Pronounce R'lyeh - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Pronounce R'lyeh

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
Authw8
Feb 04, 2009 9:28:48 How do you pronounce R'lyeh? I'm writing a song, and I need to know how to rhyme this monstrosity of a word.
#2
batshido
Feb 04, 2009 9:30:04 I always say it "Riley."

I'm pretty sure that's wrong.
#3
oxybe
Feb 04, 2009 9:39:17 i've pronounced it "Ruh-lee-h"
#4
Authw8
Feb 04, 2009 10:34:39 I'm looking at pronunciation of Rill-ee-ay as convenient, since there seems to be no consensus.

Here's the lyrics I'm looking at right now:

Waiting beneath the sea, waiting for the stars to set him free
Dreaming far away, in the ancient city of R'lyeh
#5
freedeath
Feb 04, 2009 11:00:40 Rill-yeh

or Ruh-eel-yeh
#6
cottonmather
Feb 04, 2009 11:02:41
How do you pronounce R'lyeh? I'm writing a song, and I need to know how to rhyme this monstrosity of a word.

It depends on what the ' represents. It could be a glottal stop, which you can achieve by tightening your vocal chords to stop the sound sharply. It is the sound you hear a lot in arabic and hebrew. Or the cockney pronounciation of Bottle: Bo'l.
#7
EscherEnigma
Feb 04, 2009 11:17:45 I pronounce it "Re" (as in red) -"Ley" (as in ley lines).

I'm pretty sure that's a wrong way.

But like most Lovecraftian words, I don't think there is a right way.
#8
cottonmather
Feb 04, 2009 11:20:02
I pronounce it "Re" (as in red) -"Ley" (as in ley lines).

I'm pretty sure that's a wrong way.

But like most Lovecraftian words, I don't think there is a right way.

Personally, I don't read lovecraft any more because he was such a racist. And his prose was kind of clunky.
#9
bob_loblaw
Feb 04, 2009 11:28:30
Personally, I don't read lovecraft any more because he was such a racist. And his prose was kind of clunky.

So your going to base your opinion on an author that wrote when there was "scientific" evidence that white people were superior? I don't know how to address this. You are placing 21st century standards on a 19th-20th century author. His characters should have been mostly white simply because they were the ones who would have been in the professions needed for the stories. If someone were to write a story today set in the 1920s with the main character being an accepted black member of the White House staff, I would not be impressed. It's all about the time not the author.

As for the prose, I find some of it difficult to get through as well. Honestly I don't like his style. I have that problem with many authors of that time. I do like the themes and the way he helped many other authors find their way. I also like the fact that he and I share a birthday (separated by a few years).
#10
cottonmather
Feb 04, 2009 11:31:50
So your going to base your opinion on an author that wrote when there was "scientific" evidence that white people were superior? I don't know how to address this. You are placing 21st century standards on a 19th-20th century author. His characters should have been mostly white simply because they were the ones who would have been in the professions needed for the stories. If someone were to write a story today set in the 1920s with the main character being an accepted black member of the White House staff, I would not be impressed. It's all about the time not the author.

As for the prose, I find some of it difficult to get through as well. Honestly I don't like his style. I have that problem with many authors of that time. I do like the themes and the way he helped many other authors find their way. I also like the fact that he and I share a birthday (separated by a few years).

To an extent, I will forgive people for being a product of their time. But he wrote some pretty harsh things, and I take personal offense every time I read it. ANd I am sure black people back then did as well. There was a time when slavery was the norm in the south. Doesn't mean I should forgive white slave owners.

For me, it isn't even the writing style of his time that is a problem. It is that he is objectively a bad prose writer. Even given the standards of the 20s. He wrote very, very clunky sentences, that flowed awkwardly with words that were crammed in because they were big or scientific sounding. Occasionally he hit a good note. But really find his sentence structure torture to read.
#11
cherubaddon
Feb 04, 2009 14:51:35 I've got no clue of linguistics, so I don't know how a "glottal stop" is supposed to be pronounced; for my part, I just ignore the apostrophe: rolled R-lyeh. Sounds weird, but that's the point, is it not?
#12
cottonmather
Feb 04, 2009 14:55:15
I've got no clue of linguistics, so I don't know how a "glottal stop" is supposed to be pronounced; for my part, I just ignore the apostrophe: rolled R-lyeh. Sounds weird, but that's the point, is it not?

It probably doesn't matter how it is pronounced, and an apostraphe doesn't always indicate a glottal stop. But it does sound kind of cool. A glottal stop is just a break in the sound really. It can give your NPCs really exotic sounding names if used sparringly. Wikipedia explains it better than I can:

The glottal stop, or more fully, the voiceless glottal plosive, is a type of consonantal sound which is used in many spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ʔ. The glottal stop is the sound made when the vocal cords (vocal folds) are (1) drawn together by muscular action to interrupt the flow of air being expelled from the lungs and then (2) released as pressure builds up below them; for example, the break separating the syllables of the interjection uh-oh. Strictly, the perception that it is a consonantal sound is produced by the release; the closure phase is necessarily silent because during it there is no airflow and the vocal cords are immobilized. It is called the glottal stop because the technical term for the gap between the vocal cords, which is closed up in the production of this sound, is the glottis. The term "glottal stop" is one of rather few technical terms of linguistics which have become well known outside the specialism.

You will have to forgive me. But I love languages and have lots of fun bringing linguistic concepts into my games.
#13
cherubaddon
Feb 04, 2009 15:07:45 Thanks!
#14
Lord_Ventnor
Feb 04, 2009 16:19:00 Ruh-Lay? That's how I'm seeing it.
#15
minja_dup
Feb 04, 2009 17:18:18 Rye as in the bread... lay as in the... um... well.... what you do when you go to sleep, gee that didn't really sound right either.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Authw8 Feb 04, 2009 9:28:48	How do you pronounce R'lyeh? I'm writing a song, and I need to know how to rhyme this monstrosity of a word.
#2 batshido Feb 04, 2009 9:30:04	I always say it "Riley." I'm pretty sure that's wrong.
#3 oxybe Feb 04, 2009 9:39:17	i've pronounced it "Ruh-lee-h"
#4 Authw8 Feb 04, 2009 10:34:39	I'm looking at pronunciation of Rill-ee-ay as convenient, since there seems to be no consensus. Here's the lyrics I'm looking at right now: Waiting beneath the sea, waiting for the stars to set him free Dreaming far away, in the ancient city of R'lyeh
#5 freedeath Feb 04, 2009 11:00:40	Rill-yeh or Ruh-eel-yeh
#6 cottonmather Feb 04, 2009 11:02:41	How do you pronounce R'lyeh? I'm writing a song, and I need to know how to rhyme this monstrosity of a word. It depends on what the ' represents. It could be a glottal stop, which you can achieve by tightening your vocal chords to stop the sound sharply. It is the sound you hear a lot in arabic and hebrew. Or the cockney pronounciation of Bottle: Bo'l.
#7 EscherEnigma Feb 04, 2009 11:17:45	I pronounce it "Re" (as in red) -"Ley" (as in ley lines). I'm pretty sure that's a wrong way. But like most Lovecraftian words, I don't think there is a right way.
#8 cottonmather Feb 04, 2009 11:20:02	I pronounce it "Re" (as in red) -"Ley" (as in ley lines). I'm pretty sure that's a wrong way. But like most Lovecraftian words, I don't think there is a right way. Personally, I don't read lovecraft any more because he was such a racist. And his prose was kind of clunky.
#9 bob_loblaw Feb 04, 2009 11:28:30	Personally, I don't read lovecraft any more because he was such a racist. And his prose was kind of clunky. So your going to base your opinion on an author that wrote when there was "scientific" evidence that white people were superior? I don't know how to address this. You are placing 21st century standards on a 19th-20th century author. His characters should have been mostly white simply because they were the ones who would have been in the professions needed for the stories. If someone were to write a story today set in the 1920s with the main character being an accepted black member of the White House staff, I would not be impressed. It's all about the time not the author. As for the prose, I find some of it difficult to get through as well. Honestly I don't like his style. I have that problem with many authors of that time. I do like the themes and the way he helped many other authors find their way. I also like the fact that he and I share a birthday (separated by a few years).
#10 cottonmather Feb 04, 2009 11:31:50	So your going to base your opinion on an author that wrote when there was "scientific" evidence that white people were superior? I don't know how to address this. You are placing 21st century standards on a 19th-20th century author. His characters should have been mostly white simply because they were the ones who would have been in the professions needed for the stories. If someone were to write a story today set in the 1920s with the main character being an accepted black member of the White House staff, I would not be impressed. It's all about the time not the author. As for the prose, I find some of it difficult to get through as well. Honestly I don't like his style. I have that problem with many authors of that time. I do like the themes and the way he helped many other authors find their way. I also like the fact that he and I share a birthday (separated by a few years). To an extent, I will forgive people for being a product of their time. But he wrote some pretty harsh things, and I take personal offense every time I read it. ANd I am sure black people back then did as well. There was a time when slavery was the norm in the south. Doesn't mean I should forgive white slave owners. For me, it isn't even the writing style of his time that is a problem. It is that he is objectively a bad prose writer. Even given the standards of the 20s. He wrote very, very clunky sentences, that flowed awkwardly with words that were crammed in because they were big or scientific sounding. Occasionally he hit a good note. But really find his sentence structure torture to read.
#11 cherubaddon Feb 04, 2009 14:51:35	I've got no clue of linguistics, so I don't know how a "glottal stop" is supposed to be pronounced; for my part, I just ignore the apostrophe: rolled R-lyeh. Sounds weird, but that's the point, is it not?
#12 cottonmather Feb 04, 2009 14:55:15	I've got no clue of linguistics, so I don't know how a "glottal stop" is supposed to be pronounced; for my part, I just ignore the apostrophe: rolled R-lyeh. Sounds weird, but that's the point, is it not? It probably doesn't matter how it is pronounced, and an apostraphe doesn't always indicate a glottal stop. But it does sound kind of cool. A glottal stop is just a break in the sound really. It can give your NPCs really exotic sounding names if used sparringly. Wikipedia explains it better than I can: The glottal stop, or more fully, the voiceless glottal plosive, is a type of consonantal sound which is used in many spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ʔ. The glottal stop is the sound made when the vocal cords (vocal folds) are (1) drawn together by muscular action to interrupt the flow of air being expelled from the lungs and then (2) released as pressure builds up below them; for example, the break separating the syllables of the interjection uh-oh. Strictly, the perception that it is a consonantal sound is produced by the release; the closure phase is necessarily silent because during it there is no airflow and the vocal cords are immobilized. It is called the glottal stop because the technical term for the gap between the vocal cords, which is closed up in the production of this sound, is the glottis. The term "glottal stop" is one of rather few technical terms of linguistics which have become well known outside the specialism. You will have to forgive me. But I love languages and have lots of fun bringing linguistic concepts into my games.
#13 cherubaddon Feb 04, 2009 15:07:45	Thanks!
#14 Lord_Ventnor Feb 04, 2009 16:19:00	Ruh-Lay? That's how I'm seeing it.
#15 minja_dup Feb 04, 2009 17:18:18	Rye as in the bread... lay as in the... um... well.... what you do when you go to sleep, gee that didn't really sound right either.