# Never mind Cthulhu--how do you pronounce R'lyeh? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 27, 2011, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-cthulhu-how-do-you-pronounce-rlyeh/572844 "2011-02-27T21:07:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Achren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@Achren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achren)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-cthulhu-how-do-you-pronounce-rlyeh/572844/41 "2011-03-01T12:54:38Z")
> [@Miss\_Mapp](#): > > I stand corrected. > > First… last… which would be preferred? Oh, definitely first. Otherwise you go insane from the horror induced by eldritch, non-Euclidean entities. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-cthulhu-how-do-you-pronounce-rlyeh/572844/42 "2011-03-01T13:43:01Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > I pronounce it, “R’lyeh,” assuming that’s how it’s spelled. “Rye-la,” would be spelled “R’yleh” at best. You’re transposing two sounds. > > That is, I would say, “rəl-YEH,” roughly. That said… > > According to Wikipedia, it’s [ˈrəʔlʲɛx]. So there’s an official(?) pronunciation(!), there’s a glottal stop, & there’s a sort of fricative “h” at the end. I expected none of that, but yes, you are supposed to pronounce the apostrophe and the h. Who knew? For the IPA-impaired, the best I can do is ruh-uh-lech. The r is rolled, the second uh is really short, and the ch is the German sound that sounds like a cat hissing. ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-cthulhu-how-do-you-pronounce-rlyeh/572844/43 "2011-03-01T13:50:24Z")
Ruh-lay spoken quickly : rehlay ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-cthulhu-how-do-you-pronounce-rlyeh/572844/44 "2011-03-01T14:20:09Z")
> [@Miss\_Mapp](#): > > I stand corrected. > > First… last… which would be preferred? Definately being eaten first. The Elder Gods wil be hungry, and devour you quickly and probably mostly painlessly. You would not want to still be aware when they are more sated, and start playing with their food or experimenting with different “recipes.” (I have often taken issue with those who call the Elder Gods malignant. They are not, no more than sheep feel malice towards the grass they eat. They are indifferent to human hopes, concerns, and suffering, which is more frightening than directed antipathy towards the works of Man.) ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-cthulhu-how-do-you-pronounce-rlyeh/572844/45 "2011-03-01T14:20:47Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Standard answer: you need an 18 inch tongue to pronounce it properly. So you’re saying that **Giraffe** is the SDMB Resident Expert on this? ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-cthulhu-how-do-you-pronounce-rlyeh/572844/46 "2011-03-01T14:38:07Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > For the IPA-impaired, the best I can do is ruh-uh-lech. The r is rolled, the second uh is really short, and the ch is the German sound that sounds like a cat hissing. Possibly more like ertLayh, where the h is actually an h, the t is a glottal stop, & the er is inexplicably trilled. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-cthulhu-how-do-you-pronounce-rlyeh/572844/47 "2011-03-01T15:38:52Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > So you’re saying that **Giraffe** is the SDMB Resident Expert on this? I’m sorry, but I must claim expertise here. > [@](#): > > **Qadgop the Mercotan** slithered flatly around the after-bulge of the tranship. One claw dug into the meters-thick armour of pure neutronium, then another. **Its terrible xmex-like snout locked on. Its zymolosely polydactile tongue crunched out, crashed down, rasped across. Slurp! Slurp!** … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-mind-cthulhu-how-do-you-pronounce-rlyeh/572844.md?page=2)