Pronunciation

Lady Eruwaedhiel · **Posted:** October 27th, 2010, 5:13 pm

I've had some people telling me that they have trouble pronouncing some of me names (alright, so 'people' is pretty much my mom, [White Raven] but *shrug*) Tell me how you would pronounce these names:

Iri
Sallemar
Laecla
Earis
Halian
Sonderen
Valia
Raechal
Cae'ach
Ciran
Calrogil

More to follow. Please put them in this format: Fairivel -- fair-IH-vel.
Thanks!

Rachel Newhouse · **Posted:** October 27th, 2010, 5:57 pm

I'm using ' to indicate long vowels, because I'm having trouble with my phonetic spelling today...

Iri - i'-rhe'
Sallemar - sahl-eh-mar
Laecla - la'-cluh
Earis - my fist inclination is to pronounce this air-es, but on more reflection it's probably ear-es
Halian - hah-le'an
Sonderen - sahn-der-en
Valia - vah-le'uh
Raechal - ra'-chahl (like "Rachel," with an "al")
Cae'ach - ce'-ahch (Like the letter "c," plus "ack!"

I'm biased with "Cea," becuse my sci-fi has a character with that name and I just say it like the letter "c.")
Ciran - ce'r-ahn (Almost like "Cyril")
Calrogil - cahl-ro'-jil

Hope that helps!

Airianna Valenshia · **Posted:** October 27th, 2010, 6:01 pm

Iri—I-ree
Sallemar—sahl-em-arh
Laecla—lay-clah
Earis--Ear-es
Halian—Halh-ian
Sonderen—Sohn-der-en
Valia—Val-ee-ah
Raechal—Ray-chell
Cae'ach—Kay-ack
Ciran—Seer-an
Calrogil—Calh-row-gill

Hope that helps E.

PrincessoftheKing · **Posted:** October 27th, 2010, 6:32 pm

I don't think they are hard to pronounce, but, then again, I might be pronouncing them wrong!

Iri - Ear-ee
Sallemar—sahl-eh-mar
Laecla—lay-ay-clah (I'm not exactly sure how to write how I pronounce this phonetically)
Earis--Ear-is
Halian—Halh-ian
Sonderen—Sohn-der-en
Valia—Val-ee-ah
Raechal—Ray-chell
Cae'ach—Kay-ack
Ciran—Seer-an
Calrogil—Calh-row-gill

Sorry I didn't place accents; I've never been good at that!

Evening L. Aspen · **Joined:** December 2nd, 2009, 11:01 pm **Posts:** 1461

Iri -> EER-i
Sallemar -> SAL-eh-mar
Laecla -> LAY-cluh
Earis -> ee-AR-is
Halian -> HAL-ee-an
Sonderen -> SON-der-en
Valia -> VAL-ee-uh
Raechal -> RAY-chal (hard ch, like chocolate.)
Cae'ach -> KAY-eck
Ciran -> KEE-ran or SEER-an
Calrogil -> cal-ro-gil (this one is rather tricky... I'm not sure where to place the accent.)

That's how I would pronounce them...

Melody Kondrael · **Joined:** March 27th, 2010, 2:47 pm **Posts:** 921

Iri -- EE-ree
Sallemar -- Saa-leh-mahr
Laecla -- LAY-cluh or LEYE-cluh (depends on my mood)
Earis -- EE-air-ihs
Halian -- HAY-lee-an
Sonderen -- Sun-DAIR-ehn
Valia -- VAA-lee uh
Raechal -- RAY-chuhl or REYE-chuhl ( chul as in Rachel. Yes, I have bad annunciation of vowels)
Cae'ach -- CEYE-ahch (ch as in Bach)
Ciran -- SEE-rahn or KEE-rahn (again, a mood thing)
Calrogil -- Kahl-ROH-geel

I use slightly Tolkien-elvish pronun...

Lady Eruwaedhiel · **Posted:** October 28th, 2010, 5:01 pm

Thanks guys! Interesting. A whole bunch of different input, and not one of you got them all right.

So, I'll post the target pronunciation, and you tell me how I can change it to fit that, OK?

Iri - EE-rie
Sallemar - say-YAY-marr
Laecla - LAY-kluh
Earis - ee-AHR-iss
Halian - HAY-lee-ann
Sonderen - sohn-DERR-en
Valia - VAA-lee uh
Raechal - RAY-kaal
Cae'ach - KAY-ock
Ciran - SEE-ran
Calrogil - KOWL-roh-GILL

Arias Mimetes · **Posted:** October 28th, 2010, 5:37 pm

Iri -- EAR-ee
Sallemar -- SAL-i-mar
Laecla -- LAY-cluh
Earis -- EAR-iss, or AIR-iss (not sure which...)
Halian -- HAY-lee-en
Sonderen -- son-der-in
Valia -- VALE-yuh
Raechal -- RAY-chul
Cae'ach -- catch, maybe? not sure...
Ciran -- SEAR-in
Calrogil -- CAL-ro-gill

Yes, I do pronounce things weird, and mostly emphasize the first syllable

You can usually ignore my pronunciation of things because it's a bit off sometimes.

Willow Wenial Mimetes · **Joined:** September 27th, 2009, 1:28 pm **Posts:** 1588

Ok. I didn't read the rest of the thread because i didn't want it to affect my pronounciation. LOL!

But I didn't think the names were overly difficult.

Iri--EER-ee
Sallemar--SAL-a-Mar
Laecla--LAY-kla
Earis--EYR-is
Halian--HAL-ian
Sonderen--Son-DER-an
Valia--va-LEE-a (YOU HAVE ONE OF THESE TOO?! LOL!

)
Raechal-- just like the English name "Rachel"
Cae'ach--KEY-ak (unless the apostrophe is a glottal stop. In which case I don't think I could pronounce it.

)
Ciran--KEER-an (although I could see it if you switched the stress.)
Calrogil--Kal-Ro-gil

Andrew Amnon Mimetes · **Joined:** May 14th, 2010, 4:43 am **Posts:** 4458

Raechal - RAY-kaal
Cae'ach - KAY-ock

These are the only two that didn't make immediate apparent sense to me. I mean, they did after I looked at them for a while, but for the average reader it might be confusing.

eruheran

Kiev Shawn · **Posted:** November 6th, 2010, 10:52 am

Raechal - RAH-kell
Cae'ach - KY-ahck

eruheran wrote:

These are the only two that didn't make immediate apparent sense to me. I mean, they did after I looked at them for a while, but for the average reader it might be confusing.

Same here. However, due to hearing a similar Spanish name and taking Latin, I have "wacky" pronunciation. Plus, I'm not too good at phonetic spelling, having never really taken phonics.

Andrew Amnon Mimetes · **Joined:** May 14th, 2010, 4:43 am **Posts:** 4458

I pronounced them the same way Shawn did...it looks like Lady Eruwaedhiel's original pronunciations are based off of German, though. =)

eruheran

Elanhil · **Posted:** November 6th, 2010, 11:35 pm

Pretty much the only two I got right were Iri and Sonderen. I guess Air-oo-WHY-thee-ell makes hard names to pronounce. (I looked that up on an elvish name translator)

Aemi · **Posted:** March 26th, 2011, 6:39 pm

Quote:

Raechal - RAY-kaal
Cae'ach - KAY-ock

I think Raechal looks too much like the name Rachael (which is pronounced RAY-chell). Not everyone is sure whether to say a hard 'k' sound, or a 'ch' sound.
And the "ach" in Cae'ach looks like it says ach, as in "achoo", or ack, as in black.

Constable Jaynin Mimetes · **Posted:** April 12th, 2011, 11:21 am

Iri - EE-rie
Well, that can go either way. I pronounced it I-ree; and stand corrected. :roll:

Sallemar - say-YAY-marr
Sayemar would get you one Y at least... I don't think anyone connects the double ll.

Laecla - LAY-kluh
This one is good. Another spelling would be Laycla. Essentially the same, perhaps simpler.

Earis - ee-AHR-iss
That's understandable.

Halian - HAY-lee-ann
Hm... tough one. Your current spelling runs the risks of the accent going on the second syllable and/or the first syllable being prounounced Hah instead of Hay. You could fix this one with a y too: Haylian, but that depends on how many ys you want to randomly stick into every name.

Sonderen - sohn-DERR-en
Only issue here is the accent (I want to place it on the first syllable), but that's survivable.

Valia - VAA-lee uh
That's perfect.

Raechal - RAY-kaal
I agree with everyone else. It's seen as a form of Rachel.
Raekaal - Raychael - Raekale - Raykale
Is it a boy or girl name, incidentally?

Cae'ach - KAY-ock
This is very gaelic.

Pronunciation works.

Ciran - SEE-ran
Close enough. Siran, Sirren, etc if you have a problem with people using a hard C.

Calrogil - KOWL-roh-GILL
The accents work on this one and the rest trails along begrudgingly. Overall this is the hardest name on your list. It's cumbersome, especially given that pronunciation.

A good thing to consider would be a pronunciation glossary. If you list the main characters before the book begins with how to pronounce them then no one has an excuse to say it wrong.

Lady Eruwaedhiel · **Posted:** April 12th, 2011, 4:11 pm

LOL Jaynin. Thanks, this is very helpful.

I'm one of those geeky readers who refer to the pronunciation guide to see if I'm doing it right, and if there isn't one I bemoan the lack of it.

I don't have a problem with Iri's name. It's short and isn't too much of a bother if someone mispronounces it. How would you say Irivel? (his full name.)

I may have to put a Y in Sallemar. That would work better than the double L, probably. Although I do have one character specify how to pronounce it. I'm just worried it will sound cheesy.

I wouldn't want to do that to poor Halian. Make his name sound like horse fodder... *shakes head* I'll run the risk. :rofl:

Oh. You had the emphasis on Sonderen right. The middle syllable is the only one that ISN'T accented. I'm a terrible muddle with those things. It should have read SOHN-derr-en or better yet SAWN-derr-en since the OH could be interpreted as the long O.

Valia is actually misspelled. :shock:

It's supposed to be VARIA. Oops. Would you say that the same way?

Hmph. Raechal is actually one of my favorite names. Incidentally it happens to be one of the hardest, eh? It's unisex; actually the name of a race. Raekaal would work nicely, but it would be such a bother to change it.

Hah! I'm glad you seem to think Cae'ach works. Everyone else has doubts. It's one of my favorite names too.

Calrogil is the name of a town. Can you tell me how you would have pronounced it? It didn't seem cumbersome to me.

I love your analyses, by the way.

As soon as I can dig up another boatload of names, I'll throw 'em out.

Constable Jaynin Mimetes · **Posted:** April 14th, 2011, 2:34 pm

I've always wondered about Iriviel. I'd put the accent on the second syllable so: eer-IH-vee-ehl. I'm not good at phonetic spellings but I think that's close.

If you have a character who needs help with Sallemer than your readers will have that pronunciation ingrained in their brain. It's just best if you specify right when the character is introduced, rather than after the reader already has a mental pronunciation they're accustomed too.

Valia has an A like in Apple. VAA-lia. Varia has an A like in Father. VAH-lia. Otherwise I'd say they're exactly the same, and spelled perfectly normal. The reason for the vowel difference is the difference between how you say L and R. You could say Varia like Very-ah but it doesn't flow as well.

Hm. I'd advise going with Raekaal. Changing it isn't that hard, just use the search and replace feature. :rofl:

However, if you want Raechal and have a pronunciation guide than I think it's a reader's responsibility to make sure they know it's a hard ck sound, not ch. It's a bit German too. I remember the first time I saw the word "Rache" I pronounced it like Rachel, and then found out it was a hard Ck sound. So you're in the same boat with the Germans.

Incidentally, that means anyone with enough education to recognize "Rache" will probably prounounce "Raechal" the same way. If it's the name of a race it should be a little more apparent that it's not a form of Rachel. :roll:

Calrogil
CAL-roe-gill

Short a, long o, short i. Accent on the first syllable. If it's just a town, and it's not used a lot, it doesn't really matter what it sounds like. Part of the key to long cumbersome names is how often the reader has to encounter it.

Anyway, glad I could be of help!

Aemi · **Posted:** January 5th, 2012, 3:00 pm

Did you end up changing any spelling, Lady E?

Lady Eruwaedhiel · **Posted:** January 5th, 2012, 11:24 pm

I actually haven't given it a thought since I last posted on this topic. I completely forgot about this.

Umm. Well, now that I think about it, no. At least not yet. That's another thing I need to ask my draft readers about; thanks for reminding me!

Vanya Katerina Jaynin wrote:

I've always wondered about Iriviel. I'd put the accent on the second syllable so: eer-IH-vee-ehl. I'm not good at phonetic spellings but I think that's close.

You're putting an extra syllable in. I say it EER-ih-vell.

Vanya Katerina Jaynin wrote:

Hm. I'd advise going with Raekaal. Changing it isn't that hard, just use the search and replace feature.

However, if you want Raechal and have a pronunciation guide than I think it's a reader's responsibility to make sure they know it's a hard ck sound, not ch. It's a bit German too. I remember the first time I saw the word "Rache" I pronounced it like Rachel, and then found out it was a hard Ck sound. So you're in the same boat with the Germans.

*chews lower lip in consternation* You say it's not that difficult to change it, but you're working with the experience you have - that is, keeping all of the story in one document. I have it scattered out divided by different perspectives in over 20 documents.

I'd like to keep it all in one doc, but it would kill my computer. I'll think about changing it. Raykaal is a possibility, but I think ultimately it will go in as it is.

Vanya Katerina Jaynin wrote:

Calrogil
CAL-roe-gill

Short a, long o, short i. Accent on the first syllable. If it's just a town, and it's not used a lot, it doesn't really matter what it sounds like. Part of the key to long cumbersome names is how often the reader has to encounter it.

I think it's used three times in 200,000 words. So I don't think I'll have to worry about it.

How's about a few more names, now that I have rediscovered the topic?

Elchion
Yriae
Anra
Vytorin
Arunic
Natisha
Ashrivel
Cereth
Vestia
Rali

Aemi · **Posted:** January 6th, 2012, 2:54 pm

Elchion: EL-kee-on

Yriae: ya-REE-ay

Anra: ANN-ruh

Vytorin: vie-TOR-in

Arunic: uh-RUNE-ik

Natisha: na-TEESH-a

Ashrivel: ASH-rih-vell

Cereth: SIR-eth

Vestia: VES-tee-uh

Rali: RAH-lee

Seabird Mimetes · **Posted:** January 12th, 2012, 9:49 pm

Elchion: El-she-on
Yriae: why-ray
Anra: Yea... an-ra Pretty much sums it up. *shrugs*
Vytorin: Vy-tore-in
Arunic: A-roon-ick
Natisha: Nat-ish-ha
Cereth: Ser-eth
Vestia: Sounds as it is spelled
Rali: Sounds as it is spelled

The Glitter Spreader · **Posted:** April 1st, 2012, 12:15 pm

For being a party day, we could be glitterier... ::Quickly fixes::

Celestria · **Posted:** April 1st, 2012, 12:30 pm

Glitter? No thanks. Dragonriders detest glitter. Plus, it gets in the dragons lungs or something. You know what cats look like hacking up a hairball right? Imagine that, only with fire involved. Not pleasant

Airianna Valenshia · **Posted:** April 2nd, 2012, 4:49 pm

*laughs hysterically at that thought *

Wow… that gave me an idea for my book, Celestria!!!

Aragorn · **Joined:** September 23rd, 2010, 3:42 pm **Posts:** 9085

Airianna Mimetes wrote:

Wow… that gave me an idea for my book, Celestria!!!

That will be interesting.

Lady Elanor · **Posted:** April 4th, 2012, 4:22 am

*Chuckles* I agree, Jon.

Suiauthon Mimetes · **Posted:** April 6th, 2012, 1:05 am

Jonathan Garner wrote:

Airianna Mimetes wrote:

Wow… that gave me an idea for my book, Celestria!!!

That will be interesting.

Indeed.

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