How to pronounce Aes Sedai?

[black-cloakedstranger]

How exactly do we pronounce Aes Sedai? I feel like a newbie asking this, but my sister and I never quite agree. I know in the glossary in the back of the books it says to pronounce it Eye sehd-eye, and my sister says Eye sehd-ay (as in hay). Also, is there any special emphasis in Aes Sedai? Whenever I say it, I seem to have an emphasis on the "-ai" part. I don't know why I do this.

 

and on an off topic note, today I just finished The Dragon Reborn for my first time! Now on to The Shadow Rising!

[mb]

I think it does not matter much how it is pronounced.

I pronounce it like EZ SE-DIE.

 

[Roxinos]

You do realize there is a glossary in the back of the books that tell you how to pronounce things.

 

To suggest it isn't important is to ignore the fact that Jordan always corrected people's pronunciation. He even went so far as to preface his speeches in public with a quick overview on how to pronounce various names and such.

 

Saying that: Aes Sedai is pronounced EYES Seh-die.

 

Eyes as in what you see with. Pronouncing the S at the end with a "z" sound.

[Gentled Ben]

If you go to the encyclopedia here: http://www.encyclopaedia-wot.org/

then use the index to locate the topic of Aes Sedai, you will find a link to an audio file with the pronunciation right at the top left above the first paragraph of information. It is the speaker icon.  :)

[black-cloakedstranger]

You do realize there is a glossary in the back of the books that tell you how to pronounce things.

 

Yes, I know. I stated so in my first post.

 

 

Thanks, Gentled Ben, for the link!

 

 

[Kadere]

Beware major spoilers using encyclopaedia-wot.org, seeing as this is apparently your first time reading the series. The site is RIDDLED with them. Unless you're fine with that sort of thing. Just stay clear of the footnotes on the chapters. Encyclopaedia-wot really is the BEST source of all WoT information.

[Roxinos]

Yes, I know. I stated so in my first post.

 

Wow, I'm sorry. I totally glossed right over that part when I read your post.

 

*nod nod*

 

If you're aware of the glossary and the way it tells you to pronounce Aes Sedai, where is the debate?

[cosmicpanda]

Your problem, Rox, is that you are always wanting a fight. Hence all our chess games.

 

I pretty much ignored the glossary but pronounced it eyez se-die anyway. I rock, although my NZ accent might throw a different spin on things.

[Roxinos]

That's my problem? I just thought it was that I was better than everyone else.

[black-cloakedstranger]

 

If you're aware of the glossary and the way it tells you to pronounce Aes Sedai, where is the debate?

 

Just getting confirmation. My sister said it was pronounced another way, and her boyfriend loves WoT, and she asked him during a conversation, and he said that she was right. Wow, that was a lot of ands. but apparently they were both wrong.

And, I just wanted confirmation on the emphasis in the word. I guess I was right, according to Encyclopaedia-wot

[Jethro]

A lot of the names are pronounced differently to how they are written. I know I say alot of them wrong but it doesnt matter.

[CUBAREY]

I know I say alot of them wrong but it doesnt matter.

 

What does not matter? That you refuse to acknowledge that RJ intended the names to be pronounced in a specific manner or that you refuse to honor that intent? Or what does not matter is that the names are spelled strangely but should still be pronounced as indicated by RJ? (I know I am being nitpicky but the differences in pronounciation are sometimes miniscule. ;)) :P :-*)

[MikeRiley]

It isn't exactly a sin to mispronounce a few words. As for myself, I was on my third read through before I realized I had been reading Aes Sedai and Aiel wrong. By that point the damage was done. There were a few other names as well, but I did attempt to change how I read them and all it did was make reading a chore. I pronounced it Ace said-I and Ale pretty much. Still do, always will. Until maybe my 4th or 5th watching of the movie some years from now when we get one anyway.

[Jethro]

How I say some of them:

 

Aes Sedai = Aze Sedday, not Eyes Sedeye.

Aiel = Ale

Taim = Tame, not Ta-eem (But I NEVER think tame when saying his name!)

Cairhein = Careheen

Tear = Tare, not teer

Seanchan = See-an-shan, not Shawnshan

 

I know I say these wrong, for example Sedai rhymes with Jedi unless its me saying it; I know this because it is used as a rhyming word in some poem or another in the books.

[Roxinos]

Why would you pronounce a word that is actually a word in English differently? (Tear)

[ROB_88]

How I say some of them:

 

Taim = Tame, not Ta-eem (But I NEVER think tame when saying his name!)

Tear = Tare, not teer

Seanchan = See-an-shan, not Shawnshan

 

Taim can not be Tame, Jordan said so himself many times, i say it as "Time"

 

and Tear i think should be just like "Tear," the thing that comes out of the eye when your sad

 

for Seanchan i say it like "See-an-shan" too even though i know it's wrong. however i've been trying to force myself to say it right

[Roxinos]

I don't know what's so hard about changing the way you pronounce something.

 

I mispronounced plenty of things until I read how to pronounce it properly, and then I just pronounced it that way.

[CUBAREY]

Why would you pronounce a word that is actually a word in English differently? (Tear)

 

Because the rules of english pronounciation are so complicated that phonetic pronounciations are often wrong. Moreover, its usually presumed that  the correct pronounciation is the one an author indicates to be the correct pronounciation.

[Roxinos]

Of course, that's true. But I would imagine that without reason to indicate the author's intended pronunciation being any different from the normal pronunciation, as is the case here, and with a word like "tear" which doesn't shift all that much between accents, certainly not enough to warrant the radical change between "tear" and "tare" (which is a word in itself), a reader would default to the pronunciation they're familiar with. That pronunciation, of course, being teer.

[Arath Faringal]

The name I had a problem with for a long time however was Nynaeve.  I always wanted to say it as Nynevah.

 

Tear is an understandable one since it is used for two different words in English.  Tear (teer), as in our salty eye drippings, or Tear (tare), as in to rip or rend.

 

The other part of the problem is that people are more inclined to go with 'tare' after seeing 'Tairen', which is pronounced with the A sound.

 

 

 

[Roxinos]

Hmm.... I suppose that's reasonable.

 

Touché.

[balefireruinssteaks]

yea it's easy to not really pay attention to how things are pronounced, especially when you're trying to read the Old Tongue, mercy!!!

 

I always thought Birgitte was "Bir-szeet" but it says in the back that it's "Bir-gee-tay"

 

and Cairhien I just thought was "Care-eye-en" but it's like "K'eye-reen"

 

and Rand I thought was "R-ah-ndee"....oh wait no I didn't.

 

 

[Telzen]

I don't know what's so hard about changing the way you pronounce something.

 

I mispronounced plenty of things until I read how to pronounce it properly, and then I just pronounced it that way.

When you pronounce something a certain way for years then its kind of hard to change it later, at least for me it is. I don't see why it should matter how I pronounce when reading anyway, since its just in my head.