Many things in D&D are pronounced differently by different people
I'd always heard and assumed it was pronounced like "Tea-fling" but some people say it's pronounced as if spelled phonetically "Tie-fling".
I think the way I thought it was sounds better but then again that could be because it's what I'm used to.
how do you pronounce it?
and what about Tarrasque?
I always went for TEA-fling myself. I believe the word is derived from German, in which the second vowel of an adjacent pair normally carries the weight of pronunciation.
Tea-fling to rhyme with thieving little sonnuvab$%&*#s.
Also, auto-dah-fey.
Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
|
I think the syllable is broken up like such, actually:
TEEF - ling
In fact, if you say "teethling" in normal cadence, it should be almost impossible to tell the difference (unless you have a strange accent).
That's how I saw it.
And for the record, drow is pronounced like sow. ;-)
And for the record, drow is pronounced like sow.
Funny…that is how I pronounce Tiefling…all you little Drizzit wannabes.
|
I think the syllable is broken up like such, actually:
TEEF - ling
In fact, if you say "teethling" in normal cadence, it should be almost impossible to tell the difference (unless you have a strange accent).
That's how I saw it.
And for the record, drow is pronounced like sow. ;-)
Do drow sow wild oats?
TA-rask!
TEEF-ling!
I always thought it should be pronounced like Gambit from the old X-men cartoon said 'thief' in his Cajun accent 'teef'. Sounds better that way to me.
An while we're at it: Litch!
After some minutes of sitting here loudly talking to myself, I've decided that I actually do say TEEF-ling rather than TEA-fling, but it's a very fine distinction. In either case, the 'f' is an unvoiced aspirant that pretty much bridges the syllables in normal speech.
Apparently I do have a strong accent, because there is a distinct difference between 'tiefling' and 'teethling' when I say them. I am sure that there would be less distinction if I came from the South-East of England rather than the North-East and perhaps this would be the case with American accents in general as well, so it probably isn't a bad rule-of-thumb.
The one thing that I am absolutely certain of though, is that it's a good job I'm not typing this at work - my colleagues would almost certainly have responded to my vocal experiments by calling security long ago.
After some minutes of sitting here loudly talking to myself, I've decided that I actually do say TEEF-ling rather than TEA-fling, but it's a very fine distinction. In either case, the 'f' is an unvoiced aspirant that pretty much bridges the syllables in normal speech.
yeah I realized that I do too after my initial post and Sebastian mentioned it.
|
yeah I realized that I do too after my initial post and Sebastian mentioned it.After some minutes of sitting here loudly talking to myself, I've decided that I actually do say TEEF-ling rather than TEA-fling, but it's a very fine distinction. In either case, the 'f' is an unvoiced aspirant that pretty much bridges the syllables in normal speech.
I'd go with Teef-ling myself ...
And I will go to the grave saying Drow (sounds like GO, not sow)
And Acerak was a Lich (sounds like DITCH, not lick!)
It's a good thing I'm not opinionated!
And I will go to the grave saying Drow (sounds like GO, not sow)
I can honestly I've never heard anyone say "Drow" the way you say "grow" or "go".
funkyI think I knew one person who saod "lick" for lich, but well they just liked to be different
And Acerak was a Lich (sounds like DITCH, not lick!)
Amen brother!
The problem with 'sow' is that it could rhyme with 'now' (as in a female pig) or with 'go' (as in sowing seeds), so it's not particularly helpful as a pronunciation guide. Personally, I pronounce 'drow' to rhyme with 'now', cow' and 'bough'.
There's no real harm in people pronouncing various names (which are fictional after all) differently - plenty of real words get exactly the same treatment - just so long as your playing group knows what you mean. The only real danger of rhyming 'drow' with 'go' that I can think of is that it might be confused with a quick or slurred rendition of 'derro', but that's unlikely to happen if everyone is used to it (and they don't get as drunk as my group seem to routinely manage).
I agree totally about 'lich' rhyming with 'ditch' though.
Unquestionably, it rhymes with Thiefling.
As for the latter, I invite you to all use the simple mnemonic, "The drow coughs as he plows the tough dough."
I started typing my last several posts ago. I hate it when you go off to type a response, finally post it, and then find that everyone else has covered the issue and moved on....
|
|
Uh...you do realize that sow can be pronounced to rhyme with cow (a female pig is a sow) and with blow (you sow corn), right? Thus the winking face in my post.
And I will go to the grave saying Drow (sounds like GO, not sow)
I don't know what you call this exact phenomenon, but......it's
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN! ;)
Unquestionably, it rhymes with Thiefling.
As for the latter, I invite you to all use the simple mnemonic, "The drow coughs as he plows the tough dough."
Well I just hope that he was wearing a face mask, or I certainly shan't be buying his bread.
I know...all those drow, crammed together in those caves with no ventilation, and those Lolth clerics don't go around curing disease to be nice....it's a tuberculosis breeding factory.
And just think of all those fungal spores drifting around the Underdark. The average drow lung must be full of them. A cough or a sneeze at the wrong moment could leave you wishing for good, old-fashioned ergotism.
I don't know why (maybe too much Warhammer when I was 12) but I've always pronounced "Lich" as "lish". It was quite wierd to watch the D&D movie (nuff said...) and see them pronouncing it "litch".
Also, "Aasimar"... I always said "AZ-im-ar" but I recently heard it online pronounced "AYZ-im-ar".
Huh. Maybe it's just because I'm Australian.
I pronounce drow "disease vector."
The very next chance I get, I'm going to play a half-disease vector rogue. My character will break into butcher's shops, bakeries and taverns in the small hours of the morning and, instead of pilfering the strongbox, he'll push his grubby fingers into the food and snivel all over the preparation surfaces. A couple of days later, he'll be able to commit the most audacious crimes ever seen and no-one will be in a fit state to stop him. Even if anyone recovers sufficiently to catch him, they won't dare execute him in case his bloated, disease-ridden body explodes and fatally infects the whole town.
If only Charisma wasn't so important in 3.5....
I think the syllable is broken up like such, actually:
TEEF - ling
that's how i've always said it.
|
RPG Superstar 2011 Top 32
|
I thought it was an acronym for
Twin Ion Engine Fiends Luring In Neophyte Gamers
I'm pretty sure that's also known as breasts.
I must be a total aberration since I've always pronounced it Tef-ling. Yeah I know I'm the only one.
|
|
TIE-fling
LITCH (as in sonofa...)
DROW (rhymes with "cow")
ASS-i-MAR
That's how most people I know say it (though I knew one who said "drow" as if it rhymed with "row"). I do know also, that we mispronounce "melee" combat (saying "MEE-lee" instead of "meh-LAY"), so I wouldn't say it's the proper way.
Plus, considering we've got Canucks, Aussie, Kiwis, and Brits on this board with all you Yanks (and the States has many dialects on it's own), pronunciation isn't going to be consistent anyhow. (for the record, I may say "eh" all the time, but I've never asked what something is "aboot")
TEE-fling and Tar-ascii.
Tief means deep in German, so I've assumed they were critters from the underworld and pronounce it TEEF-ling.
Oh, and Drow is definitely pronounced like "bow," not "sow."
drow
now or know
definitly now
how now drown drow?
@ surprised no one has offered Throat Warbler Mangrove as a pronunciation.
Let's throw something new into the mix...
How about duergar?
I started off with DWARE-gar myself, but I'm now given to understand that DEW-er-gar is correct. Anyone else have thoughts or opinions?
How about duergar?
I started off with DWARE-gar myself, but I'm now given to understand that DEW-er-gar is correct.
I've always thought it was dew-er-gar myself. but your first inclination sounds believable too.
I remember a lot of these from when Diablo 2 came out. Had a friend who pronounced "shaman" like "SHAY-man"... but on the other hand, he got 'bardiche" right, compared to my "bar-di-shay".
Incidentally, the Dragon Compendium reprinted a pronunciation guide, and I'm surprised nobody's referred to it yet. "Lich" is listed as "litch, or lik". My personal favorite is that "Mephistopheles" is listed as "me-fis-TAF-e-leez". Mephisto FEEELIES! (It's my understanding that it's actually pronounced "mef-i-stof-olees".)
"Tiefling" is not listed.
EDIT: Huh. "Shaman" is listed as "SHAY-man, or SHA-man".