Chire, as in 'ch' + 'ire.'
Because THIS. IS. ENGLISH!!!
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
As far as I can tell, the schir demon is unique to Pathfinder. As such, pronounce it "Throatwarbler-mangrove" if you like.
I would say skeer.
Mostly because if you said "shir" it would make me think of shirred eggs.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
How about this, Pronounce it the way YOU think it sounds. Don't spend all day worrying about it. I saw all these fantastic names that the GM kept asking for help on in the Second darkness game (still is) and I say and I just say fudge it. If people say you are wrong, tell them that you are GM today and now this monster has a new name.
Don't make it a big headache. Enjoy.
I'm not sure where that demon originated*. I don't think it is from folklore so I'm not sure what the designer intended. The first time I saw it was in the Legacy of Fire AP.
I've seen some sources use schirim for plural which suggest a Hebrew pronunciation which I think would be shIHr like (sure). here.
Might also be Old English and likely same pronunciation as SC is pronounced SH.
(I wonder if that's why some British folks pronounce schedule as shed-ule...)
Disclaimer: I am not a linguist.
* I looked it up in AP #19 and Erik Mona references Book of Fiends by Green Ronin which he is credited in as well- he may have even been the designer.
|
Following the rules of English, "chire" is the least-accurate pronunciation possible. No English word beginning with "sch" is pronounced "ch", and an "e" at the end would be required for the "ire" sound in the absence of any preceding vowels.
The notion that it can be pronounced any way you want doesn't make a whole lot of sense either. Even if it is an author's invention he or she clearly had a specific notion in mind of the name he wanted and the pronunciation thereof, else every invented name would simply be a blank followed by "make up whatever name you want".
I didn't spend all day worrying about it. It was just a simple question that occurred to me while reading "The Wardstone patrol" and Siege of the Diamond City". I'd never come across them before. Not every question one asks is an indication of an obsession.
My first instinct was "sheer" and, in the absence of any official contradictory information, I'll go with that.
Sheer sounds right to me as well, but skeer isn't too bad either.
Sheer RINGS better.
I have pronounced it Sheer. But I am notoriously wrong in my pronunciations.
