100
votes
Accepted
How to pronounce Fritz Leiber's name?
In this videotaped interview the interviewer initially mispronounces Fritz Leiber's name as LEE-ber (rhyming with Bieber) but Leiber corrects him,
"My name is LYE-ber" [rhyming with cyber].
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52
votes
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What is the correct pronunciation of Hermione?
JKR pronounces it exactly as it's pronounced in the films
and from the FAQ on JKR's old website (along with a handy guide for how to remember it)
Q. How do you ...
- 614k
40
votes
Accepted
Is there any guidance on how to pronounce "Da5id" from Snow Crash?
In the Jonathan Davis-narrated audiobook, the consistent pronunciation is David ('deɪ-vɪd').
Obviously the choice of a l33t name (e.g. replacing one or more characters for a number) is intended to ...
- 614k
34
votes
Accepted
How was the pronunciation of Data decided?
Patrick Stewart crystallized the pronunciation during the first script reading
I'm at the Star Trek 50th Anniversary Celebration in Las Vegas right now. Brent Spiner just revealed the answer to this ...
- 109k
28
votes
AT-AT pronunciation
"At-At", according to LucasFilm.
Joseph Lin, a journalist at Time Magazine, asked LucasFilm this very question. They responded that the official pronunciation rhymes with "hat-hat".
http://techland....
- 109k
27
votes
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How do you pronounce Thorin II Oakenshield?
The second way. Thorin Oakenshield is not the second "Thorin Oakenshield". Oakenshield is a nickname which applies only to him and not to his ancestor Thorin I. So the correct way to render it is "...
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25
votes
Accepted
Are there any in-book clues that the T in "Voldemort" is silent, and why did the movies choose to pronounce the T?
It's because most Americans don't speak French:
In an exchange with a fan on Twitter, author JK Rowling confirmed that
the 't' in Voldemort is actually silent, contrary to its pronunciation
in the ...
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23
votes
Is there any guidance on how to pronounce "Da5id" from Snow Crash?
Disclaimer: I haven't read the books so this is just a guess.
Since 5 is V in Roman numerals, I'm guessing "David".
23
votes
Accepted
Why do the Ferengi pronounce "human" the way they do?
Okay, I believe I found confirmation that the Ferengi pronunciation of "human" is meant as an insult, not a side-effect of their physiology.
In DS9 4x08, Little Green Men, Quark pronounces "human" ...
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23
votes
AT-AT pronunciation
Both are correct
According to Dave Filoni, producer of Star Wars Rebels and former director of the Clone Wars the answer is both.
In an interview during Star Wars Celebration 2016 he says:
I say ...
- 331
17
votes
What is the correct pronunciation of Hermione?
A phonetic pronunciation of her name is given in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Ron says her name while his mouth is full of food, and it is rendered as four syllables.
‘Oh, c’mon, ’Er-my-...
- 86k
15
votes
Accepted
Are all "C" words pronounced with a hard "K" or just Elven ones?
In the invented languages, "C" is always hard
There's a note near the end of the first part of Appendix E which clarifies this:
In names drawn from other languages than Eldarin the same ...
- 158k
13
votes
Accepted
How do you pronounce Aeron Damphair?
Here's what westeros.org said about it:
Aeron: — ['ɛəɹən] air-ən, like Aaron
Damphair: GRRM & John Lee pronounce it as ['dæmphɛəɹ] damp-hair while Roy Dotrice pronounces it as ['...
- 7,975
13
votes
Accepted
What's the pronunciation of the word Goa'uld from SG1?
I'm not a phonetician1, so this is going to be a very amateurish answer from a phonetics perspective.
Different characters on the show typically used one of two pronunciations2:
go-aah-oold, ...
- 158k
12
votes
Accepted
How do you pronounce planet Ix?
It's pronounced as written. Ixian = "ick-see-ann"
You can hear a clip of Frank Herbert reading from God Emperor of Dune to get a pronunciation guide
In-universe, ...
- 614k
12
votes
Is there an official pronunciation of the name "Jadis" from CS Lewis?
In case it helps someone, she bears the very same name - same writing at least - in the French edition of the book.
It happens that Jadis is a French name meaning "a - very - long time ago".
It ...
- 1,224
12
votes
Accepted
How are you supposed to pronounce the name "Hiero" from "Hiero's Journey"?
"Hee-eh-ro" (probably).
The Appendix N book club added Hiero's Journey to their list of must-read authors in 2017. As part of their research they evidently spoke to several of Lanier's ...
- 614k
11
votes
Accepted
How to pronounce Mos Eisley?
Just listen to Obi-Wan:
Let's say it together now: "moss ice-zlee".
- 109k
10
votes
How to pronounce Mos Eisley?
moss i-sszlee
Visit Wookieepedia:
Mos Eisley (pronounced /mɑs aɪzliː/, moss izelee,
And here's a sound clip of the pronunciation, also from Wookieepedia.
To me it sounds more like 'moss i-...
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9
votes
Accepted
What is the correct pronunciation of "Shannara"?
The Word of God answer (from a recent Reddit AMA) is that it's pronounced 'shanner-ruh' (ʃănărŭ) with the harder accent on the last syllable.
Questioner : I know, now, that the correct ...
- 614k
9
votes
How is the 'o' in Tuvok pronounced?
The pronunciation of Tuvok corresponds to the way Spock is pronounced.
- 186
9
votes
Accepted
How is Kamala Khan's name pronounced?
The co-creator of the new Ms. Marvel (Sana Amanat) says her name in this interview. It's as you would expect it to be pronounced; Ca-mah-laa
The character's other co-...
- 614k
9
votes
How does one pronounce "Asshai"?
In audiobooks, Asshai is pronounced as ASH-eye or a-SHY, depending on the narrator's accent.
In the HBO's show Game of Thrones, it is pronounced as uh-SHY.
For your reference, you may check these ...
- 447
8
votes
How do you pronounce Aeron Damphair?
Unlike Tolkien, George RR Martin doesn't provide elaborate pronunciation guides for his characters' names. So there may not be a fully canonical answer.
That said, "aer" seems to represent a sound ...
- 36.3k
8
votes
Accepted
How would you pronounce the name "Sidheag"
According to the author's website
Sidheag ~ SHEE-ak alternatively pronounced SIDH-hey, just to make
matters confusing. (Again, chosen for its meaning, all the pack names
are.)
The word itself ...
- 614k
8
votes
How is the 'o' in Tuvok pronounced?
"Like the o in clock" is correct.
Listen to how differently the British and American accents make it sound - the crew of Voyager have American accents, so make it sound like an "a" to those used to a ...
- 2,468
8
votes
Accepted
How is the 'o' in Tuvok pronounced?
Your use of 'mate' suggests you speak a British- or British-descended English. I'll proceed on that assumption.
Have a look at this list of Lexical Sets for UK and US English, in particular the LOT ...
- 1,563
8
votes
Accepted
How do you pronounce the name "Kahlan"?
The author pronounces it (depending on his mood) as Kay-linn or Kay-lenn.
Kay-lenn
Kay-Linn (in this interview he corrects the interviewer and explicitly confirms ...
- 614k
8
votes
Accepted
Pronunciation of 'Teixcalaan'
This is what the author says:
Teyks-kah-lan. First vowel is the sound in 'hey', second vowel is the
'a' in 'father', third vowel is the 'a' in 'sample'.
This is not as precise as rendering it in IPA,...
- 43.3k
7
votes
What is the correct pronunciation of Hermione?
Hermione is a real name, taken from ancient Greek and along with other classical names was fairly common in English speaking countries around the turn of the 19th century, much like Penelope (still ...
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Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible