Posted by Ambrosz on October 13, 1998 at 03:17:36:
In Reply to: Re: Say " Ecce ", Please posted by Dom Ciocca, Jr. on January 21, 1998 at 01:07:31:
Well, of course just about all the names are open to speculation, and I guess we'd only have definitive versions if Jack himself undertook the laborious task of listing all the "correct" pronounciations.
It's obvious from at least one previous posting that even what I would consider an innocent name could be looked at differently by different people (e.g. Viole - to me it looks like Vee-Ole, but someone suggested something like Vio-lay(?) ).
For the record, my preferences are:
Ecce - Ekk-ee
Dirdir - Deerdeer
Viole Falushe - Vee-ole Fa-loosh
Cugel - Koo-gel(that's gel as in geld) or koo-gull
Iucounu - Ee-kyoo-oh-no
I think also, that the pronounciations we prefer from seeing the words on the page come from our various accents (we find some pronounciations easier than others), and what those words remind us of that we like.
(Using my earlier example, I like Vee-ole, probably because I also think of the musical instrument, the viol, and so associate Viole with it. Similarly, Dom likes Dur-dur, and dislikes Deer-deer, whereas I prefer the latter, possibly because Deer-deer is neutral to me, whereas I would never have thought of pronouncing it Dur-dur, because to me, and the culture I grew up in, that sounds too much like a mildly derogatory term used occasionally in my teen years, along the lines of Dumbo, or Der-brain.
I am sure the reverse applies to some words/names that seem innocent to me.)
:)