I bought The Magician's Nephew and was about to read it to my son and realized I do not know how to pronounce the character names. It will slow me down if I am constantly second guessing myself. Is there a guide online, or does someone know how to pronounce everything? Thanks!
character pronunciations
- Thread starter Curious
- Start date
I grabbed my trusty "Companion to Narnia" and was shocked to find no pronunciation guides.
Which names are giving you difficulty?
I say Jadis like "JAY-dis" (ay as in hay).
Charn with a ch like church.
Aslan like "AZ-lan" Many people, esp. in Britain say "ASS-lan".
I loved the Lord of the Rings for twenty years before re-reading the appendices and realizing I had mispronounced just about every name in the book!
I'm probably mispronouncing these, too.
Which names are giving you difficulty?
I say Jadis like "JAY-dis" (ay as in hay).
Charn with a ch like church.
Aslan like "AZ-lan" Many people, esp. in Britain say "ASS-lan".
I loved the Lord of the Rings for twenty years before re-reading the appendices and realizing I had mispronounced just about every name in the book!
I'm probably mispronouncing these, too.
thanks inklet
I laughed when I read your response, Inklet. A friend told me the same thing -- no one really knows how to pronounce names as they probably should be pronounced. Thank you for providing some guidance. I will look over some of the names and post again this week and see if you have some thoughts. Thanks.
I laughed when I read your response, Inklet. A friend told me the same thing -- no one really knows how to pronounce names as they probably should be pronounced. Thank you for providing some guidance. I will look over some of the names and post again this week and see if you have some thoughts. Thanks.
Starkist
New member
Aslan really is an easy one. The British pronounce it "asslan" and in Arabic, from which the word came, it is also pronounced "asslan".
I've always pronounced Jadis with a short A, like in "jam". Digory and Polly are easy enough.
I checked Tolkien's pronunciation guides soon after beginning to read his books. Just a few simple rules to remember, such as C = K and DH = hard TH. Tolkien though was a philologist, he studied and taught languages for a living. Lewis was not as steeped in language as his friend, so the pronunciation of names and places in Narnia is not quite so important as in Middle-Earth.
I've always pronounced Jadis with a short A, like in "jam". Digory and Polly are easy enough.
I checked Tolkien's pronunciation guides soon after beginning to read his books. Just a few simple rules to remember, such as C = K and DH = hard TH. Tolkien though was a philologist, he studied and taught languages for a living. Lewis was not as steeped in language as his friend, so the pronunciation of names and places in Narnia is not quite so important as in Middle-Earth.
WhiteWitchMeeka
New member
YAY! I said Jadis and Aslan's name right for once!!!!!!! I was thinking I said it wrong when I read them but nice to know I'm not that bad at reading. lol
inTHEwardrobe
New member
I always said Jadis, JAR-diss.
Whoops if I'm wrong
Whoops if I'm wrong
the magnificent - so tru
New member
I pronounced Jadis - Jay-dis (again Jay similar to hay)
the magnificent - so tru
New member
Soz I pressed post before I was done silly me. another thing was that i am English but I don't pronounce it asslan, I say Az-lan. What did they say in the film, I can't remember. I think it was Az-lan though
another thing was that i am English but I don't pronounce it asslan, I say Az-lan. What did they say in the film, I can't remember. I think it was Az-lan though
inTHEwardrobe
New member
The English way of saying Digory is : Dig-or-ee
Dig, as in, "I like to dig in the garden".
Or, as in "Would you like this or that?"
Ee, as in, the letter "e".
Dig, as in, "I like to dig in the garden".
Or, as in "Would you like this or that?"
Ee, as in, the letter "e".
When you are reading out loud, the important thing is to say any unfamiliar words confidently. Even if it's completely wrong, your listener won't know and you won't interrupt the flow of the story. (Very important!) And if your kids question you in 5-10 years, at least they were listening!
For Completeness' Sake:
Susan - SIOUX-sahn
Peter - PEIGH-toughrre
Edmund - EAHD-muhnd
Lucy - LIEU-tseigh
Hope that helps....
Susan - SIOUX-sahn
Peter - PEIGH-toughrre
Edmund - EAHD-muhnd
Lucy - LIEU-tseigh
Hope that helps....
Copperfox
Well-known member
The English language is in an awkward position when it comes to pronouncing non-European names which are transliterated in our alphabet. The reason for this is that, for whatever reason, our phonetic treatment of vowels long ago diverged from the European continent. And through the history of colonialism, Asian and African names tended to get adapted with the letter-values of Spanish, Dutch and French.
Most Latin-alphabet-using languages would not even think of pronouncing the letter A with what we call the long-A sound. French is the only other language on Earth which even sometimes shares our pronunciation of A, as in laissez-faire.
By an English-speaker's habit, I am inclined to pronounce the name of the female lead in "The Horse and His Boy" as having a first syllable phonetically identical with our word "air." But her name probably should be spoken as "AH-ravis."
Of course, English became the default language of Narnia on the day of its creation. But Jadis was literally an extraterrestrial. And as for the Calormenes...
When I set out years ago to write my fanfic novel "Southward the Tigers" (which still is here someplace), my study of Eastern cultures turned up a fascinating real-world fact. The Islamified nation of Kazakhstan was home to a tribe or clan called..... the KALOR. Mister Lewis may have been aware of this. Accordingly, I imagined a community of the Kalor finding a way into the Narnian world separately from familiar characters. (This would relieve the Narnian world from having to build its pre-Telmarine human population EXCLUSIVELY upon the children of one British couple and the genetically-compatible near-humans whom the children married upon growing up.) Kazakhs being related to Turks, I borrowed some Turkish names for my proto-Calormenes.
P.S. Timbalionguy, with whom I sadly have lost contact, set out to write a novel closely linked with my "Tigers" novel. He called his story "The Lion's Share." Tim had in mind to depict Talking Lions venturing to explore the land of Telmar. He never completed it; but because its action begins BEFORE my story, the two narratives can still be blended as one. If you can find "The Lion's Share," you should read all there is of it before you start my "Tigers" novel. The combined plotline will then make sense.
Most Latin-alphabet-using languages would not even think of pronouncing the letter A with what we call the long-A sound. French is the only other language on Earth which even sometimes shares our pronunciation of A, as in laissez-faire.
By an English-speaker's habit, I am inclined to pronounce the name of the female lead in "The Horse and His Boy" as having a first syllable phonetically identical with our word "air." But her name probably should be spoken as "AH-ravis."
Of course, English became the default language of Narnia on the day of its creation. But Jadis was literally an extraterrestrial. And as for the Calormenes...
When I set out years ago to write my fanfic novel "Southward the Tigers" (which still is here someplace), my study of Eastern cultures turned up a fascinating real-world fact. The Islamified nation of Kazakhstan was home to a tribe or clan called..... the KALOR. Mister Lewis may have been aware of this. Accordingly, I imagined a community of the Kalor finding a way into the Narnian world separately from familiar characters. (This would relieve the Narnian world from having to build its pre-Telmarine human population EXCLUSIVELY upon the children of one British couple and the genetically-compatible near-humans whom the children married upon growing up.) Kazakhs being related to Turks, I borrowed some Turkish names for my proto-Calormenes.
P.S. Timbalionguy, with whom I sadly have lost contact, set out to write a novel closely linked with my "Tigers" novel. He called his story "The Lion's Share." Tim had in mind to depict Talking Lions venturing to explore the land of Telmar. He never completed it; but because its action begins BEFORE my story, the two narratives can still be blended as one. If you can find "The Lion's Share," you should read all there is of it before you start my "Tigers" novel. The combined plotline will then make sense.
Copperfox
Well-known member
Imagine you're looking at a map which takes in Europe above, Africa beneath, and the Mediterranean Sea extending east-west between them. Turkey is the landmass at the east end of that sea, with a narrow navigable passage along its northern edge which leads to the Black Sea. The Black Sea was always important, because if otherwise-landlocked western Asian countries could put ships on the Black Sea, the ships could proceed into the Mediterranean, and beyond that into the Atlantic Ocean.
When Islam was conquering people by force, which was begun by Muhammad himself, Turkey was an early target, because it is not very far from Arabia where Muhammad was born. Moving east from Turkey, Islamic armies conquered more Asiatic people; and many Mongols embraced Islam of their own accord, because it favored the sort of social authority structures they were already accustomed to.
So yes, it is fact and not opinion that Islamic societies, from their earliest origin, often featured the kind of customs depicted by Mister Lewis among the Calormenes. But far from being fanatically hostile toward Muslims, Lewis AVOIDED condemning Islam, by making the religion of Tash very different from the creed of the Koran. I'd say, more like pre-Islamic Persia.
When Islam was conquering people by force, which was begun by Muhammad himself, Turkey was an early target, because it is not very far from Arabia where Muhammad was born. Moving east from Turkey, Islamic armies conquered more Asiatic people; and many Mongols embraced Islam of their own accord, because it favored the sort of social authority structures they were already accustomed to.
So yes, it is fact and not opinion that Islamic societies, from their earliest origin, often featured the kind of customs depicted by Mister Lewis among the Calormenes. But far from being fanatically hostile toward Muslims, Lewis AVOIDED condemning Islam, by making the religion of Tash very different from the creed of the Koran. I'd say, more like pre-Islamic Persia.
Copperfox
Well-known member
Turkey, which is very close to Greece, used to BE a large part of the Byzantine Empire; but refer to what I said about Islam having been spread from its very start by armed conquest. The Islamic invasion which destroyed the Byzantine Empire, left Muslims in charge of a good hunk of Europe for a long time: Greece, Macedonia, Slovenia, Albania, Serbia and Bulgaria.
Mongolia is indeed in Asia, far from Europe; it borders the north edge of China. But history has been greatly affected by the physical fact that it is possible to travel nearly the entire east-west length of Asia on horses. The true Mongols (and yeah, they are Asian), together with related people known as Tatars (not Tarrrrr-tars, just TAH-tars), expanded south into China and India, then west against Russia and its neighbors. Some of the real estate they invaded and conquered had previously been invaded and conquered by Muslims; that's where the part about Mongols voluntarily joining Islam comes in.
Oddly enough, after the Tatar-Mongol Empire broke apart (and much of it was counter-conquered by the formerly-subjugated Russians), some tribes of Mongols migrated south, all the way down across China, to settle in the tropical region which now includes Thailand and Vietnam. These transplanted Mongols came to be known as the Lao Hmong (the H is silent). Where the old horse-nomad Mongols had been fierce and cruel, the Lao Hmong of recent history are peaceful and friendly.
This proves that the collective behavior of a community IS NOT determined by the RACE of its members. The group's behavior is determined by various practical circumstances, plus the FREE-WILL CHOICES of people in the community.
Mister Lewis was affirming this fact when he made the pagan maiden Aravis become a true worshipper of Aslan.
Mongolia is indeed in Asia, far from Europe; it borders the north edge of China. But history has been greatly affected by the physical fact that it is possible to travel nearly the entire east-west length of Asia on horses. The true Mongols (and yeah, they are Asian), together with related people known as Tatars (not Tarrrrr-tars, just TAH-tars), expanded south into China and India, then west against Russia and its neighbors. Some of the real estate they invaded and conquered had previously been invaded and conquered by Muslims; that's where the part about Mongols voluntarily joining Islam comes in.
Oddly enough, after the Tatar-Mongol Empire broke apart (and much of it was counter-conquered by the formerly-subjugated Russians), some tribes of Mongols migrated south, all the way down across China, to settle in the tropical region which now includes Thailand and Vietnam. These transplanted Mongols came to be known as the Lao Hmong (the H is silent). Where the old horse-nomad Mongols had been fierce and cruel, the Lao Hmong of recent history are peaceful and friendly.
This proves that the collective behavior of a community IS NOT determined by the RACE of its members. The group's behavior is determined by various practical circumstances, plus the FREE-WILL CHOICES of people in the community.
Mister Lewis was affirming this fact when he made the pagan maiden Aravis become a true worshipper of Aslan.