101 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].
user14111's user avatar
  • 159k
68 votes
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In Wyndham's "Confidence Trick", a sign at an Underground station in Hell is misread as "Something Avenue". What should it be?

One assumes that it said Avernus, which is Latin for "Hell"
Valorum's user avatar
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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 ...
Valorum's user avatar
  • 676k
34 votes
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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 ...
Praxis's user avatar
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33 votes
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In "Pandora's Box", Heinlein says "odd genre" is a pun. How is it a pun?

This appears to be a science-fiction writer in-joke. The same pun was called out by editor James E. Gunn in his autobiography as having been made by Forrest Ackerman a decade earlier. I took the ...
Valorum's user avatar
  • 676k
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....
Praxis's user avatar
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25 votes
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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 ...
Dosco Jones's user avatar
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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 ...
n9Mtq4's user avatar
  • 331
22 votes
Accepted

How to Pronounce Elanor?

You can hear Christopher Tolkien saying "Elanor" in a recording of him reading the final passage of The Lord of the Rings. He gives the three syllables about equal emphasis, but I think the ...
alexg's user avatar
  • 4,134
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-...
Buzz's user avatar
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17 votes
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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 ...
Jason Baker's user avatar
13 votes
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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, ...
Jason Baker's user avatar
12 votes
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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, ...
Valorum's user avatar
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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 ...
Sarkouille's user avatar
  • 1,224
12 votes
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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 ...
Valorum's user avatar
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10 votes
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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,...
Clara Diaz Sanchez's user avatar
9 votes
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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 ...
AakashM's user avatar
  • 2,188
9 votes

How is the 'o' in Tuvok pronounced?

The pronunciation of Tuvok corresponds to the way Spock is pronounced.
Sareesataka's user avatar
9 votes
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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-...
Valorum's user avatar
  • 676k
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 ...
mikeRodz's user avatar
  • 457
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 ...
Adeptus's user avatar
  • 2,478
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 ...
Valorum's user avatar
  • 676k
8 votes
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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 ...
Valorum's user avatar
  • 676k
7 votes

Which names (besides for Voldemort) do the movies pronounce wrong?

With what little I know about the French language, I know that Beauxbatons should be bo-ba-to (French). Despite failing at French, they got the Celtic names pretty well. I was actually surprised when ...
DieFlederMaus's user avatar
7 votes

How to pronounce Ayesha?

Quoting from the Wikipedia page for the first sequel: In the introduction, Sir H. Rider Haggard links the name Ayesha to Muhammad's wives, and the Arabic name (Arabic: عائشة, ʻĀʼishah, pronounced [...
alexwlchan's user avatar
  • 102k
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 ...
Chris Johns's user avatar
  • 3,198
7 votes

How does one pronounce "Asshai"?

Consult with the following table: Source IPA Pronunciation HBO [ə'ʃaɪ] ə-shy Roy Dotrice (Audio books narrator) [a'ʃaɪ] a-shy John Lee (Audio book narrator for AFFC) ['aʃaɪ] ash-eye You can refer ...
Aegon's user avatar
  • 48.3k
6 votes

Pronunciation of "Teatime"

The pronunciation in the Nigel Planer audiobook is pretty much as written in the text, with short hard syllables, and the 2nd and 4th syllables stressed. https://vocaroo.com/i/s022ncicq2Wx Note that ...
Valorum's user avatar
  • 676k
5 votes
Accepted

Why does pronunciation of spells matter?

Yes pronunciation maters. “STUBEFY !” Neville shouted again, pointing his wand at each Death Eater in turn, “STUBEFY ! STUBE —” At this point we know neville is competent enough to use stupefy ...
Himarm's user avatar
  • 66k
5 votes

Why does pronunciation of spells matter?

As I see it (this is just my interpretation as a reader), mastering spells seems to have levels. Much like Beginner, Novice, Advanced, Legendry, etc: Beginner level: Beginner stage. Mostly the first,...
Dawny33's user avatar
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