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Evil_Pacifist
2006-11-06, 08:33 AM
I've always pronounced it Zy-con, but I was wondering how other people do.

Constantinople
2006-11-06, 08:36 AM
Zy-Kon.

As simple as that. Plus, didn't The Giant give a list of how to pronounce the Character's names?

fwiffo
2006-11-06, 08:59 AM
You say she is Mee-ko, and I say she is Mai-ko
You say she's a see-ko and I say she's a sai-ko
Let's call the...

What? Xykon? Oh, he is easy. Only one way really to pronounce him.

mikeejimbo
2006-11-06, 09:01 AM
Heh, this is funny because I was just wondering how you pronounce "Elan"

Neo
2006-11-06, 09:05 AM
Zykon, Meeko and Eelan

Heloisa
2006-11-06, 09:08 AM
Zykon, Meeko and Eelan


Ditto!
English is not my native language so I was happy to see I read it right, lol.

Keldar
2006-11-06, 09:50 AM
Plus, didn't The Giant give a list of how to pronounce the Character's names?

Yep. There was one thread about it quite a while ago here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4992).

It's been a while, so newer characters like Leeky, Pompey, and Miko aren't on it, but at least most of the characters he lists are still active.

(And for those too lazy to click the link, yes, he gives it as ZYE-kon.)

Snake-Aes
2006-11-06, 10:29 AM
Funny fact about knowing both English and Portuguese at the same time is that it's so damn easier to guess most pronnounces possible.
Only one I have different than the ones Giant mentioned was Xykon, I say it with a SH instead of a Z sound. I can't quite grasp X sounding as Z in the beginning of a word :s

fwiffo
2006-11-06, 10:58 AM
Only one I have different than the ones Giant mentioned was Xykon, I say it with a SH instead of a Z sound. I can't quite grasp X sounding as Z in the beginning of a word :s

In English, most actual words that start with X are pronounced with Z sound up front. The only ones that don't are abbreviations (like Xray or Xfactor) or some foreign words, mostly chinese (like Xiaolin, spelled with X but starting with more of an SH sound).

Still, Xykon is not really ambiguous. He is Zai-kon.

TinSoldier
2006-11-06, 11:01 AM
Like "Xylophone".

Snake-Aes
2006-11-06, 11:17 AM
You gave the worst example possible, Tin
Xylophone in Portuguese is Xilofone, with an "SH" X ;)

My mistake on Xykon but well, I'll live with it and work on real words next time o.o'

TinSoldier
2006-11-06, 11:27 AM
You gave the worst example possible, Tin
Xylophone in Portuguese is Xilofone, with an "SH" X ;)

My mistake on Xykon but well, I'll live with it and work on real words next time o.o'Sorry, I didn't know that.

I struggled with the Portuguese pronunciations in some of Orson Scott Card's books.

Yuki Akuma
2006-11-06, 11:41 AM
ZYE-kon.

And "Mee-Ko". No stress on either sylable, just as if it was a Japanese name.

(Which it is!)

Nazzo, the 102nd
2006-11-06, 11:43 AM
My mistake on Xykon but well, I'll live with it and work on real words next time o.o'

I feel your pain, Snake. :smallbiggrin: It's difficult to me to get the "SHEE-kon" out of my mind, because it was this way I first read it.

You a fellow Portuguese speaker! Nice. :smallsmile:

Snake-Aes
2006-11-06, 11:45 AM
No need to apologize ^.^





And if you tell anyone that I drew such "^.^" emote while being a representative of the dark side, the Force will strangle your dwarven metallic-protected neck! Ò.Ó

SupraGuy
2006-11-06, 11:54 AM
The whole of the Sapphire Guard I pronounce using the rules for Japanese Romaji (Roman alphabet) I figured that it makes sense considering the Samurai theme.

As such each vowel can have only one sound. A as in apple, e as in egg, i as in ski, o as in go, u as in true. Double letters do not change the sound, but just extend it.

Anyway...

To the topic, I'm with the majority. Zy (rhymes with tie) Kon (rhymes with pawn)

Hederoth
2006-11-06, 12:01 PM
I am greek :) x is x in greek, xylophone is xylophono in greek :)

I did know that X in the beginning of an english word is Z tho, so I did know it was Zai-kon.

I thought it was E-lan (as in elephant) however and not Ee-lan (as in eel). Interesting :)

Snake-Aes
2006-11-06, 01:21 PM
I'd go for Elan with no eel crap here, it even sounds better than "eelan"

translating speech is hard when you can't, err,speak. This thread will be a mess very soon

mikeejimbo
2006-11-06, 03:41 PM
I've been pronouncing it "El-ahn." According to that one thread, it seems to be "Ee-lin"

Maratanos
2006-11-06, 09:21 PM
I've always pronounced it eh-lin and probably will continue to do so. Eelin just doesn't sound right.

Sheine
2006-11-06, 09:25 PM
Ive always said (or thought) Shy-Kon. Guess im just odd...

Athanatos
2006-11-06, 09:26 PM
Yeah, it's always been ELL-unn for me... thought I was debating for a while whether it was "Ell-AHN" or not. And then The Giant comes and serves us this confusing sucker punch. Sheesh...

Mewtarthio
2006-11-06, 10:05 PM
I've always pronounced Elan like that French word. I think it means "fighting spirit" or "morale" or something similar. I only know about it in the context of WWI, in which it sent countless men to their deaths in futile offensives (which seems oddly fitting, somehow). I am fairly certain that it means something that would have great significance to a bard.

Sliverghost
2006-11-06, 10:09 PM
i do zy-lon.....just looks like that to me :smallsmile: :smallbiggrin:

Yuki Akuma
2006-11-07, 08:22 AM
The whole of the Sapphire Guard I pronounce using the rules for Japanese Romaji (Roman alphabet) I figured that it makes sense considering the Samurai theme.

As such each vowel can have only one sound. A as in apple, e as in egg, i as in ski, o as in go, u as in true. Double letters do not change the sound, but just extend it.

Anyway...

To the topic, I'm with the majority. Zy (rhymes with tie) Kon (rhymes with pawn)

Double vowels lengthen the vowel. Double consanants indicate a glottal stop! :smallwink:

Nightfall
2006-11-07, 08:31 AM
I've always pronounced Xykon in my head as "ZY-kon".

Elan has always been "EE-lan" (short "a" on second syllable). This doesn't jive with the mirror twin theme, though, because "Nale" is "Nail" to me, not "Nah-LEE". Confusing, isn't it?:biggrin:

J.Gellert
2006-11-07, 09:57 AM
KSHEE-kon...

...Greek pronunciation for the win! :tongue:

And MEE-ko.

Zeb The Troll
2006-11-07, 12:24 PM
i do zy-lon.....just looks like that to me :smallsmile: :smallbiggrin:
But.. but...

There's no "L" in the name!

:annoyed:

SupraGuy
2006-11-07, 03:10 PM
It's Zoltar! Evil despot of the Crab Nebula... No wait...

While on the subject... How about Haley?

I say "Hey lee" but I knew a girl who pronounced her name "Hah Lay"

I suppose that makes for 4 possible pronunciations....

Zeb The Troll
2006-11-07, 09:49 PM
It's Zoltar! Evil despot of the Crab Nebula... No wait...

While on the subject... How about Haley?

I say "Hey lee" but I knew a girl who pronounced her name "Hah Lay"

I suppose that makes for 4 possible pronunciations....

Check out the link Keldar posted. Giant spells it out pretty unambiguously.


Yep. There was one thread about it quite a while ago here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4992).

TinSoldier
2006-11-07, 09:59 PM
I pronounce Xykon "Bee Bee Jee".

dcviana
2006-11-07, 10:03 PM
I always pronounced Xykon as Qsaicon. But Zykon is not far from it.

But Elan = Ee-lin.... I don't know, I just can't say it.

TinSoldier
2006-11-07, 10:11 PM
Yeah, I say "EE-lawn". I just can't stop myself.

Zeb The Troll
2006-11-07, 10:18 PM
I always pronounced Xykon as Qsaicon. But Zykon is not far from it.

But Elan = Ee-lin.... I don't know, I just can't say it.

It's easy. Just say dealin' and then take off the "d". :smallbiggrin:

Nazzo, the 102nd
2006-11-07, 10:32 PM
I say

mee-ko mee-ya-zah-kee

Note no stress and the pronounciation of the Y in "ya": mee-ya-zah-kee.

I just can't say EE-lin. It's E-lan. With an open E, like "This is a test".

Flak_Razorwill
2006-11-07, 11:39 PM
I've always said, "Uh-laan" for Elan.

Xykon: "Z-eye-khan"
Miko Miyazaki: "Moh-tow-koh Ah-oi-yah-ma," I mean, "Mee-koh Mee-yah-zah-kee"

I've always pronounced "Haley" as "Hay-lee." I've heard others say "Hal-ee."

Holy_Knight
2006-11-08, 03:01 AM
I've always said, "Uh-laan" for Elan.


Yeah, I say "EE-lawn". I just can't stop myself.



But Elan = Ee-lin.... I don't know, I just can't say it.

It's really not that strange. Take this name:

"Alan"

It's pronounced "AL - lin", not "uh - laan" or "AL - lawn".

Elan's name just has a long "E" instead of a short "A" at the beginning. Thus, "EE - lin". :smallsmile:

Sir_Norbert
2006-11-08, 06:41 AM
Depends on what variety of English you speak. (Sorry to be pedantic about this, but when there's so much confusion going on, it's helpful to try to get things clear.)

In Britain, "Alan" is pronounced AL-@n, where the @ represents a schwa, the "a" in "about", not the "i" sound. I understand that in American English the two aren't distinguished (so, for instance, you pronounce "Lennon" and "Lenin" the same; to us they are similar but not exactly alike).

I deduce from the way Elan's name is spelled that it's meant to be pronounced with @ in dialects that do make the distinction, and of course in dialects that don't, it doesn't matter anyway. So another way to describe it would be that it's like the surname "Whelan" with the "Wh" left off.

Hope that helped....

Sliverghost
2006-11-08, 10:10 AM
But.. but...

There's no "L" in the name!

:annoyed:

well thats what poped into my head the first time :smallredface: :smallconfused: :smallbiggrin: :smallsmile:

Zeb The Troll
2006-11-08, 10:57 AM
Depends on what variety of English you speak. (Sorry to be pedantic about this, but when there's so much confusion going on, it's helpful to try to get things clear.)

In Britain, "Alan" is pronounced AL-@n, where the @ represents a schwa, the "a" in "about", not the "i" sound. I understand that in American English the two aren't distinguished (so, for instance, you pronounce "Lennon" and "Lenin" the same; to us they are similar but not exactly alike).

I deduce from the way Elan's name is spelled that it's meant to be pronounced with @ in dialects that do make the distinction, and of course in dialects that don't, it doesn't matter anyway. So another way to describe it would be that it's like the surname "Whelan" with the "Wh" left off.

Hope that helped....
Nah, American dictionaries use a schwa too, but a) there isn't a character on the keyboard that readily makes that symbol, and b) frankly I suspect that around 7 out of 10 Americans wouldn't know how to pronounce a schwa if they saw it. That being said, I agree that the pronunciation guide would probably be EE-l@n (using your makeshift schwa) if it were easier to use traditional pronunciation symbols (in which case we'd also have to change it to e[with a line over it]'-l[upside down e]n :smalltongue:).

Lord Zentei
2006-11-08, 11:13 AM
Sy-con. "Sy", as the "psi" in psionic (without the p) and "con" as in "con-artist".

And I say E - lan. Rhymes with "man" and "ban", like word that means the "quality of being elite". I know it's not the right way, but I've got used to doing it, so pfft. :smallwink:

Doompuppy
2006-11-08, 12:03 PM
Zycon or Psych-on, pretty much, like so many others.

And for Elan, I guess I differ from the norm and pronounce it more like "Ailan" (with 'ail' as in 'ailing'). Not sure why, just a natural way for me to pronounce it in English...

Holy_Knight
2006-11-08, 01:39 PM
Depends on what variety of English you speak. (Sorry to be pedantic about this, but when there's so much confusion going on, it's helpful to try to get things clear.)

In Britain, "Alan" is pronounced AL-@n, where the @ represents a schwa, the "a" in "about", not the "i" sound. I understand that in American English the two aren't distinguished (so, for instance, you pronounce "Lennon" and "Lenin" the same; to us they are similar but not exactly alike).

I deduce from the way Elan's name is spelled that it's meant to be pronounced with @ in dialects that do make the distinction, and of course in dialects that don't, it doesn't matter anyway. So another way to describe it would be that it's like the surname "Whelan" with the "Wh" left off.

Hope that helped....
Sure, that's fair, and I wasn't making the distinction between those two sounds in what I said. But either way, the name would still be pronounced with the emphasis on the first syllable, which is a long "E" sound.

Flak_Razorwill
2006-11-08, 02:35 PM
It's really not that strange. Take this name:

"Alan"

It's pronounced "AL - lin", not "uh - laan" or "AL - lawn".

Elan's name just has a long "E" instead of a short "A" at the beginning. Thus, "EE - lin". :smallsmile:

I know, I know. It's just that old habits are hard to break. I mean, unlike RvB or FREEM!, there isn't any audio or a strong core of fans near my location for reference. Until Rich came by on the forums to explain the pronunciations, I had been saying "Uh-laan" in my head for months. My only reference for "Elan" was the French word roughly meaning "Chutzpah/Gung-Ho Spirit."

Learnedguy
2006-11-08, 02:55 PM
i'd say something like Ksykson or something like that.

Zafuel
2006-11-09, 04:02 PM
You say she is Mee-ko, and I say she is Mai-ko
You say she's a see-ko and I say she's a sai-ko
Let's call the...

If you follow Japanese phonetics, it is Mee-Ko.

And I said "Zy-Kon"
And "Uh-Lan"

Grizzt
2007-04-22, 11:57 AM
i think its is Ksaikon Miko Elan (Miko and Elan short E)

Radazim
2007-04-22, 12:22 PM
...but it's pronounced "Throatwarbler Mangrove." I thought everyone knew that.

And I'm sorry, but to me it's eh-LAHN, not EE-lin.

As for the "Alan" comparison, the trouble with that is that there is no "silent E" that would change the initial E from short to long. So it would be "EH-lan" which sounds rather like "Ellen" to me.

Giant be damned, I'm sticking with eh-LAHN. :smallwink:

Lolzords
2007-04-22, 04:09 PM
Hmm, I pronounce the names like this:

Xykon=ZYE-con
Vaarsivus=VAR-si-VUS
Haley=HEY-lee
Elan=Like ELLEN(but the first E is pronouced like the E in easy.)

Unless Rich decides to make an OoTS movie or flash cartoon then I say you can pronouce the names and places however the hell you want.

Elliot Kane
2007-04-22, 05:50 PM
Xykon I think is 'Zie-Kon'.

Elan is far easier as it's actually a proper English word, meaning 'flair' basically. It's pronounced 'Ell-Ann'

Setra
2007-04-22, 07:21 PM
:elan: ee-lin
:haley: Hay-lee
:durkon: Dur-kon
:xykon: ZI-kon
:sabine: say-bEEn (like bean, not been)
:miko: me-koh me-ya-zah-kee
:roy: Fred

Edit: Wait.. one of these posts is from.. quite a long time ago.. isn't this thread necromancy?

jindra34
2007-04-22, 07:33 PM
:elan: ee-lin
:haley: Hay-lee
:durkon: Dur-kon
:xykon: ZI-kon
:sabine: say-bEEn (like bean, not been)
:miko: me-koh me-ya-zah-kee
:roy: Fred

Edit: Wait.. one of these posts is from.. quite a long time ago.. isn't this thread necromancy?

yeah but not for you...

NeonRonin
2007-04-22, 07:47 PM
Xykon was always Zye-con to me, but I'm having a real hard time with the Ee-lin pronunciation. I always figured it was Ehl-in or Ehl-ann whenever I read it. The others all came pretty easily.

I do have one question, though... how does one pronounce 'Redcloak'? :smallbiggrin:

jindra34
2007-04-22, 07:53 PM
I do have one question, though... how does one pronounce 'Redcloak'? :smallbiggrin:

You pronouce it Se-con-de-in-co-man-de