Names and Places

[Rinkai]

I was wondering if anyone does this. I read more on how a word looks rather than reading it. This causes some wierd things to happen when you get the weird fantasy names. For instance its "Tanchico" instead on "Tanchio" Which is how I pronounce it in my head for years. Even when I do read it right, the way it sounds in my head is usually wrong. Thom is pronounced "Tom."Or its pronounce "Tom."  I dont even want to think about how to pronounce Nyn's name. I dont really even know how to spell it really.

[CUBAREY]

Well I tend to do the same. But it offers certain advantages as look at the similarity of Camylin and Camelot. Look similar pronounced differently but quite suggestive if you laser in on how they look.

[Luckers]

The mind will percieve the familiar over the unfamiliar--which will go right down to the structure of words. English has a general flow, Fantasy writers tend to be exotic with their name choices--the result can be what you are saying.

 

On the other hand you may be mildly dyslexic. I am, and have a similar problem.

[Casco]

You can lissen to the names on this site http://www.encyclopaedia-wot.org/

[Hallow]

Thought it was Grandeal (Not Graendal) for ages, also still not sure how Moghidien is spelled and pronounced, same with cairhienin.

[trakand_01]

We actually read words based on a knowledge of their shape. You see 'Tachio' rather than 'Tanchico' because the loss of a couple of letters makes little difference to the shape. For years I read 'Cairhein' as 'Car-ee-en', and I read Faile as 'Fayl'. There's lots of things like that. For example is Beldein 'Bell-dayn' or 'Bell-deen'?

[42Bonzo88]

    I have always been bad at guessing how names are pronounced. If you get a chance to listen to the Audiobooks, they help alot. I was very surprised at Nynaeve's prononcement. I was WAY off.

[trakand_01]

I kinda like pronouncing them my own way  :) Some of them, I have to admit, I dont so much pronounce as just recognise on sight. I have a noise i make in my head and that's enough for me!! For example when I was younger and I first read the books, Nynaeve sounded something like "Ninav" in my head...

[Hallow]

for my Nynaeve is Nye-navy, probably very wrong though :p

[lt;(^-^)gt;]

I've made quite a few mistakes, but now I am aware of most of the correct pronunciations.  I thought it was:

 

Nynaeve = Nie-na-eve

Moiraine = Mor-y-ane ('y' as in, spanish for 'and')('ane' rhymes with 'bane')

Aiel = Ehh-ill

Taim = Tame

Ogier = Oh-gi-eer (hard 'g')

 

But it really is:

 

Nigh-neev

Mwa-rain

Eye-eel

Ta-eem

 

I don't know how Ogier is pronounced.  The book index doesn't help.  Does it rhyme with 'steer', 'stare', or 'stir'?  I've been saying it like 'steer'.

 

[Vambram]

The biggest hang-up I have had with these new words and names is something as simple as Aes Sedai.

I know RJ and the Glossaries say its pronounced EYE-SeDye;

but ever since I have first started reading this series over 17 years ago, I have always found myself prouncing Aes Sedai as

Eh-SEHdye. :(

[notorious-big]

Ya, for sure the worst is discovering you've been pronouncing the name wrong in your head for x amount of time. Once I found out that Nynaeve's name is pronounced nigh-NEEVE, it literally took about 3/4 of TDR with my conciously pronouncing her name like that in my head to fix it. Same thing with Egwene.

 

Hahah, sometimes with really long or complicated words (such as the phrases in the Old Tongue) I actually don't bother coming up with pronounciations in my head. Even in my head sometimes they just sound like 'qgeqoigoqiongfkaf'.

 

You can lissen to the names on this site http://www.encyclopaedia-wot.org/

 

I would definitely recommend this, as annoying as it might be to reconstruct these names in your head

[Luckers]

The best thing I've seen is that in an recorded audio interview with RJ once he pronounced Ishamael three different ways in the course of the interview.

[RobertAlexWillis]

Nice.  :D

[spothistto]

In Estonia we pronounce the same way as we write, so in my head I say Rand as Rand, Mat as Mat, Taim as Taim. You get the drift. But the longer and more complex names it would be just plain weird to pronounce them as spelled, so I make them up.

Nynaeve - Najaneeva

Moiraine - Moraine

Cairhein - Cairheen

and so on