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So, the former leader of the Taldor faction and current leader of the Sovereign Court has what I consider a shibboleth of a name.
How, exactly, does one pronounce "Morilla". Does it rhyme with tortilla, or gorilla?
Consider: She is in fact of the conventional Taldan aristocracy, and as such her name should not be anomalous to the regular conventions of the Taldane language. As a reminder, Taldane is in fact the proper name for the "common tongue" in the Inner Sea.
So, this question is really about the flavor of Taldane/Common. Does it follow English sensibilities, or Latin/Romance? I think there are solid OOC reasons to assume English, yet equally solid IC reasons to assume Latin/Romance.
(this isn't in the faction talk forum because it's ultimately about much more than how to pronounce Lady Morilla's name. It arguably belongs in the Golarion setting forum, now that I think about it)
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Since the Taldan Empire is analogous to the Roman Empire (and follow-ons like the Holy Roman Empire) in Golarion, I like to use Italian as the basis for such pronunciation. In Italian, a double 'l' is pronounced as an emphasized 'l' and not a 'y' as in Spanish. Also, vowels really only have one sound associated with them, with 'o' being a long o, 'i' being a long e, and 'a' giving an 'ah' sound. Thus, Morilla would somewhat rhyme with gorilla, except for the accent on the second-to-last syllable and a trilled 'r'.
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 8
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Since the Taldan Empire is analogous to the Roman Empire (and follow-ons like the Holy Roman Empire) in Golarion, I like to use Italian as the basis for such pronunciation. In Italian, a double 'l' is pronounced as an emphasized 'l' and not a 'y' as in Spanish. Also, vowels really only have one sound associated with them, with 'o' being a long o, 'i' being a long e, and 'a' giving an 'ah' sound. Thus, Morilla would somewhat rhyme with gorilla, except for the accent on the second-to-last syllable and a trilled 'r'.
I personally see Taldor more as a post-colonial Britain.
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Its a pet peeve of mine when people pronounce Tortilla like Gorilla, Vanilla, and Godzilla.
However, I have both heard and prouncouned Morilla both as Tortilla and Gorilla, but never Goreeella or Fred.
That's it. Next table I have Andy at that she is referred to, she will be referred to as "Fred".
All Andy's fault, I swear!
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I usually pronounce it as "Mrs. Butt-chest," unless I need to refer to both Zarta Dralneen and her simultaneously. Then it's "the other Mrs. Butt-chest."
Such disrespect for the elders in the Pathfinder society! Yes, I know that neither Lady Dralneen nor Lady Morilla are technically Pathfinders, but more respect should be given.
I guess I know who I will be assigning to the next no-win scenario I have on my desk!
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I personally see Taldor more as a post-colonial Britain.
This is the kind of discussion I was hoping to see more of.
Personally, I'd peg the English/British to Cheliax (and House Thrune to the Lord Protectorship).
Taldor to me has a mishmash of Italian, Byzantine, and Spanish flavor. Probably Byzantine most of all thematically and politically, but I can't think of a single Greek-sounding Taldan name beyond Eutropia. So linguistically at least, I'm leaning towards Italian and/or Spanish conventions for the Taldan names.
The Taldane language is trickier for OOC reasons since it's essentially English because that's the first language for most Pathfinder players. The pronunciation of place names across the Inner Sea might start to get pretty weird if one insists on looking at them through a lens other than English.
