Kylie Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 I thought it was pronounced 'Her-me-own' (probably because that's very close to how Finns would pronounce it). That's the same way I pronounced it; I'm not sure if that's clear from the way I wrote it, though. Hahaha. Herm-own-ninny? I knew the pronounciation from my older brother telling me. Plus, it's explained rather thoroughly in the book, isn't it? In the fourth one at least. I read the Icewind Dale trilogy when I was a kid. I always struggled with Drizzt's panther's name: Guenhwyvar. It actually still annoys me. Gwhenveevar? Anyone who can help me out? Nooo, I had no 'ninny' in mine. I think I learnt well before the fourth book how it was pronounced (it would have been bugging me far too much not to find out before then. Character and place names in fantasy books are things that rather put me off the genre. It just seems like the most ridiculous names are chosen. How can you expect a reader to enjoy, or be able to concentrate on, a book that has a character named Gwhenveevar? When I first glimpsed it, Hyzenthlay, I thought it was a silly spelling for Guinevere, but there are too many extra letters for that. I think in my mind I would have just called him/her Gwen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 That's the same way I pronounced it; I'm not sure if that's clear from the way I wrote it, though. You wrote 'Hermy-own', which I think is different from 'Her-me-own'. You have a diphthong in 'my' where as you don't in 'me'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pickle Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 Hermione is pronounce Her-my-on-knee (I met a Hermione once she was as posh as anything and it was all dahling this and dahling that , its actually quite a posh name but lovely too) I have a friend called Labhoise for ages I pronounced it as if it was french then found out it was actually Leesha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 You wrote 'Hermy-own', which I think is different from 'Her-me-own'. You have a diphthong in 'my' where as you don't in 'me'. Pfft. You and your diphthongs! I read 'Hermy' as rhyming with 'Kermy' (as in Kermit, or Kermy, the frog). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 Pfft. You and your diphthongs! I read 'Hermy' as rhyming with 'Kermy' (as in Kermit, or Kermy, the frog). Ah yeah ok, yes, I should've figured that since you wrote 'hermy' together and not as 'her-my', it makes all the difference. My bad! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 A howler would be nice. I also know a Thompson family who emigrated from England! I'm not sure if they were Thompsons before or after they got here though (actually, I think they were convicts, so perhaps they're not related to you). That's settled then, they're definitely related Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueK Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 When I read the HP books I pronounced Hermione as 'Air- my-oh-nee' because I was studying Spanish and had gotten it into my head that the name had a silent H. I work a job where I have to talk to people on the phone from all over the country. On average I take about 80 calls a day and have discovered that it is near impossible for me to say any kind of Thai name and most Indian names correctly. In books I rarely say Irish names correctly. The main one that comes to mind is Siobhan. I still have no idea how to say that one! Hehe, you can imagine the problems I have with a Thai surname. Thank goodness I'm mostly known as Sue K. I do get irritated sometimes though as my surname isn't really that difficult, you just pronounce it as it is written but it seems to fox a lot of people. btw, Siobhan is pronounced Shh-vaun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peacefield Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 I used to work with a woman whose first name was spelled Xe, and she pronounced it as 'Say.' People she would talk to on the phone always had trouble so she just started answering her calls as Kay. I can't remember who here stated how to pronounce Clodagh, but thank you! Ever since I read 'Circle of Friends,' I've always wanted to know how that name is to be said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simply K Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 It's so weird that I've come across this thread because I'm reading a book where one of the main characters is call Aoife. I had no idea whatsoever how to pronounce it, but luckily the character herself corrects another character with the pronunciation of it on page 4, which was great for me and a smart move for the author! It's pronounced Eee-fa for anyone interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emelee Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 (edited) Kaj is more pronounced like it rhymes with "hi" or as said above; "eye". I am a Swede, and although Kaj is danish, it is also common in Sweden. Mostly for men, but apparently women can also be named Kaj. But I would say it's 100% a male name. Kaj apparently means soil/earth something like that. Edited June 11, 2011 by emelee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 I read the Icewind Dale trilogy when I was a kid. I always struggled with Drizzt's panther's name: Guenhwyvar. It actually still annoys me. Gwhenveevar? Anyone who can help me out? I think it would be pronounced something along the lines of Gweniver (I did put hyphens ni but it keeps making th"I" a capital - grrrrr! Gwen-I-ver) - it looks like it could be almost a Welsh version of Guinevere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 Kaj is more pronounced like it rhymes with "hi" or as said above; "eye". I am a Swede, and although Kaj is danish, it is also common in Sweden. Mostly for men, but apparently women can also be named Kaj. But I would say it's 100% a male name. Kaj apparently means soil/earth something like that. We have a Finnish equivalent here, it's 'Kai' and like you said it rhymes with 'hi'. And that's definitely a male name. 'Kai' also means 'probably' in Finnish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 Kai is my great-nephew's name, rhyming with Hi. I think it's a lovely name for a male. I have a niece called Kaya, with this rhyming with Hiya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyzenthlay Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 Thanks, Kell! I never thought of it that way. Did ya know, Jenny (my name) is actually an adaptation of Jennifer, which is an adaptation of Guinevere? Made me very happy during my King Arthur phase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hungertattoo Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 I have this problem, so I just kind of glaze over the name. I recently read the Millenium Trilogy (Girl with the Dragon Tattoo etc...) and there are a lot of swedish names in there that I'm just like 'say whaat?' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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