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My wonderful DM and his wife, a player in our game, have a penchant for pronouncing various words in the DnD vernacular in unexpected ways. After sitting quietly confused for five minutes listening to him repeatedly say "Buh-Starred" sword , I asked what the hell he meant. He was referring to a bastard sword my PC had found and stated that "Buh-Starred" was the original pronunciation. They also say "Leak" for Lich. That was confusing as well as my Barbarian looked for the BBEG that was, in actuality, a long green onion. They are both MUCH more experienced players than I and bright individuals so I readily accept their explanations for the origins of their pronunciations. But now its got me to thinking...what else am I going to mispronounce, adding to my embarrassment. We have been playing together for about a year now and I am loving it, but before then, I was amassing books and Dungeon Mags without fellow players to learn from. Whatever...so my question is this...what are some commonly mispronounced monster names, races, etc and what is the correct pronunciation.
Me first..Githyanki..is it "Yanki" like Yankee or Yahn-kee (sounds like "Yanni" the flutist or whatever he plays).
By the way, I have informed my DM and his wonderful wife that I just can't say "Leak" for Lich (sounds like "itch"). The latter just sounds so much more creepy.
Here's some I've heard pronounced badly.
Wyvern - pronounced "Y"-vern (wrongly pronounced Wiv [like "with"]-ern)
Chimera - prounounced Ki (like kite) - mer (like MER-maid) - uh (like, "duh")
I had a player that called a Scimitar a Ski (like "skid") - mitar. He also referred to a litch (like itch) as a leak. (I've always pronounced like "itch")
I thought in Old English it was more like "lick", not "leak," with the "ch" being a Scottish/German type throat noise. It sounds kinda cool if you say it like that. But screw it, I say "litch." Words change. Sword used to be prounouced "sward" not "sord." There is such a thing as too much accuracy.
Have you never heard a Hall & Oates song?
You're a litch girl
And you've gone to far
but you know it don't matter anyway
You can rely on your necromancy
You can rely on your necrofancy...
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He was referring to a bastard sword my PC had found and stated that "Buh-Starred" was the original pronunciation.
Your pronunciation is standard in American English. Modern Standard British English (RP) would be something like "Baahst'd". Early Modern English was so variable in pronunciation that I expect you could find nearly any plausible pronunciation in use somewhere.
They also say "Leak" for Lich.
"Lich" seems to be an old spelling for "Lych", which is pronounced "Litch". It comes from an OE word shown in the dictionary I have with me as "Lic", which I think was pronounced something like "Litch" or "Leetch". My OE is effectively non-existent, though, so you needn't trust that.
They are both MUCH more experienced players than I and bright individuals so I readily accept their explanations for the origins of their pronunciations.
They might be more experienced players than I am (see the Old Gamers thread), but they're certainly not much more experienced than I am. I've never heard either of those pronunciations when playing in Germany, Missouri, Wyoming, Colorado, California, or Hawaii. Nor did I ever hear either pronunciation when I worked in the game industry. (For whatever any of that is worth.)
Me first..Githyanki..is it "Yanki" like Yankee or Yahn-kee (sounds like "Yanni" the flutist or whatever he plays).
I use "Yahnkee", because it is something of a default pronunciation of those characters in several different languages and some forms of English. I certainly wouldn't be offended if you say them differently.
By the way, I have informed my DM and his wonderful wife that I just can't say "Leak" for Lich (sounds like "itch"). The latter just sounds so much more creepy.
Tell them that as a barbarian it would be entirely out of character to use their effete and affected pronunciations. And that you expect extra experience for playing in character. 8-)
Good one! I knew you could scent out wordplay and come to the rescue.
Ith dith canine nose o' mine, bawth. :)
I usually don't say DnD words any differently then my friends, but we could be mispronouncing. Anyway, here are a few that might be mispronounced often enough.
Lich:(L-itch) I couldn't think of calling it a Leak "O.k. so you cleave the Leak in half, now time to put them in the stew...make sure to let them boil for a while."
Couatl:(Co-uh-tool) One of the monsters in Monster Manual I, it's a pretty strong creature, and my friends and I have always pronounced it as what was typed above.
Svirfneblin:(Ss-vir-neb-lin) I'm not completley sure how to pronounce it, but it is a sub-race gnome from the MM, and it is basically the deep gnomes/underground like race of it.
Scimitar: (Sim-a-tar) I know this seems like a dumb one, but I know so many people who say skim-a-tar, and it annoys the heck out of me.
Githyanki: (Gith-Yank-E) A rather famous monster from the MM.
Githzerai: (Gith-Z-R-A) This one I'm not sure about when it comes to pronunciation but it's the other famous monster from the MM, who inevitably must fight the Githyankis.
Formian: (Form-E-N) Ant like creatures from the MM, not too hard to pronounce.
Ettercap: (Et-err-cap) Weird aberration in the MM, not a very tough creature but can be used to make some big baddies, especially with their web attack, and poison.
Drow: (Dr-oww) I'm pretty sure no one here mispronounces this, but I know some one of pronounces it Dr-O, and it sounds kind of stupid when I heard it said like that.
Duergar: (Dur-gur) I may be mispronouncing it, but either way the same person in my class pronouncing Drow wrongly, mispronounces this all the same, sigh*
Lemure: (Lem-yer) The weakest devil out there, and one of my personal favorites! Hehehe, little goo monster...
Nalfeshnee: (Nal-fesh-knee) A rather strong demon.
Marilith: (Mar-ill-ith) Other then the Balor, the toughest demon out there.
Bebilith: (Beb-ill-ith) One of my favorite demons, rather strong, and really cool looking.
I'm sure there are more out there, but that is how I say these and what'not. I hope this will spark up some conversations, maybe about how everyone says them, anyway, that's all I have at the time.
Sir Smashes Alot
I usually don't say DnD words any differently then my friends, but we could be mispronouncing. Anyway, here are a few that might be mispronounced often enough.
I pronounce couatl (ko-a-tl) like the god Quetzalcoatl. (which said fast sounds just like your pronunciation really)
Scimitar I say an e sound in the middle. It's subtle but it gives it a nicer roll.
Githzerai I pronounce like samurai.
Dems my only differences.
Drow: (Dr-oww) I'm pretty sure no one here mispronounces this, but I know some one of pronounces it Dr-O, and it sounds kind of stupid when I heard it said like that.
I say Dro. Someone should really ask Gary Gygax about this one, it's an eternal mystery that only he can solve.
Drow: (Dr-oww) I'm pretty sure no one here mispronounces this, but I know some one of pronounces it Dr-O, and it sounds kind of stupid when I heard it said like that.I say Dro. Someone should really ask Gary Gygax about this one, it's an eternal mystery that only he can solve.
Dro is what people call hydroponically grown weed here in the states.
Bow before the drow.
Couatl:(Co-uh-tool)
Couatl: (Coo-ah-til)
Duergar: (Dur-gur)
Duergar: (Dwair-gahr)
Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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I say Dro. Someone should really ask Gary Gygax about this one, it's an eternal mystery that only he can solve.
Pretty sure it's been resolved many times in the past. The most recent is in the Drow of the Underdark book which came out this month.
See: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/iw/20070308a
Have you noticed that drow are popular? It's hard to miss. Though it is kinda hard to understand why it has taken so long to produce a book dedicated to just those lovable, cuddly dark elves. Regardless, at last, we've got 224 pages of hardcover information that delves deep under the earth and into the culture of one of the most-popular races (PC and NPC) in the game. (By the way, drow is pronounced like "how," "now," and "cow." Not like "crow.") I've not gotten to sully my hands with this detailed glimpse into the pitch-black realm of the drow, but I did manage to dig up the back cover text:
DAMMIT!
Bow before the drow.
LOL! Is that Bow or Bow? More importantly, is it deliberate? If so I Bow before the master. If not, I hastily draw my Bow and shoot, jealous that your can be so funny and still be naive.
DD
While it's true my missing word is naive, I did mean bow as in ow, you shot my missing word with an arrow. ;)
BTW, seeing Durand-Durand made me look up Barbarella on IMDB to check something, and I'm so glad I did. I've been telling people my mom shagged Durand-Durand from that movie, but it was Pygar, the angel man, the same guy who played Sinbad in Golden Voyage of Sinbad! Go mom!
I once argued that drow rhymes with sow to the same effect.
While it's true my missing word is naive, I did mean bow as in ow, you shot my missing word with an arrow. ;)
Perfect example of where I went wrong. Exact same ambiguity.
I was hoping the cliche of bow before me would override the brilliant lexicons of all you Paizonians, alas... yer all too smart to be educated. I know I am be.
Couatl:(Co-uh-tool)Reminds me of the best PC names I've ever come across on the World Wide Inter-Web. They may be apocryphal (and my spelling is atrocious), but a Aztec/Maya themed game had a thief called Filchaqoupaketl, basically "Filtch-a-copper-kettle", and a cleric named Fixaqoupacouaco, clearly "Fix-a-cup-of-cocoa". I got a good laugh out of them, some twenty years ago on a gaming BBS.
DD
Those are fun and clever. Very nice.
I think Pygar would probably be considered a much better choice. Go your Mom!
Oh yes indeed. <:} A muuuuuch better choice.
That women could call a shot, I tell you what.
BTW, seeing Durand-Durand made me look up Barbarella on IMDB to check something, and I'm so glad I did. I've been telling people my mom shagged Durand-Durand from that movie, but it was Pygar, the angel man, the same guy who played Sinbad in Golden Voyage of Sinbad! Go mom!
A few years ago I remembered my mum telling me when I was a kid that Helena Bonham Carter was her second cousin. Whenever I was at a party and there was an opening, I was able to tell people my distant aunt was the chick from Fight Club. Everything was going well until I mentioned it in front of mum one day and she said "what? Not Helena Bonham Carter you dimwit, Angela Punch Macgregor!"
I had to go around retracting the rumour, which usually went like this:
Me: So yeah, it was actually Angela Punch Macgregor, not HBC.
Friend(looking confused and unimpressed): Who? So what... you lied?
Me: No no no, I was just wrong. There's a difference. Geez!
So instead of being related to a famous actress of the edgier variety, I'm related to a little known Ausralian actress from the 1970s who was famous for frequently getting naked on stage and TV. So... wahey! I guess.
What a great name! Angela Punch Macgregor. Televised nudity? Good for her!
Interesting thread. I have seen more than a few romanizations, and they all have symbols for syllable emphasis. So what gives, which syllable of Githyanki do you emphasize is it GITHyanki or githYANki (most likely) or...? Or did I miss that?
Also, with everyone speaking "common" it seems to me, and someone made this comment about middle English, that there must be a stinkload of dialects of common in any campaign. Some guy in Greyhawk might fear the litch, while a guy in Keoland trembles at the mighty power of the Lik...
It just sounds so stupid. DM: A Lik walks slowly and deliberately toward you, chanting, presumably preparing a spell. Player: A lick? Okay we're gonna lick this busturd.
for you ignorant saps
its GithYahnkee not gith Yankee
its gith zer aaheeeii not gith zer aaah
its simitar not skimitar
its kaimerrah not chimera
Oh Vicna is Veeesnah
not Vikna.
oh one more
its dro not draauuw
Oh and my sister alway found her blanket c$#$able
Why doesn't everyone use a different phonetic alphabet? That will settle the differences.
Not.
Okay, in my own defense, I have to say the pronunciation of lich is kind of optional. As in, I lost the argument about 5 years ago when it suddenly occurred to me that I should just humor the DM because, well not only could he do miserable things to my character, but I have to live with this guy and there many other more important things to argue about. Yes, the super powerful undead that you're supposed to fear comes with an annoying connotation of either a plumbing problem or a root vegetable, but we all know what he means now, so let's just move on. : )
Oh, and according to my dictionary, wyvern can be pronounced with either a long i sound or a short i sound. Just a thought.
Not.How do you pronounce that?
rhymes with tot.
oh one more
its dro not draauuwIgnorat, yes, but technically correct.
The drow (pronounced /draʊ/, rhymes with "now"; see A Grand Tour of the Reams, published by TSR) or dark elves are a generally evil, dark-skinned subrace of elves in Dungeons & Dragons fantasy.[Edit] Sorry about the extended ascii not working. Have a link instead.[/edit]
We have an official ruling.
;P
DD
Yeah so how do you pronounce wikipedia?
Not.How do you pronounce that?
I'm trying to get a ruling on that from the limey at the desk next to me but he's quarreling with a yankee and a polyglot kiwi about the pronunciation of bastard.
Nobody ever listens to the yankee because he's from Kentucky and speaks only one language. He's getting a little offended. Which begs the question, what do you call a Drow from Arkansas?
Their quarrel began when I showed them this thread--they are suddenly interested in my peculiar hobby.
KA (a Canadian)
School of Foreign Languages
Harbin Institute of Technology
China
Tolkien shall one day be deified. Were he to answer these questions all would obey.
Tolkien shall one day be deified. Were he to answer these questions all would obey.
Phonetically,
LITCH
So it is said, so it is done.