Reading LOTR

[Grey_Wolf]

When I read lotr I pronounce all names and places as if they where English. Does anyone else have difficulty in pronouncing them or are attempting to pronounce them just as Tolkien had in mind?

OK, this might seem a bit silly.
When you read lotr, do you read it out aloud or do read it in your mind, so to speak?

[Lizra]

I silently pronounce them in Lizran. An exercise in hilarity, I'm sure! ;)

[Lalaith]

I do not pronounce them in mind. At least not the words I don't know how to pronounce. I just read over them.

[Artanis]

I always pronounce them (silently) the Norwegian way, which I think is very near how they're intended to be pronounced. :)

Oh, I'd love to hear the Lizran way! :p

[Linaewen]

Anything I read is pronounced in my head. Anything.
I think I pronounce things quite well, since I've read a lot about Elvish pronunciation. But occasionally, I do have to whack myself for pronouncing Feanor incorrectly repeatedly. :p

[legolialis]

I'd like to think that i pronounce them right, but then again how do you know?

[IronParrot]

From the second time I read the book onwards, I did try to follow Tolkien's pronunciation guide, but only insofar as I remembered it. I didn't flip to it every time there was an uncertainty.

While reading it on paper, anyway, it only really has an effect on the rhyme and rhythm of the poetry. (For example, "isILdur's BANE")

[Anglorfin]

I read with Tolkien's pronunciations. When I first started I read it however I saw it as in my own dialect but after becoming significantly informed of the "correct" pronunciation that is how I read it on paper.

Occaisionally I will say a few words out loud to see how they sound with the right pronunciation. Sometimes though when carrying on casual conversation with other Tolkien readers it's hard to keep my native dialect out of Elvish words.

[Elenna Alaniel]

I pronounce it like tolkien but just becouse croatian has similar pronounciation.When I'm alone I read it quietly but sometimes when I'm whit mine cousin we read it loud so that one reads and another listens

[Starr Polish]

I always read silently, and I haven't read fiction out loud since I was in third grade and I was reading to the kindergarteners for class.

If I know the correct Tolkien pronounciation, I read it that way, but if I don't I try to figure it out as best I can. I usually don't let it trip up my reading either way though.

[ArwenEvenstar]

When I first read LotR i prononced it in Natalie language, but after reading Tolkien's little guide thing at the back of the Sil, I prononced everything (more or less) correctly.

[Divine Sorceress]

I just pronounce them the way I think they should be pronounced because I haven't had time to read the Sil yet. But I don't think I massacre the names too bad.

[durin's bane]

I pronounce this like how I think they're pronounced. I sort of say it in my head or I just skip the word.

[ArwenEvenstar]

If it's a super complex word, sometimes just looking at it and not reading works so you don't massacre it.

[Earniel]

If the names are in English, then I pronounce them in English. But with Elvish names I tend to say them in Dutch. With names like Fëanor or Sméagol, I say the accents like I would in Dutch and I split the 'e' and 'a' in the two Dutch sounds.Oh, I'd love to hear the Lizran way! Ditto! Is it hard to learn? ;)

[LutraMage]

I read them in my mind, but when I first read the books I just ignored any names I didn't know; then, later, when I had reread the book for the umpteenth time it became embarassing talking to other Tolkien fans and not knowing how to pronouce them, so I began reading the names out loud to myself until I got them sorted out in my mind. Now I always read the names quietly like the rest of the book.

As for pronounciation, I try but I wouldn't like to be tested by Professor Tolkien - that would be a 'Fail' I'm sure! :p

[nessa]

I was like LutraMage when I first started reading LOR. I've always liked the books but when I was considerably younger I couldn't be bothered to try and fathom how the words sounded. It did not appear that important however I put my foot in it majorally when I made an error and pronounced Gil Galad as Jill, to the derision of my friends. After that I made an effort to use the appendices although I was never tempted to go beyond pronounciation. I'm not sure that I pronounce everything properly now and it's been over 30 years since I first read The Hobbit!

[DraztiK]

I just pronounce it the same way I pronounce Latin

[theonering]

i pronounce them as english, inside my head. but some times i very silently whisper it, preferably when i have the lotr film music on.

[Silje]

Originally posted by Artanis
I always pronounce them (silently) the Norwegian way, which I think is very near how they're intended to be pronounced. :)
Me too. But when I read them aloud I tend to put the stress wrong.

[katya]

I think I pronounce everything more or less right. I said Isildur pretty badly for a while, but it only took a while to get "seleborn" out of my head. Nowadays though, I pronounce every new word in a Japanese way. I am taking it in school, and you have to pronounce everything right, you know? So it's like, see a German word, pronounce it as if it were Japanese. I can't help it!

[Cirdan]

I pronounce them as though I had my big toe jammed into my left nostril. It isn't pretty.

[Grey_Wolf]

Originally posted by Cirdan
I pronounce them as though I had my big toe jammed into my left nostril. It isn't pretty.

Ouch!