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Pronunciation clarification


TheBFG37

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Not unless Brandon has said it at a signing and stated it's the 'correct' way to do it, bearing in mind that he admits even he frequently pronounces names differently from how it should sound in-universe. He's also said that for the most part there's no 'right' or 'wrong' way to do it.

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JoyBlu

Do you have a pronunciation guide anywhere?

Brandon Sanderson

So, we need to put one of these up. I put one up for Elantris. The trick with pronunciation guides is that, personally, I am kind of a believer in that I write a script where you are the director. You get the script I've provided, and then as you read the story, you are creating the actual final detail of how everything looks and osunds and stuff. And so, in your head, your version of the character names are canon to you, and there is no right pronunciation, really. I can give you the one that I thin is closest to how they would say it in-world, but I don't even always say them right. For instance, I just said Tashikk for the country in the Makabaki region when I was reading the Lift thing. But that's actually the Arab ق (IPA: /q/) sound, I can't even do it, it's the double-q. I can't say that. *Brandon tries to say taʃiq* Peter can do it, my editorial assistant, he's not here, but he can do it. I can't. I say them like an American. I say "KELsier" (ˈkɛlsiər). They say "kelsiEY" (ˈkɛlsiˌei). So, is my version right? My version is wrong, but it's right to me? So, yeah.

Barnes & Noble B-Fest 2016 (June 11, 2016)

Aside from Elantris where the pronunciations of Aonic is tied in with the Aons and the magic, we don't usually have much in the way of firm rules, though we do know about how J in Alethi is sometimes used instead of a Y, so Jasnah's name would sound like 'Yasnah' if you were saying it properly. But even on stuff like this, Brandon's not dogmatic about it.

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Questioner

So, how do you pronounce [Jasnah's] name?

Brandon Sanderson

They use the J as a Y. But you don't have to say it that way, you can say it how you want. Because they actually use a guttural, sort of Middle-Eastern <koh>, which is in Kholin. You can say the names however you want, but that is the pronunciation style that I'm using. It's very Semitic, the language family.

Steelheart release party (Sept. 24, 2013)

 

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24 minutes ago, Weltall said:

Aside from Elantris where the pronunciations of Aonic is tied in with the Aons and the magic, we don't usually have much in the way of firm rules, though we do know about how J in Alethi is sometimes used instead of a Y, so Jasnah's name would sound like 'Yasnah' if you were saying it properly. But even on stuff like this, Brandon's not dogmatic about it.

Don't we also know that Scadrian pronunciations would be similar to French?  hence the kelsiEY example he gave?

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15 minutes ago, Dunkum said:

Don't we also know that Scadrian pronunciations would be similar to French?  hence the kelsiEY example he gave?

Only the Central Dominance during the time of the Final Empire, not the world as a whole then or in Era 2. Elend and Straff for example are specifically noted as hailing from an area with more of a Germanic vibe and they'd have an accent to someone like Vin's ears.

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