Richard's Animorphs Forum

Animorphs Section => Animorphs Forum Classic => Topic started by: Sub Visser on July 11, 2009, 08:34:33 PM

Title: Pronunciation
Post by: Sub Visser on July 11, 2009, 08:34:33 PM
Interested to see how people pronounce different things from the series.

toe-bye-ass  or  toe-bee-iss

hork-bah-jar  or  hork-bah-jeer

yerk  or  yee-rk

...and anything else you can think of.
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: adamjared on July 11, 2009, 08:49:04 PM
I pronounce it Hork bah-jier (rhymes with tire).

what about Escafil?

Ee-sca-fill, or ee-sca-file.
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: Sub Visser on July 11, 2009, 08:55:09 PM
I say Ess-scu-fill
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: AlothAssassin on July 11, 2009, 09:08:43 PM
Hork Buh-JEER.

Anda-light.

Yerk.  (Most likely with a slightly longer "e" sound, but not quite "Yee-rk")

To-bye-us.  (I originally used to read it as "Toe-bee-us" as a kid reading the series the first time through, but I was a moron.)


K.A. went through most of this way back in the day in those Scholastic question sessions.  So, basically, not only are they the pronunciations that make sense, but they're the official and correct pronunciations.

Not sure about Escafil, I'd assume it'd be the "esca-fill" device.
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: OrcaMorph on July 11, 2009, 09:35:13 PM
The only words I think that I pronounce differently than the official pronunciation are:

Visser (I say vizzer rather than visser, for some reason)
Yeerk (I say yeark rather than yurk or yerk)
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: AlothAssassin on July 11, 2009, 09:39:05 PM
It's not exactly "Yerk", but it's not "Yee-rk" either.  Kind of subtle, somewhere in between.  Like the latter, only kind of more fluid, and not quite as much of the "yee" sound.
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: Nomad Frog on July 11, 2009, 10:00:35 PM
toe-bye-uss
es-cafl (a really really short 'i' sound that may as well not be there)
yirk rather than yeeeeeerk
hork ba-zheer
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: esplin on July 12, 2009, 09:12:13 AM
Vis-suh thu-ree, son.
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: MoonStarRaven on July 13, 2009, 12:00:23 PM
I think the only one I pronounce different is Tobias, I pronounce it Ta-bye us
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: AlothAssassin on July 13, 2009, 12:01:08 PM
Vis-suh thu-ree, son.

Viss-sir.  What are you, a frickin' Noo England-er?
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: RYTX on July 13, 2009, 12:34:11 PM
So one do me a favor, and break down Ax's name.
I've seen all this little tricks for it, and I just can't. I've been saying it wrong for too long.

I know it's probably Toe-bye-us, but I do Ta-bye-us cuz I'm lazy (Tab-us when I'm really lazy)

hork-bah-jeer

Hel-ma-cron or Hel-mac-ron
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: AlothAssassin on July 13, 2009, 12:47:46 PM
No, no.

Hork Buh-JEER (emphasis).

To (short)-BYE (long/emphasis)-us.

Hell-ma-cron.

Aximili's would most likely be "Aximili" (fluid, not AX-i-MIL-i), Es-ga-ROOTH (emphasis), Is-thill.  Don't think it was ever officially clarified on the Scholastic site, but this way makes sense when using consistent rules. 
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: Sub Visser on July 13, 2009, 02:05:00 PM
"Aximili" (fluid, not AX-i-MIL-i), Es-ga-ROOTH (emphasis), Is-thill.

Yeah, that is how I would say it.
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: AlothAssassin on July 13, 2009, 02:08:51 PM
Like, just say it quickly, with no accents on any syllables.  "Aximili".  Like "facsimile".

Instead of the other option, like a stereotypical Italian dude going all "MA-ma MI-A, AX-i-MI-li my friend, HAVE-a the spa-GHE-tti!"
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: SkyMorpher on July 14, 2009, 11:28:31 PM
I think the only one I pronounce different is Tobias, I pronounce it Ta-bye us

Yeah me too.

For some reason I first pronounced hork-bajir with a u sound like your, but now I recognize the 'jeer' sound.

Some of those names aren't easy just to say though lol. Aldrea-Eskillion-Fillon (is that it?) Quafavinajon (or is it Quafajinavon? I think it's the second.)

Ax's name, definately.
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: Yarin on July 14, 2009, 11:58:11 PM
What about gedds is it a hard or soft g?
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: Sub Visser on July 15, 2009, 10:21:57 AM
I say it with a hard G, not like Jedds.
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: Alaphlosiam on July 15, 2009, 05:46:22 PM
Taxxons: I try not to say "TAX-awnz" and go more for "TAX-ins", but it's gonna end up the first way anyway.

Hork-Bajir: "Hork-BAH-jurr"

Tobias: I know it's supposed to be "To-BYE-us", but I still think "TOE-bee-is".

Andalite: AN-duh-lite

Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill: Ax-i-MI-li-Ess-ga-ROWTH-Iss-thill

Elfangor: El-fang-or (with the "ng" sound kind of carrying over)

Escafil: ESS-kuh-fill

Helmacron: HELL-muh-crawn

Gedds: hard "g"

Yeerk: yee-urk, but more as one syllable. I just didn't want to type "yeeurk", because that's be a different pronunciation.

Visser: VISS-sir

Think that's all for the big ones. Now, smaller things:

Hereth illint: heh-RETH-i-LINT

... well, can't think of anymore.
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: Yarin on July 15, 2009, 06:40:26 PM
Cool thanks
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: SuperBlue on July 15, 2009, 06:52:01 PM


I say To-bye-ass, Hork-ba-jeer, and Yee-rk, Jedd, Cray-ack, Vis-er, and I don't even bother to try and pronounce anything past Ax's first name

Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: Yarin on July 15, 2009, 07:31:24 PM
I use the tv pronounciation
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: Alaphlosiam on July 15, 2009, 07:32:39 PM
I use the tv pronounciation
Because TV shows always pronounce it right.

Like "Larvaytar".
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: anijen21 on July 15, 2009, 08:09:17 PM
this is the funniest thread on this entire site
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: AlothAssassin on July 16, 2009, 04:16:18 AM
Tobias: I know it's supposed to be "To-BYE-us", but I still think "TOE-bee-is".

Not to be a dick here, but that's not how the name "Tobias" is ever pronounced.  It's "To-BYE-us".

I used to read it the second way too, but it's wrong.
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: EscafilDevice on July 16, 2009, 08:50:07 AM
Tobias: I know it's supposed to be "To-BYE-us", but I still think "TOE-bee-is".

Not to be a dick here, but that's not how the name "Tobias" is ever pronounced.  It's "To-BYE-us".

I used to read it the second way too, but it's wrong.

Yeah.

Nobody else here watches Arrested Development?

If I didn't love Animorphs so much, it might be hard to reconcile my images of Animorphs' Tobias and Tobias Funke.
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: AlothAssassin on July 16, 2009, 09:21:06 AM
Oh my God.   :P

They're pretty hard to confuse.  But a disturbingly hilarious image.
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: Alaphlosiam on July 16, 2009, 09:23:04 AM
Tobias: I know it's supposed to be "To-BYE-us", but I still think "TOE-bee-is".

Not to be a dick here, but that's not how the name "Tobias" is ever pronounced.  It's "To-BYE-us".

I used to read it the second way too, but it's wrong.
I know it's wrong. That's why I said I think the second way. Not actually pronounce.
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: AlothAssassin on July 16, 2009, 09:38:19 AM
Ah, okay. Sorry.  I must have read it as "still think it's toe-bee-is".  My screw-up.
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: anijen21 on July 16, 2009, 04:19:52 PM
Tobias from Animorphs sure could use some analrapy
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: SkyMorpher on July 17, 2009, 12:12:02 AM
What's analrpy?
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: AlothAssassin on July 17, 2009, 02:08:51 AM
I...don't...think I...

Wanna know...

 :-\

Eep.  Woozle wozzle.
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: Yarin on July 17, 2009, 11:24:53 AM
Lo
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: anijen21 on July 17, 2009, 01:28:45 PM
I WAS JUST SAYING

Tobias from Animorphs could use Tobias Funke as his analrapist

a mixture of an analyst and a therapist

like a portmanteau

And if he would have done that, he wouldn't have bothered all of us with his whining. It would have been easy, like taking candy from those guys that give out candy at gay strip clubs.
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: Sub Visser on July 17, 2009, 01:46:48 PM
"analrapist"  A strategically placed space could turn that into something way different...
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: anijen21 on July 17, 2009, 01:48:21 PM
I think that was the joke

wait seriously how many of you guys are AD fans?

What is the mean age of this forum?

what is it okay for me to say :(
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: Alaphlosiam on July 17, 2009, 01:53:41 PM
I think that was the joke

wait seriously how many of you guys are AD fans?

What is the mean age of this forum?

what is it okay for me to say :(
Probably something that doesn't sound like it'd involve booty penetration of a red-tailed hawk. I haven't been here long, but I think most people here aren't into that kind of thing.
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: anijen21 on July 17, 2009, 02:30:53 PM
is that really what you got out of that
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: Alaphlosiam on July 17, 2009, 03:10:11 PM
is that really what you got out of that
You know as well as the rest of us that "analrapy" looks like "anal-rapy". A better portmanteau would've been "theralysis" or something. Or, to slightly modify yours, "analyrapy". Then we'd know that the first half wasn't referring to anal penetration.
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: anijen21 on July 17, 2009, 03:32:39 PM
okay I hate to admit the creative infertility I'm prone to, but I did not make that up. Someone mentioned Arrested Development. I made an Arrested Development reference. I know what it's supposed to look like.

[spoiler]That's the joke.
(http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd113/chrisdank/demotivational%20posters/analrapist.jpg?t=1247862405)[/spoiler]

Flattering as it may be to attribute the joke to me, maybe it's not such a good idea to be slashing karma if someone tells a joke you don't like.

now I have to go blue myself.
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: Alaphlosiam on July 17, 2009, 03:47:04 PM
Because we all know of Arrested Development and all the jokes. I didn't see it as a joke. I saw it as defacing the character of a book. Now my mind is plagued by visions of Tobias doing things hawks shouldn't be. I am scarred for life.

Here, next time I make a joke about anal rape, you can smite my karma, too.
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: anijen21 on July 17, 2009, 05:00:26 PM
(http://pentots.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/why-so-serious.jpg)

let's put a smile on that face
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: Sub Visser on July 17, 2009, 05:24:49 PM
(http://pentots.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/why-so-serious.jpg)

let's put a smile on that face

I love that you put that up!
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: wildweathel on July 17, 2009, 05:35:18 PM
Yeah, seriously, that was funny.  It's an example of a word-root pun.  There are maybe a half-dozen writing systems in the entire world that make them possible.  

Japanese is the king (large number of homophones, extremely-nonphonetic, logographic spelling).  Korean might work out the same way (but only Korean written with hanja), but has less homophones.  Chinese is phonetic, so such puns are mostly limited to phonetic spellings of foreign words.  (Like Coca-Cola = "wax-fattened mare" or something like that.)

English is somewhat logographic, but mostly phonetic, so while mis-read or mis-heard jokes like this are possible, they're rare.

Esperanto has something similar based around how exactly you split-up compound words, but it's not exactly the same.  (Is 'papero' 'paper' or 'Papal mistake'?)

All that said, I think "anarapist," or "analyrapist" would be the better spelling.

http://everything2.com/node/551049 <-- For an example of what I'm talking about, scroll down to "kancho ga kancho ni kancho suru."  Note how "kancho" can be three different words with different kanji, but have the same pronunciation.  This is just a tiny taste of what's possible.
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: anijen21 on July 17, 2009, 06:14:41 PM
damn son

I love language nerds
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: Alaphlosiam on July 17, 2009, 08:05:17 PM
I'm Japanese, so I already knew all that. :D

/empty bragging
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: foxglade on July 20, 2009, 11:48:13 PM

To-bye-us.  (I originally used to read it as "Toe-bee-us" as a kid reading the series the first time through, but I was a moron.)


exactly what I did. Now I keep switching, but mostly if I'm talking about the TV show, I say To-bye-us, and if I'm talking about the book I say Toe-bee-us
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: RYTX on November 26, 2009, 11:08:49 PM
Lee-ran or Leer-an?

I do the first, but it literally just dawned on me there may be another way
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: OrcaMorph on November 26, 2009, 11:16:06 PM
I say leer-an
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: ~ on November 26, 2009, 11:26:14 PM
It's definitely "To-bye-us", I know cause I dated a Tobias once.
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: VisserZer0 on November 27, 2009, 01:06:59 AM
Lee-ran or Leer-an?

I do the first, but it literally just dawned on me there may be another way
There's barely a difference.

My pronunciations:

Leeran: Leer-an
Tobias: Toe-bye-us
Visser: Viz-zuhr
Hork Bajir: Hork-Ba-jeer
Taxxon: Tax-on
Iskoort: Isk-yoort
Yeerk: Yerk
Yoort: Yurt


Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: OrcaMorph on November 27, 2009, 11:34:06 AM
Woa, someone else who says Vizzer with a 'z' sound instead of an 's'.  I thought I was the only one.
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: WildAtHeart on November 27, 2009, 03:13:20 PM
i remember i always pronounced Hork Bajir as Hork Badger...not sure how i came up with that back then lol
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: Alaphlosiam on November 27, 2009, 08:26:58 PM
i remember i always pronounced Hork Bajir as Hork Badger...not sure how i came up with that back then lol
That technically makes sense. I still pronounce it "Baw-jer"
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: anijen21 on November 27, 2009, 08:29:13 PM
I said like Hork Bah-jhher

very soft "g" sound
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: DarkKaizer on November 27, 2009, 09:54:55 PM
A list of my pronunciation for most of the terms in Animorphs that I'm unsure of pronouncing correctly/have already been listed and I think my way is right xD:

Leeran: Lee-rin
Tobias: Toe-bye-us
Axmilli: Ax-mill-ee
Andalites: An-duh-lites
Aristh: Air-isth
Escafil (Device): Es-kuh-feel
Nothlit: No-thlit
Ketrans: Keh-trins
Visser: Viz-uhr
Hork Bajir: Hork-Buh-jeer
Taxxon: Tax-un
Iskoort: Isk-ort
Yeerk: Yurk
Yoort: Yoo-urt
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: Aluminator (Kit) on December 08, 2009, 01:06:47 PM
From Scholastic's interview with KA Applegate (For reference; I know it's been mentioned)

Q: "How do you pronounce the following names: Hork-Bajir, Visser, Tobias, Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul, Ket Halpek, Andalite?"
A: "Here's how I pronounce them: Hork rhymes with "cork," and Bajir sounds like "buh-JEER"; Visser rhymes with "kisser"; Toe-BYE-us. Oh, good grief, you asked me a tough one. Okay, it's "ELF-un-gore Sir-RIN-ee-ul Sham-TOOL; Ket Hal-PEK; and finally, AN-duh-lite."



I used to think "Hork Badger" when reading the series too, but I think I'd managed to switch to the correct pronunciation in my mind by the end. Tobias is a name, with real-world precedent for the pronunciation, and one I haven't read incorrectly since I knew a real Tobias (was at my school for all of like two weeks) Haha... Arrested Development never fails to remind me of Animorphs. Oh Tobias...

It definitely feels more correct to me to say "visser" with a z sound. I always put the emphasis on the second i sound in Aximili: ax-uh-MEE-lee. For some reason, I always want to roll the r's in "Esgarrouth;" EZ-ga-rrrrowth (soft th). Makes saying Ax's full name more fun  ;)
Title: Re: Pronunciation
Post by: goom on December 08, 2009, 03:29:44 PM
leeran: LEER-an
tobias: toe-BI-as
aximili-esgarrouth-isthill: ax-IH-mil-ee es-GAR-outh IS-thil
andalite: an-DAH-lite
aristh: AR-isth
escafil: Es-ca-fil
nothlit: NAH-thlit
ketran: KET-rahn
visser: VIS-ur
hork bajir: hork-ba-JEER
taxxon: TACK-son
iskoort: IS-kort
yeerk: yurk
yoort: yort