Difference between revisions of "Pronunciation guide"

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| {{ts|al|pl1|w25}} | {{sc|grrm}}<ref name=berk>Riale. "So Spake Martin: [http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Month/2000/11/ Cody's Signing (Berkley, Ca)]". ''The Citadel'', 11 Nov 2000.</ref><ref>Mich. "So Spake Martin: [http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Month/2006/01/ Canadian Signing Tour (Toronto)]". ''The Citadel'', 9 Jan 2006.</ref><ref name=igot/>
 
| {{ts|al|pl1|w25}} | {{sc|grrm}}<ref name=berk>Riale. "So Spake Martin: [http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Month/2000/11/ Cody's Signing (Berkley, Ca)]". ''The Citadel'', 11 Nov 2000.</ref><ref>Mich. "So Spake Martin: [http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Month/2006/01/ Canadian Signing Tour (Toronto)]". ''The Citadel'', 9 Jan 2006.</ref><ref name=igot/>
 
| {{ts|al|pl1|w25}} | [{{IPA|'kætəlɪn}}]
 
| {{ts|al|pl1|w25}} | [{{IPA|'kætəlɪn}}]

Revision as of 12:09, 8 May 2014

The pronunciation of names in the Known World is variable. Unlike the academic J.R.R. Tolkien, who claimed to have written The Lord of the Rings series primarily for the joy of fleshing out the invented languages of Middle Earth,[1] George R.R. Martin has stated that "I don't have [Tolkien's] gift for languages";[2] that he "came to not care much about pronunciation" during college;[3] and that "you can pronounce [the names of the characters] however you like."[3][4]

Sources

Author

George Raymond Richard Martin himself is an American who was born to a family of mixed Italian and Irish ancestry and grew up in Bayonne, New Jersey. He attended college and university at Northwestern in Evanston, Illinois, and now lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, but his accent has been described as remaining a "gravelly New Jersey" one.[5] While Westeros has regional accents, he only includes elements of them since "that way lies madness";[6] therefore, his own pronunciations are probably "wrong".[7] He agrees with those who feel English accents work better for fantasy works: "It is full of castles and lords and swords and knights and all the other trappings we associate with England in this country. It seems natural. It would be hard to do with a group of actors who had thick Southern accents".[8]

Television Show

Within the television show, accents generally reflect the region and class of the characters. (A specific class-based difference noted within the show is that the lords themselves carefully enunciate "my lord" as two words whereas commoners slur them into a monosyllabic "m'lud".[9]) Westerosi accents generally reflect those of Britain, from Northern among the First Men of the North and beyond the Wall to Welsh influence in the Vale to posh RP accents among the Andal nobility and clergy of the Westerlands and Crownlands. Essosi comprises the rest of Eurasia and characters from its regions have spoken with Mediterranean (Braavos), Germanic (Lorath), and loosely Arabic accents (Dothraki).[10] The more peculiar accents of the Essosi characters reflect that the Common Tongue of the Andals (i.e., English) is not their native language.[11] These general differences have several notable exceptions among the actors: Ned Stark's children speak with southern British accents while Samwell Tarly (from Horn Hill, south of Highgarden) speaks with John Bradley-West's Mancunian dialect. Asshai is nowhere near Lorath but Melisandre speaks with Carice van Houten's native Dutch accent.[10]

The show hired the linguist David J. Peterson to flesh out Essos's Dothraki language.[12] He then went on to create Valyrian from only three phrases appearing in the books: dracarys, valar morghulis, and valar dohaeris. He runs a blog detailing the grammar of the two languages[13] and provides translations of (and audio files for) Martin's books and the actors' lines[14] but his pronunciations are not necessarily canonical: showrunners opted against his pronunciation of khaleesi, actors change phrasings and vocalizations, and editors clip sentences during post-production.[12]

Audio Books

All of the audiobooks of the series have now been read by Roy Dotrice, OBE, the British actor who played Hallyne the Pyromancer in season 2 of the television show. Owing to scheduling issues, A Feast for Crows was also initially read by John Lee, who speaks an Irish-tinged British English.[15] Martin credited the audiobooks with having consulted him on most of the 'hard' names and getting them right, but noted that they "then went and got all the easy ones wrong".[7]

Guide

For help understanding the pronunciations, see IPA for English[16] and the pronunciation respelling key at Wikipedia.[17] For further information on dialectical differences, see IPA for English dialects.

The following abbreviations are employed:

Given Names


Aegon got ['ɛɡɔn] eg-on
got ['eɪɡɔn] ay-gon

Aenys rd ['eɪnɪs] ay-nis

Aeron ['ɛəɹən] air-ən, like Aaron

Aerys got[18] ['eɪɹiz] err-eez

Alliser got[18] ['ælɪsəɹ] al-iss-er

Areo grrm[19] ['ɑɹiəʊ] ar-ee-oh

Arya grrm[20][21][22] & got[18] ['ɑɹjə] ar-yə, like 'are ya'

Asha got ['jæɹə] ya-ra

Baelor got[18] ['beɪlɔɹ] bay-lor

Barristan got[18] ['bɛəɹɪstɪn] bair-iss-tin, like bear

Benjen grrm[23] ['bɛndʒɛn] ben-jen
got[18] ['bɛndʒɪn] ben-jin

Bran grrm[24][25] [bɹæːn] bran

Brienne grrm[26] [bɹi'ɛəni] bree-an-ee
grrm[4][22] [bɹi'əni] bree-ə-nee
got & rd [bɹi'ɛn] bree-en
rd [bɹaɪ'i:n] bry-een

Caleotte grrm[19] ['kæliɒt] kal-ee-aht

Catelyn grrm[27][28][29] ['kætəlɪn] kat-ə-lin
grrm[30] & got[18] ['kætlɪn] kat-lin

Cersei grrm[26][29][23][22] ['sɜɹseɪ] serr-say
got[18] ['sɜɹsi] serr-see
rd ['sɜ:si] suh-see
jl ['sɪəseɪ] sih-ə-say

Chataya grrm[31] shə-ty-yə

Daenerys grrm[26][7] & got[18] [də'nɛɹɪs] də-nerr-iss
grrm[22] [deɪn'ɛɹɪs] dayn-err-iss

Damphair grrm[32] ['dæmphɛəɹ] damp-herr, like damp hair

Dany grrm[26] ['dæni] dan-nee, like Danny

Davos grrm[26][30] ['dɑːvos] dah-vos

Dolorous grrm[33] dol-lər-us

Doran grrm[19][34] [dəʊ'ɹæn] doh-ran

Eddard got[18] ['ɛdɑɹd] ed-dard

Elia grrm[34] el-lee-ə

Euron rd [jɔːɒn] yawr-on, like British you're on

Gendry got[18] ['ɡɪndɹi] ghin-dree

Gregor got[18] [ɡrə'gɔɹ] grə-gor

Hodor grrm[4] & got[18] ['hoʊdɔɹ] hoh-dor

Hoster got[18] ['hɒstəɹ] hoss-ter

Jaime grrm[26][29][20][7][22] ['dʒeɪmi] jay‑mee, like Jamie

Jeyne grrm[35] [dʒeɪn] jayn, like Jane

Jojen ['dʒəʊdʒən] joh-jən

Jon grrm[26] & got [dʒɒn] jon, like John

Jonquil grrm[33] ['dʒɒnkɪl] jon-kil

Lyanna grrm[30] ly-an-ə

Lysa grrm[23] [laɪsɑː] ly-sah
got ['laɪsə] ly-sə

Mance grrm[36] [mæns] mans, like manse

Missandei grrm[30] meess-ahn-day

Myrcella grrm[37] mər-sel-lə

Ned grrm[29] & got [nɛd] ned

Oberyn got ['oʊbərɪn] oh-bə-rin

Petyr grrm[38] ['pi:təɹ] pee-tər, like Peter
rd [pɪ'taɪəɹ] pih-ty-ər, like tyre
jl [pə'tɪɹ] pə-tir

Pyat grrm[37] pee-at

Rhaegar grrm[39] & got ['ɹeɪgɑɹ] ray-gar

Rickon grrm[26] ['ɹɪkɒn] rik-on

R'hllor grrm[40] rə-lor

Robb grrm[29] [rɑb] rob

Sandor san-dor (The resemblance to a Hungarian name is unintentional.[41])

Sansa grrm[30] ['sɔːnsə] sawn-sə
grrm[20][22] ['sænsə] san-sə
got variously ['sænsə], ['sænzə], ['sɑːnsə] san-sə, san-zə, son-sə

Stannis grrm[36] ['stænɪs] stan-iss

Tobho grrm[33] [toʊ:'boʊ] toh-boh

Tommen grrm[19][30] ['toʊmən] tohm-ən, like omen[31]
rd & jl ['tɒmən] tom-ən, like common

Tyrion grrm[26][29][20][23][22] ['tiɹiən] teer-ee-ən

Tysha grrm[41] tish

Tywin grrm[20][27] & got ['taɪwɪn] ty-win

Varamyr grrm[36] ['væɹəmiɹ] var-ə-meer

Varys grrm[30] ['væɹʌs] var-us
got[18] ['vɛəɹɪs] vair-iss

Viserys got[18] [vɪ'sɛːɹɪs] vih-serr-iss

Walder got[18] ['wɔldəɹ] wal-dər

Waymar got[18] ['weɪmɑɹ] way-mar

Xaro Xhoan got ['zaːɹəʊ 'zəʊ.æn] zah-roh zoh-an

Yoren got[18] ['jɔəɹɪn] yor-in, like you're in

Houses and Surnames

Arryn got[18] ['ɛəɹɪn] air-in

Baelish got[18] ['beɪlɪʃ] bay-lish

Baratheon grrm[29] [bɑ'ɹæθiɒn] bah-rath-ee-on
got[18] [bə'ɹæθiən] bə-rath-ee-ən

Cassel got[18] [kəs'ɛl] kəs-el

Clegane got[18] [klɪ'ɡeɪn] clih-gayn

Daxos got ['dɒksoʊs] dok-sohs

Forel got[18] [fɔɹ'ɛl] for-el

Frey grrm[33] & got [fɹeɪ] fray

Greyjoy got[18] ['ɡɹeɪdʒɔɪ] gray-joy

Hotah grrm[19] ['həʊtɑː] hoh-tah

Lannister grrm[26] & got[18] ['lænɪstəɹ] lan-iss-tər

Mormont got[18] ['mɔrmɒnt] mor-mont

Payne got[18] [peɪn] payn, like pain

Rayder grrm[36] [ɹeɪdəɹ] ray-dər, like raider

Royce got[18] ['ɹɔɪs] like Rolls Royce

Selmy got[18] ['sɛlmi] sel-mee, like sell me

Slynt got[18] [slɪnt] slint

Snow grrm[29] & got [snoʊ] snoh, like snow

Stark grrm[26] & got[18] [stɑɹk] stark

Targaryen grrm[26][27][7] & got[18] [tɑɹ'gɛəɹiən] tar-gair-ee-ən

Tarly got[18] ['tæɹli] tar-lee

Thorne got[18] ['θɔɹn] thorn

Tully grrm[29] & got[18] ['tʌli] tul-ee

Tyrell got[18] ['tɪrʌl] tih-rul
got ['tirɛl] ty-rel

Places and Peoples

Andals grrm[25] [æn'dəlz] an-dəlz
got[18] ['ændælz] an-dalz

Asshai got[18] [ə'ʃaɪ] ə-shy
rd [a'ʃaɪ] a-shy
jl ['aʃaɪ] ash-eye

Braavos got[18] ['bɹɑːvoʊs] brah-vohs

Moat Cailin grrm[30] moht kah-lan

Dyre Den grrm[42] [daɪ̯əɹ dɛn] dy-ər den

Dothraki grrm[25] doth-ra-kai
grrm[37] doth-ra-kee
got[18] doth-rak-ee

Essos got[18] ['ɛsoʊs] ess-ohs

The Eyrie got[18] ['ɪəri] eer-ee, like eerie

Ghis grrm[37] geess, like geese

Harrenhal got[18] ['hɛəɹɪnhɑːl] hair-in-hahl

Lys grrm[41] [lis] leess

Myr grrm ['maɪəɹ] my-ər, like mire

Pentos got[18] ['pɛntoʊs] pen-tohs

Qarth got[18] [kwɑrθ] kwarth
got [xɑrθ] kharth

sept got[18] [sɛpt] sept

Tyrosh grrm[41] ty-rosh

Vaes Dothrak got[18] ['viɪs dɒθ'ræk] vy-iss doth-rak

Valyria grrm[25] ['vælɛəɹiə] val-air-ee-ə
got[18] ['vəliɹiə] və-leer-ee-ə

Westeros grrm[26][25] ['wɛstəɹoʊs] wes-tər-ohs
got[18] ['wɛstɛɹoʊs] wes-te-rohs

Titles

Khal got[18] ['xɑl] khahl
rd ['kɑɹl] karl, like Carl

Khaleesi grrm[30] & got[18] ['kɑliːsiː] kal-ee-see
got [kɑː'liːsiː] ka-lee-see
djp[43] [ˈxaleesi] khah-lay-ay-see

Maester grrm[23][39][30][7] & got[18] ['meɪstəɹ] may-stər
got ['meɪstɝː] may-sterr

Septa got[18] ['sɛptə] sep-tə

Ser grrm[7] [sɝː] serr, like sir
got[18] [sɛəɹ] sair

External links

References and Notes

  1. Peterson, Britt. "Yes, Writing Languages for 'Game of Thrones' Is a Real Job". Boston Globe, 6 Apr 2014. Accessed 2 May 2014.
  2. Amoka. "Yet More Questions". The Citadel, 22 July 2001. Accessed 1 May 2014.
  3. 3.0 3.1 E.E. Knight. "So Spake Martin: Odyssey Con 2008 (Madison, Wi)". The Citadel, 4–6 Apr 2008.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Nazfyratu. "US Signing Tour (New York City, NY)". The Citadel, 15 Nov 2005. Accessed 1 May 2014.
  5. Salter, Jessica. "Game of Thrones: Interview with George RR Martin". The Telegraph, 25 Mar 2013. Accessed 2 May 2014.
  6. "So Spake Martin: Cyvasse, Accents, Historical Mysteries, and Dornish Nationalism". The Citadel, 20 Apr 2008.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 Oathkeeper. "So Spake Martin: US Signing Tour (Albuquerque, NM)". The Citadel, 29 Nov 2005.
  8. Wheeler, Brian. "Why Are Fantasy World Accents British?" BBC News Magazine, 30 Mar 2012. Accessed 2 May 2014.
  9. Tywin Lannister to Arya Stark in "A Man without Honor".
  10. 10.0 10.1 Read, Max. "What Is Going on with the Accents in Game of Thrones?". Gawker, 6 May 2013. Accessed 1 May 2014.
  11. Daenerys's request that leaders of her army begin learning the language is a minor plot point in "Oathkeeper".
  12. 12.0 12.1 Martin, Denise. "Learn to Speak Dothraki and Valyrian from the Man who Invented Them for Game of Thrones". Vulture, 24 Apr 2013. Accessed 1 May 2014.
  13. Peterson, David. Dothraki: A Language of Fire and Blood. Accessed 1 May 2014.
  14. Tharoor, Ishaan. "Tongues of Ice and Fire: Creating the Languages in Game of Thrones". Time, 3 May 2013. Accessed 2 May 2014.
  15. Narrator Profile: John Lee". AudioFile Magazine. Accessed 2 May 2014.
  16. For further information on IPA, see Wikipedia's article on the International Phonetic Alphabet. The IPA can be somewhat non-intuitive for native English-speakers, particularly since it uses continental values for its vowels.
  17. For further information on respelling, see pronunciation respelling for English.
  18. 18.00 18.01 18.02 18.03 18.04 18.05 18.06 18.07 18.08 18.09 18.10 18.11 18.12 18.13 18.14 18.15 18.16 18.17 18.18 18.19 18.20 18.21 18.22 18.23 18.24 18.25 18.26 18.27 18.28 18.29 18.30 18.31 18.32 18.33 18.34 18.35 18.36 18.37 18.38 18.39 18.40 18.41 18.42 18.43 18.44 18.45 18.46 18.47 18.48 18.49 18.50 18.51 18.52 18.53 18.54 18.55 Making Game of Thrones. "Inside the Series: Official Pronunciation Guide for 'Game of Thrones'". HBO, 11 Feb 2011.
  19. 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 Interview with George R.R. Martin. Canadian Broadcast Channel.
  20. 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 Fantasy Flight Games. "So Spake Martin: Days of Ice and Fire Official Report". The Citadel. 12 Nov 2010.
  21. "So Spake Martin: Cersei and Homer". The Citadel, 10 Sept 1999.
  22. 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 22.5 22.6 Strangerwithmyface. "So Spake Martin: US Signing Tour (New York, NY)". The Citadel, 15 Nov 2005.
  23. 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 23.4 Revanshe. "So Spake Martin: Various Pronunciations". The Citadel, 24 Oct 1998.
  24. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named ff
  25. 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 25.4 The Bear Swarm! Podcast, Episode 136 – George R.R. Martin and a Song of Ice and Fire. 22 Nov 2010.
  26. 26.00 26.01 26.02 26.03 26.04 26.05 26.06 26.07 26.08 26.09 26.10 26.11 26.12 Interview with George R.R. Martin. Random House, Nov 2005.
  27. 27.0 27.1 27.2 Riale. "So Spake Martin: Cody's Signing (Berkley, Ca)". The Citadel, 11 Nov 2000.
  28. Mich. "So Spake Martin: Canadian Signing Tour (Toronto)". The Citadel, 9 Jan 2006.
  29. 29.0 29.1 29.2 29.3 29.4 29.5 29.6 29.7 29.8 Martin, George R.R. Not a Blog: "Inside Game of Thrones". 5 Dec 2010.
  30. 30.0 30.1 30.2 30.3 30.4 30.5 30.6 30.7 30.8 30.9 Lyanna Wolfgirl. "Thus Spake Martin: Torcon (Toronto, Canada)". The Citadel, 28 Aug–1 Sept 2003.
  31. 31.0 31.1 Mouse. "So Spake Martin: Torcon (Toronto, Canada)". The Citadel, 28 Aug–1 Sept 2003.
  32. Amazon Books. "George R.R. Martin Answers Facebook Fans' Questions". YouTube, 12 Jan 2012.
  33. 33.0 33.1 33.2 33.3 Bronn Stone. "So Spake Martin: Torcon (Toronto, Canada)". The Citadel, 28 Aug–1 Sept 2003.
  34. 34.0 34.1 Bronn Stone. "So Spake Martin: Conquest (Kansas City, Mo)". The Citadel, 27 May 2005.
  35. Martin, George R.R. A Dance with Dragons. 2011.
  36. 36.0 36.1 36.2 36.3 Lord Mountain Goat. "Post-Reading Q&A Video (Worldcon)". The Citadel, 3 Sept 2010.
  37. 37.0 37.1 37.2 37.3 Elio M. García. "So Spake Martin: Interaction (Glasgow, Scotland)". The Citadel, 4–8 Aug 2005.
  38. "So Spake Martin: To Be Continued (Chicago, Il)". The Citadel, 6–8 May 2005.
  39. 39.0 39.1 "So Spake Martin: Pronunciations". The Citadel, 8 May 1999.
  40. Martin, George R.R. Not a Blog: Comment. 21 Jan 2014.
  41. 41.0 41.1 41.2 41.3 Odiedragon. "So Spake Martin: To Be Continued (Chicago, Il)". The Citadel, 6–8 May 2005.
  42. Martin, George R.R. Not a Blog: Comment. 1 Nov 2011.
  43. Peterson, David. Dothraki: "Developing Canon". 18 Mar 2012.