Pronunciations?

[sandtree.livejournal.com]

I think there was a topic like this a while ago, but I figured since there are new people, and since we're all doing the read aloud thing, it might be fun to bring up again.

So, how do you pronounce certain words and names in the books? And maybe you could tell where you live as well, because accents might play into it. It think it would be interesting to see all the different ways that people pronounce things.

Eugenides: yoo-jen-EYE-dees
Magus: MAY-jus
Attolia: ah-TOLL-ee-ah
Eddis: EE-dis
Sounis: SOO-nis
Nahuseresh: na-HOO-ser-esh

And more that I can't think of, I'm sure.

Comments

[thnidu.livejournal.com]

Eh, the letter "g" is never hard (as in "got") before "a", "o", or "u", with I believe the sole exception of "margarine". English has very few sound/spelling rules you can count on, but that's one of them.

[peggy-2.livejournal.com]

there's a hard "g" in margarine? I'm confused ...

[thnidu.livejournal.com]

Oh, nutz, the groggies done got me. That should be, the letter "g" is ALWAYS hard (as in "got") before "a", "o", or "u", with I believe the sole exception of "margarine".

[peggy-2.livejournal.com]

"mar-hard g- arine (like margaret, only "-in" instead of "et") is starting to grow on me though :)

[thnidu.livejournal.com]

And that's what it comes from, kind of. "Margaret" and "margarine" can be both be traced back to the Greek "margaron" or "margarites" (MAR-ga-rohn, mar-gah-REE-teyss), meaning 'pearl'. So does French "marguerite" 'daisy', I suppose from the white "pearl" in the center.

I've sometimes thought about writing a pseudo-Appalachian version of "Hansel and Gretel" called "Jack and Daisy". "Hansel / Hänsel" is a diminutive for "John", as "Gretel" is for "Margarethe".

[peggy-2.livejournal.com]

You could submit it for the Terri Windling (sp?) Fairy Tale series :)

I didn't know Gretel was from Margaret... very interesting!