What are the common mispronouciations related to 40K you commonly encounter?

To start things off, I used to know this kid at school called Nick Drew. A proper weener. He couldn't pronounce the word "genestealers" without firing a shower of spittle in every direction. Its hard to type how he said it.

Geneschtealersh is probably the closest i'll come without learning russian.

Anyway, you heard of any others that made you giggle?

None that make me giggle, but Tzeentch (Zinch) and Lasweapon (layz laser layz not laaaaaas) are some really common ones.

To start things off, I used to know this kid at school called Nick Drew. A proper weener. He couldn't pronounce the word "genestealers" without firing a shower of spittle in every direction. Its hard to type how he said it.


IMO You shouldn't really post people's real names online, it could put them at risk from pedo's and terrorists, although the risk may be low, but there still is a risk of that threat. It's better being safe, than sorry. :)


Back one topic:

I have a problem with pronouncing Tzeetch at first until a kid corrected me!

Another is Inquisition, it all seems to meld into one word doesn't it? (In-quis-i-tion)

lol:D


-Kai-Itza-

None that make me giggle, but Tzeentch (Zinch) and Lasweapon (layz laser layz not laaaaaas) are some really common ones.

ok, now what is it? Zinch or Tzeeeeen-tetch? I always say Tzeeeeen-tetch, that wrong? :P

Basically, when people Swedizise the english words. For example... I was on a tournament a couple of years ago and heard people say the swedish word for Laser cannon (Laserkanon) instead of Lascannon (which, I think, is quite a different thing and should be lended in it's original form..)

"He shoots with his Lascannon"
--->
"Han skjuter med sin laserkanon"

Or even worse, Scatter laser... some people say "Skatterlaser" and heck, "Skatter" is not even a swedish word it is just the english word pronounced just like if it were swedish!

It just sounds so corny.

Also, the classic Ulthwé pronounciation discussion... Ool-thwey? Ulth-weh? Ool-thwáy? I say, since nobody in the world can claim to speak Eldar it should be a free interpretation. I say Ulth-weh, because it is the easiest way to say it.

Oh and also, when people place a wierd accent on words... like, some swede I knew who said "Genestealers", with the intonation on "-steal-" and also pronounced the "e" after the "n" in "Gene". On top of that, slightly more open "e"s drawing them more toward an "ae"-sound. :?

LMAO - "GENE STEALERS" - Where's my lamp then?

ulth-way.

its a silent T in zeentch, so zee-n-ch

i sometimes pronounce names wrong while reading but usualy pick them up after a few chapters.

A lot of mispronunciations come down to regional dialects as well. For example American-english (an oxymoron if ever there was one)places emphasis on different parts of the word as those who speak actual english or even australian english (whihe not entirely actually english is a good deal closer than american). That being said one that people seem to constantly struggle with is the pronunciation of Liche (while not 40k...).
For the record, only the second 't' in Tzeentch is silent, the first is pronounched, albeit softly and quickly.

All of the Eldar Craftworlds have multiple pronounciations I have heard. (Being a frequent international traveller helps.)

The one I hear that gets mangled the most is: Iyanden.

ee-AHN-den
eye-YEN-den
EYE-en-den
ee-ahn-DAIN

(For reference, I use the first one.)

None that make me giggle, but Tzeentch (Zinch) and Lasweapon (layz laser layz not laaaaaas) are some really common ones.

I always pronounced Lascannon like "laaaascannon" because it lacks the modifying e at the end. IE - it's not a lasecannon or a laescannon, it's a lascannon. If you saw the word "las" you wouldn't pronounce it "layz". But I know that's something often up for debate. Though I suppose the word "lasgun" comes originally from Dune, so if we want to know how to say it properly, we should ask Frank Herbert (even though he's dead).

The idea of correct and incorrect pronunciations is a myth. Common versus unusual pronunciations isn't. Anybody who's studied linguistics knows that in order for speech to be "correct" the only requirement is that a native speaker has a reasonable chance of understanding what was said. If somebody comes up to you and says "Zinch" you might cringe, but you know what they mean.

I always pronounced Lascannon like "laaaascannon" because it lacks the modifying e at the end. IE - it's not a lasecannon or a laescannon, it's a lascannon. If you saw the word "las" you wouldn't pronounce it "layz". But I know that's something often up for debate. Though I suppose the word "lasgun" comes originally from Dune, so if we want to know how to say it properly, we should ask Frank Herbert (even though he's dead).
I've always used "laaascannon" too.
I usually find mixed pronunciations of this. A lot of IG players I've seen say "layz", but the staff often say "laaaas".


For the record, only the second 't' in Tzeentch is silent, the first is pronounched, albeit softly and quickly.
Ok, so it would be pronounced "tzeench" then? I've always had problems trying to pronounce this...

Rendering instead of rending is always a good one.

SM Capt to Dreadnought:

"Brother Ancient Gladius! Shade those heretics so they are realistically depicted with your assault cannon! The Emperor will create depth in their coloured surfaces this day!"

Tau being prenounced Tay-oo instead of Tow (as in OW!! you hit me!!).

Tir-a-nids being prenounced Tie-ran-ids.

Khorne being prenounced 'Corny'.

Some non warhammer ones are:

Research (first sylable very fast, often done by americans) rather then research (slow, the silabuls [dam I wish I could spell] are clear).

Route (or path, prenounced 'root') being prenounced as rout (as in flee).

Perfume rather then perfume (this one is alot like research, some say the misprenounciation came about because it sounds more upperclass if you know what I mean).

Interfatigable being prenounced In-ter-fat-eeg-ga-bull rather then in-ter-fat-tic-a-bull.

Tir-a-nids being prenounced Tie-ran-ids.

Khorne being prenounced 'Corny'.

Route (or path, prenounced 'root') being prenounced as rout (as in flee).


I always use the second pronunciation for Tyranid because I think of it as being derived from the word "tyrant."

I've heard Khorne (which I pronounce "corn") pronounced as "Crone" (like an old woman).

Finally, I've heard Route pronounced in a way that is rhymes with "Foot"

Language is a fascinating thing, isn't it?

Tir-a-nids being prenounced Tie-ran-ids.

The second pronunciation (Tie-Rahn-Ids) IS the correct one. The first pronunciation (Tear-uh-Nids) sounds better, however, so most people use that.

SM Capt to Dreadnought:

"Brother Ancient Gladius! Shade those heretics so they are realistically depicted with your assault cannon! The Emperor will create depth in their coloured surfaces this day!"


Couldn't stop laughing, too much sugar i suspect:P

I hear the Tie-Rahn-Ids pronounciation alot, i've also heard Necrons as Nee-Crons a few times. For some srange reason one of my friends, his brother and his sister all pronounce Dryad as Die-rad.

Yeah i say Tie-rah-nids. Space-Marine and Impoorieul Gooard.

There's also the all-too-damn-common "Emporer".

Research (first sylable very fast, often done by americans) rather then research (slow, the silabuls [dam I wish I could spell] are clear).


Hey now, lets not turn this thread into "Lets point out all the ways that Americans speak incorrectly." :P

Frankly I pronounce the words in question the same way as you guys have been saying, which is the same way that I was taught in school.

When speaking of which is the correct pronounciation of a Warhammer-term there we could either argue "How did the guy at GW who came up with this name want it to be pronounced?" or we could find the most common way of pronouncing it and call that the true pronouncation.

This is rather interesting to me as I study Linguistics at the moment. :party2:

"Layz"-cannon, couldn't that be spelled like... "Lacecannon"? If you just made the "z" voiceless... so it would be an "s".

And I would no want my marines to use a cannon that shoots lace, not any kind of cloth in fact. I want it to shot Las! :happy:

Some non warhammer ones are:

Research (first sylable very fast, often done by americans) rather then research (slow, the silabuls [dam I wish I could spell] are clear).

Route (or path, prenounced 'root') being prenounced as rout (as in flee).

Perfume rather then perfume (this one is alot like research, some say the misprenounciation came about because it sounds more upperclass if you know what I mean).

Interfatigable being prenounced In-ter-fat-eeg-ga-bull rather then in-ter-fat-tic-a-bull.

I am a bit of a weird American as far as pronunciations, but research and perfume are verbs, while research and perfume are nouns. Route as root is a noun, route as rout is a verb that means to send things along paths or to cut channels into something, usually wood. Indefatigable I know how to say from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. ;)

As for mispronunciations not mentioned in this thread so far...ElDAR is one I've heard...doesn't sound right at all.

As for mispronunciations not mentioned in this thread so far...ElDAR is one I've heard...doesn't sound right at all.

Sounds Spanish. El Dar. (El being the same as "the" and "dar" is the infinite form of "to give") :rofl

Daemons, I hear people say Day-mons, like they're jamacian or something. It's Demon!

Tie-rahnids is not definitively accurate, I don't believe.

They are named after the planet Tyranus, where they were first encountered ... and the issue comes up yet again of pronunciation of course, but there's nothing to imply that word must be pronounced Tie-ran-us either.

I've heard people say it is derived from the word Tyrant before, and that is actually my pet peeve pronunciation wise ... not that it's a clear-cut answer (it could be tie-ran-ids), but that people don't simply read the codex before opening their mouths to claim its derivation.

I personally pronounce it Tear-a-nids. Though it could be pronounced Tie-ran-ids if you think the root syllable is akin to that in the word Tyrant. On the other hand, it could be akin to the pronunciation of the Norse god of war Tyr (tear) in which case the first pronunciation is equally valid.

As to the research vs research, I use both interchangeably, for they both technically are correct pronunciations. It just depends on context and where one emphasizes the syllable.


For example:
" I was busy researching the history of the Tyranids"
or " I researched why we all pronounce things differently. It's probably b/c I'm always right."

as opposed to:

"His research into heart disease lacked depth."

Though in case #2 I would probably be as likely to say research as research


anyhoo my two cents

Daemons, I hear people say Day-mons, like they're jamacian or something. It's Demon!

Point in fact, it should be d-eye-men (the o in the second syllable is left unstressed, and is pronounced as the mid-central vowel. It's like the sound you make when you say 'uh')

The character set ae comes from latin, and in Latin it creates what in English is referred to as the 'long I' sound, or the sound that comprises the word eye. Words like Caeser are chronically mispronounced. Caeser should be pronounced like Kaiser, with a hard c and long i--not like see-zer, with a soft c and a long e.

Great thread first of all.

A lot of difference will just come to local vowel sounds. Vowel sounds, as researched by the Grimm brothers among others, are the most common sounds to change among dialects of the same language and can lead to entirely new languages. So in some way, a multitude of pronunciations are correct.

As to American English and British English, many researchers agree that the modern British English accent and pronunciation are a recent development and that older English sounded much closer to the accent of the American Southeast as frightening as that is (and yes, I live there). The settlers of the American Deep South were by and large British and the isolation allowed the accent to survive. But I certainly don't wish to start a debate here.

For Eldar craftworlds, they are all named after pagan holidays. So if you want to know how to properly pronounce them, ask a pagan (though preferably not an American one as they often have only books and word of mouth to learn from leading to a large number of mispronunciations).

Genestealers has always been a no-brainer for me. Genestelaers implant a body with a parasite that is born violently into a hybrid of the host and parent, much like Aliens. They therefore steal the victim's genes. So however the local populace pronounces gene and stealer should be right.

The tyranid debate, even with a root word of tyrant, can go either way. Tyrannosaurus has the same root, but it is accepted even among paleontologist to pronounce it either Tear-annosaurus or Tie-rannosaurus. If they can't come to a consensus, and don't really mind, then maybe we shouldn't.

In the end, regional variations of vowel sounds will make much of the debate a lost cause. The only way someone could claim the "right" way to pronounce something that isn't already a common word (like Inquisition) would be for them to argue that the "right" way would be the way the designers say it. But that isnt the best argument and we aren't likely to hear them chime in anyways.

Of course there are examples where vowels have nothing to do with it and people simply can't place the letters in the right order. I have heard Khorne (corn) pronounced Khrone (crone). That was just careless reading.

Since Lascannon and lasgun are just abbreviated laser-cannon and laser-gun, it would probably make more sense to pronounce them using the same sound locally used for laser. So where I live Lays-cannon and Lays-gun would be more logical. But it just sounds bad to our ears and so we say it las, rhymes with has.

Which brings me to my final point. I think the best way to pronounce anything is what doesn't make you feel stupid. This will largely be based on common local consensus. Let your regional dialect guide you and you will get in less arguments and have more time to have fun playing the game.

Tie-rahnids is not definitively accurate, I don't believe.

They are named after the planet Tyranus, where they were first encountered ... and the issue comes up yet again of pronunciation of course, but there's nothing to imply that word must be pronounced Tie-ran-us either.

I've heard people say it is derived from the word Tyrant before, and that is actually my pet peeve pronunciation wise ... not that it's a clear-cut answer (it could be tie-ran-ids), but that people don't simply read the codex before opening their mouths to claim its derivation.

Yeah. But there's nothing that says the name of the planet isn't derived from the word "tyrant" either. However, if we look at the word "tyranny", nobody pronounces it "tie-ran-nie."

Maybe we should just call them "Delicious Bugs" to get rid of any confusion.

Since Lascannon and lasgun are just abbreviated laser-cannon and laser-gun, it would probably make more sense to pronounce them using the same sound locally used for laser. So where I live Lays-cannon and Lays-gun would be more logical. But it just sounds bad to our ears and so we say it las, rhymes with has.
I've always agreed with the first half of this, but not the second. I disagree that "lays-cannon" is hard on the ears, and the "laser" root has me keep this pronunciation.

I did have some fun with this one for a while, though. With the big fight being "lays" versus "lazz," I had decided to go with the Spanish pronunciation: las cannon, sounding like "loss cannon." There's some subtext there, besides...

I also agree with "Tyranids" pronounced like "tyranny," just because it flows better.

Anyway, other ones I've heard include:
Pulse CarBEEN (a carBINE is a real gun, and outside the game, I've never heard it pronounced differently).
Necron leaders, the SEE-TANN (C'Tan, which I've always called "KiTAHN")
The Lord of Excess, SlaNEESH (SlaNESH, I believe)

Oh, and a personal favorite: Necron weapons, the GAUZE Blasters. If you're shooting to kill, I doubt you want to barrage your enemy with bandages. That should be Gauss, pronounced like "house," named after a scientist famous for experiments in magnetism.

Yeah. But there's nothing that says the name of the planet isn't derived from the word "tyrant" either. However, if we look at the word "tyranny", nobody pronounces it "tie-ran-nie."

Maybe we should just call them "Delicious Bugs" to get rid of any confusion.

That would cause me to refer you to my fluff thread of lore where I explain how Tyranids hold no genuine similarities to bugs/insects.

How do you know they are delicious anyway? And if you do know from experience you do know they aren't real and are made of pewter and plastic, right? Just checking ...

Anywho Tyranus was a ferocious mostly-aquatic world. I like Tear-uh-nid maself.

The lascannon issue is one of the more interesting ones. Whlie there is truth in noting that, clearly, the 'las' in lascannon comes from the word laser, that's not really the whole story.

The word laser, after all, is an acronym. It stands for Light Amplification through Stimulated Emission of Radiation. While it is intended to pronounced, its pronunciation isn't critical to its meaning. The set of letters is critical to its meaning, and its meaning is entirely divorced from its pronunciation--which is not the case with most words. Acronyms are unusual in that way.

So, there's the question. If we are to borrow the first part of an acronym--which, necessarily, divorces it from any meaning it had--are we obligated to keep the pronunciation?

I think that the answer is, clearly, no. The 'las' in lascannon is reminiscent of the las in laser, but it clearly isn't the same thing. The las in laser are three separate letters representing light, amplification, and stimulated. Their pronunciation in that word is incidental.

On the other hand, it would simply be a mispronunciation, by standard rules of English, to pronounce lascannon as "lays-cannon." While there are exceptions to the rule, I just don't think this qualifies. It isn't, after all, really taking part of the word laser--it merely includes a set of letters which is intended to be reminiscent of the word laser. There just doesn't seem to be any convincing reason to presume to keep the pronunciation of laser, when it flies in the face of the way the new word should be pronounced.

I am sorry I wasn't more specific. This goes to my point on regional dialects. I said that Lays sounds bad to our ears, meaning to those people where I live (Atlanta, GA, USA). I have never heard anyone in this area say Lays-cannon because it just sounds strange to us. I am sure that in other parts of the world it sounds much better and is probably used more often, just giving more veracity to my claims that we will all likely use the pronunciation that sounds best to us.

The lascannon issue is one of the more interesting ones. Whlie there is truth in noting that, clearly, the 'las' in lascannon comes from the word laser, that's not really the whole story.

The word laser, after all, is an acronym. It stands for Light Amplification through Stimulated Emission of Radiation. While it is intended to pronounced, its pronunciation isn't critical to its meaning. The set of letters is critical to its meaning, and its meaning is entirely divorced from its pronunciation--which is not the case with most words. Acronyms are unusual in that way.

So, there's the question. If we are to borrow the first part of an acronym--which, necessarily, divorces it from any meaning it had--are we obligated to keep the pronunciation?

I think that the answer is, clearly, no. The 'las' in lascannon is reminiscent of the las in laser, but it clearly isn't the same thing. The las in laser are three separate letters representing light, amplification, and stimulated. Their pronunciation in that word is incidental.

On the other hand, it would simply be a mispronunciation, by standard rules of English, to pronounce lascannon as "lays-cannon." While there are exceptions to the rule, I just don't think this qualifies. It isn't, after all, really taking part of the word laser--it merely includes a set of letters which is intended to be reminiscent of the word laser. There just doesn't seem to be any convincing reason to presume to keep the pronunciation of laser, when it flies in the face of the way the new word should be pronounced.

And that's the end of that!

but seriously...I never knew 'laser' was an acronym! wow...
Btw i pronounce it 'Laz-cannon' :P

Point in fact, it should be d-eye-men (the o in the second syllable is left unstressed, and is pronounced as the mid-central vowel. It's like the sound you make when you say 'uh')

The character set ae comes from latin, and in Latin it creates what in English is referred to as the 'long I' sound, or the sound that comprises the word eye. Words like Caeser are chronically mispronounced. Caeser should be pronounced like Kaiser, with a hard c and long i--not like see-zer, with a soft c and a long e.

Sorry bud, but you're wrong on the first part. AE is pronounced EE. Open the dictionary, and look at the phonetics, they are the same.

Not really a mispronunciation, but funny nonetheless:

Microsoft word doesn't recognize the word "unholster"; as in to remove from a holster. Because of that, after a round of careless spellchecking on a narrative I wrote an entire company of Imperial Guard "upholstered" their lasguns as a Tyranid horde approached.

I've always pronounced it Laz-Cannon. It just sounds more right to me, what with American being my native language..

Sorry bud, but you're wrong on the first part. AE is pronounced EE. Open the dictionary, and look at the phonetics, they are the same.

The fact that the dictionary has also made an error is of little concern to me =P.

I recognize that common speech has basically corrupted that character set, and that its use now doesn't really resemble its original use. That being said, I maintain that it is an error on the part of English speakers, and that we should be pronouncing it as a long i.

I suppose alot of them depend on where you are, and whether people are saying them the right way, or the way that feels right.

Another eldar craftworld: alaitoc - I've never realy known how to pronounce it, but always said al-uh-toc...hmmm...

I suppose alot of them depend on where you are, and whether people are saying them the right way, or the way that feels right.

Another eldar craftworld: alaitoc - I've never realy known how to pronounce it, but always said al-uh-toc...hmmm...

Ermm... I can't pronounce ANY of their sodding names!:0

I live in L.A. currently, but i spent six-months in New Zealand, went to school there and everything. Its really weird for me to hear the spanish inlfuenced pronounciations and then remember the New Zealandic(sp?) ones which are much closer to true English.

Laise = spanish influenced
Laaaz = NZ
laz or layz= middle ground way most of the staff and those who don't speak spanish say it.

i like the NZ pronounciation much better, the other have become sort of peeves, along w/ "rendering". actually had one kid tell me that rending was wrong, and rendering was right. This pulled a laugh from the visual effects students at the store, as well having me pull out the book, show him the word, and sound out bit by bit.

little foot note. Being American, i would say what like "wut", car like "caar", crayons as opposed to "crowns" etc. which apparently all sounded very tough. Quite nice to know i apparently have a cute accent.