Swordspoint pronounciation

[ellenkushner]

That tlatoani! First he wants a University T-shirt; now he wants to know how to pronounce things. Geez. But he's not the only one. So here ya go:

"St Vier" is "Saint VEER" (pretty American-sounding, really; not even "sin" for "saint"* the way all Yankee girls grow up to be horrified the first time someone tells them how to actually pronounce Jane Eyre's near-miss, Mr. Rivers... but then, if you haven't noticed - or haven't heard me read - the Riverside District accent is very American - must be the Damon Runyon influence), though the Duchess Tremontaine's first name, Diane, is, for some weird reason of my brain, pronounced as if it were French: "dee-AHNN."

You may, of course, ignore all this if you like. I know what it is to fall in love with a sound and claim it as your own despite all assurances that it really isn't "a-FRAWH-di-tee," dear.

*ADDED: Consulting own voice reading from the book: In Riverside they really do pronounce the"Saint" as written; on the Hill and in the Nicer parts of the city, it goes more to "Sint" or "S'nt." But you still get the final "t."

Comments

[burgundy.livejournal.com]

Woo-hoo! More than a decade of uncertainty, finally resolved. And I was right, too. I was so sure that I'd gotten it wrong, and equally sure that everyone else somehow just knew, so if I ever talked about the character I just called him Richard and avoided the issue entirely.

[ellen-kushner.livejournal.com]

We try to provide these little services....

[tlatoani.livejournal.com]

It suddenly occurred to me that I could, you know, just ask. ;-)

[ellen-kushner.livejournal.com]

Go, man, go!

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

The funny thing is that I had been hearing "Diane" the French way in my head before I ever heard you say it. I think it must have been the engageantes on her sleeves, which you described even though you didn't have the costume-geek word for them.

[shveta-thakrar.livejournal.com]

Heh, I thought it was "vee-ay" all this time. Good to know.

[theniwokesoftly.livejournal.com]

And here I was, pronouncing "saint" in a French accent and "Vier" as I do the German word for 4. That was in my head though- out loud I'd make a conscious effort to say "Saint Veer" in an American accent because I know I'm odd.

This is cool to know.

[joey112.livejournal.com]

Oh well, I will continue with Sin Vere, it's too late to change. *g*

[desperance.livejournal.com]

I know what it is to fall in love with a sound and claim it as your own despite all assurances that it really isn't "a-fro-DYE-tee," dear.

But it is! Isn't it...?

[ellen-kushner.livejournal.com]

Omg, you're right - it was late and I did a brain burp - it's that when I was a kid I called her "a-FRAH-di-tee," that was it! Will fix above. Too embarrassing.

[aurenfaie.livejournal.com]

And all this time I've been saying it like "Vee-air," and it never even struck me that it might be wrong, lol. XD Ah well, good things to know. :D

[mantichore.livejournal.com]

Of course, in French, everybody will call him Senn-vee-ay. ^___________^

[ellen-kushner.livejournal.com]

That will be scrumptious, too!

[yaoi-in-exile.livejournal.com]

So the upper-city speaks with an Irish lilt? o.o That is exactly the way my Irish-accented great-grandmother pronounces 'St. Vier'.

[ellen-kushner.livejournal.com]

You got your great-grandmother to pronounce "St Vier"??! I stand amazed in awe and wonder.

[yaoi-in-exile.livejournal.com]

She was trying to prove to us all that she could still read normal-sized print, and she seized my copy of Swordspoint, which happened to be lying nearby, and picked up at the end of the trial scene. Fortunately, she broke it off before getting to that harmless little "They want you to sleep with their daughters." bit, or we would have had to have an unpleasant family discussion. XP

But: *is* that how they speak? :3 Richard *has* mulled over Alec's accent by describing it as a "lilt" before.