "Varg-WEEL", if you care at all about that. (If you don't, it might as well be pronounced "Varg-oily", or "Varg-willay", or "Hubert".)

Ysgard: EYES-gard.

Since Ysgard is obviously a misspelled Asgard, I prefer to keep the pronounciation as close as possible. "Iss-gard" or "Yiss-guard" works fine for me. Again, real-world examples of an orthography where "y" is prononuced "ai" don't seem that common to me.