I have been a fan of the Lord of the Rings since I was a kid and I am quite pleased with Peter Jackson’s adaptation for the purposes of the movies. I don’t have big problems with the changes Jackson thought were appropriate for the cinema. However, there are a few pronunciations in the movies that I find a bit grating to my ears and I wanted to run them by some others. The pronunciations I have used are based on my reading of Appendix E to the series. Perhaps I have misunderstood them all these years.
Anyway, I’m interested to read your thoughts on these –
Gandalf — In the movie it’s pronounced like it might be if it were a modern American English word, ['g&nd&lf], with the vowels similar to the “a” in “cat” or “pan” or as ['g&ndAlf], with the second vowel as in “all.”
My understanding from the books is that it should be pronounced ['gandalv], with the final “f” pronounced like a “v” and the vowels similar to the “a” in “father.”
Isengard — In the movie it’s pronounced ['aIzEngard] or “EYE-zen-guard.”
My understanding was that it should be ['isEngard] or “EE-sen-guard.”
I believe it’s “smair-gol”. See the final paragraph of App. E-I.
The pronunciations don’t at all interfere with my enjoyment of the films, although I’m sure they would have irritated the professor to no end. It does lend some unintentional comedy to the DVD commentaries, however, when the filmmakers drone on about how careful they’ve been in recreating all aspects of Tolkien’s creation, including the languages.
“In the case of the personal and place-names of Rohan (where they have not been modernized)… éa and éo are diphthongs, which may be represented by the ea of English bear, and the eo of Theobald…”
Since Sméagol is based on an old English word, same as the names of the people of Rohan, it would seem logical to apply the same rules of pronunciation. Sm(ea as in bear)gol. I took the final r in bear as part of the vowel sound. Smehgol might be a better representation. But it’s still two syllables, not three, as are Éowyn, Éomer and Théoden.
Oh, what a tangled nit we pick…
Of course, we could dismiss all such quibbles by saying that it’s not his “real” name anyway, but merely the way Tolkien represented it in writing. His “true” name is Trahald, so that’s how it should be spoken.
Actually, TWDuke, I come to the opposite conclusion when looking at that bit from the appendix.
It occurs to me that our problem here might be a rhotic/nonrhotic one. What is your accent?
I’m rhotic, and I’m pretty sure that Old English was rhotic as well. Therefore, to me, the “ea” in “bear” is a diphthong, e-a. And then the “r” adds its own “r” sound. If you lop off the “r,” you still get two syllables (which, if you’re nonrhotic, would be the way you pronounce it anyway).
Tolkein says its a “diphthong.” If you pronounce it like “Smehgol,” then there’s no diphthong there. So the “ea” must represent a glide between two vowel sounds, “Sme-a-gol.”
And if you’re applying the same rules to “Smeagol” as you are to “Eomer,” then how do you come up with different conclusions?
The eo in Theobald is a dipthong? I thought it was pronounced THEE-oh.
And on the subject of me being moron, until about two minutes ago, I thought it was dipthong, not diphthong, so I have been spelling and pronouncing it wrong for years. :embarassed:
To round out the smilie trilogy, I was very pleased when Legolas was prounounced LEG-o-las in the movie, not le-GO-lus, as my illiterate friends always pronounced it, and I note now that their pronunciation has sifted to the proper way.
Why, I don’t have an accent. I’m an American. (Kidding! Sort of.) Born and raised in Southern California, although I don’t speak Urban, Valley or Surfer.
To me a diphthong is one syllable, and dictionaries seem to agree. Perhaps there’s a specialized linguistic definition I’m not aware of?
I meant “eh” as an approximation. Perhaps it’s a poor one, but to my mind and ears it seems better than breaking the sound into syllables.
It was the same conclusion, just poorly worded. Let me try again: But it’s still two syllables (as are Éowyn, Éomer and Théoden), not three.
Now, as for the correct pronunciation of those last three names, Theobald is useless to me as a guide, as I don’t think I’ve ever heard that name. I’ve read elsewhere that Éowyn should be spoken as Erwin, which hardly does Miranda Otto justice.
Anyway, I think there’s room for varying pronunciations, and these are not the characters “real” names, even within the context of the story. However, words in names in Elvish and Black Speech are meant to be transliterations, not mere translations, and we have very precise guides to the proper sounds. Ee-sen-gard aside, I think the filmmakers did a good job with these overall. Gandalf certainly rolls the rs in Mordor, even if Sam does not.
Podkayne: Don’t feel like a moron. My dictionary lists “dip-thong” as a variant pronunciation, and how often does the name “Theobald” come up in conversation?
It’s not fair to put the pronunciations in the Appendix. You read the whole book with one sound in your head, then get to the end and find out you were wrong the whole time. But the old way still sticks.
(Don’t get me started on Wheel of Time pronunciations.)
I always thought Smeagol was pronounced Smee-eh-gol. The e and the a are two seperate sounds with two seperate syllables, not blended together into Smee-gol like English.
I thought it was pronounced THEE-oh.