Song in the Silence

PRONUNCIATION GUIDE

As a translator/transcriber, I feel the frustration common to all those faced with similar difficulties. The jaws, throats, teeth and tongues of Dragons are vastly different from those of humans. It is not, therefore, surprising to realise that the written forms of these names are approximations only. The names of Dragons are not commonly known, nor are they often seen in print! I have therefore attempted to spell them as they are pronounced. Often in English there are graphs (letters) that are present for historical purposes; this is not the case with Dragon names in this volume.

Vowels are essentially those of Italian or Hawaiian, each with a consistent value and always pronounced. A rough guide would be:

a = ah, as in father

e = ay, as in say

i = ee, as in see

o = oh, as in vote

u = oo, as in true Consonants are essentially as in English, with a few exceptions:

K before a vowel is always followed by an aspirant (h) R, unless initial, is always "soft" and slightly rolled Labials (m, p, b) are generally unpronounceable by Dragons without a great deal of practice, with one exception. The "m" of Mirazhe's name is so written to indicate the nearest English equivalent of the actual sound, which is very like a nasal liquid. Lanen heard it as "m."

The plosive that occurs between s and r (-khistri-, -issdra-) may be represented by either d or t in English—the pronunciation lies somewhere between.

Hadretikantishikrar (Hah-dray-tee-khan-tee-shee-krahr), primary accent on the last syllable, strong secondary on the first, weak secondary accent on the fourth. Usename Shikrar, accent on the second syllable. He also has a formal usename, Hadreshikrar (Hah-dray-shee-krahr), accent on the third syllable.

Iderrikanterrisai (Ee-deh-ree-kahn-teh-ree-sah-ee). Primary accent on the last syllable, strong secondary on the first, weak secondary on the fourth. Use name Idai (Ee-dah-ee), accent on the second syllable. Formal usename, Iderrisai (Ee-deh-ree-sah-ee), accent on the penultimate syllable.

Khétrikharissdra (Khay-tree-khar-eess-drah). Primary accent on the penultimate syllable, secondary on both first and second. Usename Kédra (kay-drah), accent on the first syllable.

Khordeshkhistriakhor is pronounced roughly, in English (core-desh-kiss-tree-ah-core), with the primary accent on the penultimate syllable and a secondary accent on the first syllable. His usename, Akor, is pronounced [ah-core], accent on the first syllable. The fact that Lanen's pronunciation of his name is written without the aspirant throughout indicates that she could not reproduce the aspirant, or indeed was unaware of its existence. A diminutive of his name, Akhorishaan (Ah-core-ee-shaan), is occasionally used.

Lanen There appears to be some confusion as to the proper pronunciation of Lanen's name. It is pronounced (lah-nen ky-lar). The accent is on the first syllable for both names. And since English does not often make use of the "ae" spelling, it should be noted that the first syllable, Kae, rhymes with sky.

Mirazheshakramene (Mee-rah-zhay-shah-krah-may-nay). The primary accent, again, is on the next-to-last syllable, with a secondary accent on the second syllable. Her usename, Mirazhe, is simply the first three syllables of her name, accent on the second syllable,

Shurishkerrikaan (Shoo-reesh-kher-ree-kahn). Primary accent on the last syllable, secondary on both first and second. Usename Rishkaan (Reesh-kahn), accent on the second syllable.