I've been playing a lot of Society games lately, and I noticed that while I pronounce it "var-EE-zhia", some of the others, including a GM, pronounce it "VAR-iss-ee-ah". This also means that I'm referring to its people as "var-EE-zhians", while they call them "VAR-iss-ee-ans".

Who's right?

Everyone I know has said it "var-EE-zhia".

Man I have a hard enough time with Sandpoint.

Varisia is pronounced (vah-RHIS-ee-ah). At least that's how we say it around the office.

Varisia is pronounced (vah-RHIS-ee-ah). At least that's how we say it around the office.

Wow, really? So they were actually right? I'm shocked.

Varisia is pronounced (vah-RHIS-ee-ah). At least that's how we say it around the office.

Crazy.

There is a pronunciation guide in the Pathfinder Chronicles: Campaign Setting book.

Varisia is pronounced (vah-RHIS-ee-ah). At least that's how we say it around the office.

Well that's just silly.

Adam Daigle wrote:

Varisia is pronounced (vah-RHIS-ee-ah). At least that's how we say it around the office.

Well that's just silly.

Still correct.

Some people purposefully mispronounce stuff all the time, and some even get openly upset when corrected, as they believe their pronunciation is better.

Each to their own I suppose.

Some people purposefully mispronounce stuff all the time, and some even get openly upset when corrected, as they believe their pronunciation is better.

Yeah, like me.

I know that Iomedae is officially pronounced ahy-OH-meh-day. I don't care. I like ahy-AWE-mih-dee, and I'm sticking with it.

Pitax is pronounced pih-TAHKS, but to me, it's PEE-tax.

blackbloodtroll wrote:

Some people purposefully mispronounce stuff all the time, and some even get openly upset when corrected, as they believe their pronunciation is better.

Yeah, like me.

I know that Iomedae is officially pronounced ahy-OH-meh-day. I don't care. I like ahy-AWE-mih-dee, and I'm sticking with it.

Pitax is pronounced pih-TAHKS, but to me, it's PEE-tax.

I purposefully mispronounce Jhavhul as Ja Rule.

It pleases me.

I had this exact same thing come up while I was GMing a week ago, and the table next to us asked us the same question, not having heard us talk about it. What's going on??

I personally prefer Va-RHEE-zhuh. Having a hiSSing sound in the middle of the word just doesn't strike me as apropos for the wandering types. And I prenounce Desna DeZZ-nuh.

In my campaign I've decided that people of Chelish descent tend to pronounce it Va-RISS-ee-uh, while native Varisians say Va-RHEE-zhuh.

I know that Iomedae is officially pronounced ahy-OH-meh-day. I don't care. I like ahy-AWE-mih-dee, and I'm sticking with it.

I once played with a Paladin who dumped his Intellegence. Instead of pronouncing Iomedae like either of your ways, he simply said "YOM-duh" or stuttered with it "ahy-Oh-memeem... ahy-me-day..." or even just simply said "Sword lady."

I had this exact same thing come up while I was GMing a week ago, and the table next to us asked us the same question, not having heard us talk about it. What's going on??

I personally prefer Va-RHEE-zhuh. Having a hiSSing sound in the middle of the word just doesn't strike me as apropos for the wandering types. And I prenounce Desna DeZZ-nuh.

In my campaign I've decided that people of Chelish descent tent to pronounce it Va-RISS-ee-uh, while native Varisians say Va-RHEE-zhuh.

I like this, as a compromise.

Rynjin wrote:

Adam Daigle wrote:

Varisia is pronounced (vah-RHIS-ee-ah). At least that's how we say it around the office.

Well that's just silly.

Still correct.

Some people purposefully mispronounce stuff all the time, and some even get openly upset when corrected, as they believe their pronunciation is better.

Each to their own I suppose.

Yep! And despite me being both crazy and silly, there are plenty of places here in our own world that have weird pronunciations—even when they are the same word. For example, in Manhattan there is a street named Houston that is pronounced HOUSE-ton which totally threw off a Texas boy like me who was pronouncing it like the city Houston (HYOOS-ton). Not to mention how folks in New Orleans pronounce the street named Burgundy.

Language is weird, but if at the end of the day you still convey your meaning it still works.

Yup. There's some wacky pronounciations in the real world. Growing up in New Hampshire, the town of Berlin is pronounced "BEHR-lin", Coos County is pronounced "COH-awse", and Worcester is pronounced "WHIST-er".

Vuh-riss-ee-uh sounds so much more pleasing to me for some reason. I've always pronounced it that way, as well as all my friends (then again, that's probably because they first heard it from me).

I'm happy to learn that's technically the correct pronunciation, because I'm the kind of guy who will switch the way I pronounce something if it's wrong, no matter what form I used before.