A Pronunciation Key or Guide for the Encyclopedia

[miss1nformation]

I brought this up in the Wiki thread and it was suggested I try here.

 

I was thinking earlier today that I'd like to make a suggestion (assuming it's not already been made and is in the works, of course!), but then I forgot what it was...then I looked back at the Wiki page and saw I was on the Astrapi Xeno page and remembered that I would like a pronunciation key or guide of some sort! I'm not even going to tell you how I pronounce that particular dragons name, because there are children on this board.

 

Is there any way to add a pronunciation key/guide to dragons encyclopedia pages of those breeds with unusual names? I realize the bulk of the dragon names are fairly easy to pronounce, but dragons like Astrapi (and the wiki thread did prove that there are very different pronunciations) and the breeds within the Pyralspite species, I'm not really sure how to pronounce. I was also made aware that some dragon releases get pronunciation guides in the initial release thread, but who really has time to go scouring the past threads in hopes of finding it, especially when the thread is buried a few pages back? I also realize that not a lot of people probably speak about this game to others outside of the online community, but I think it would be nice to know how to pronounce the names of the dragons we keep (or would like to see) on our scrolls.

 

I know it would take time to implement, but it would be a nice thing to have at some point.

 

Additional pronunciation discussion can be found here and here.

 

Info regarding IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) can be found here.

Edited November 29, 2015 by miss1nformation

[Eos]

I like this idea. I imagine I butcher a lot of the dragon names, so it'd be nice to know how they're actually supposed to be pronounced.

[Obscure_Trash]

I also actually think this is a really good idea. ^^

[olympe]

I like this. Especially for us poor non-native speakers.

English may be easy to learn, but the pronunciation of unknown words is a nightmare!

Edited November 26, 2015 by olympe

[Gealach]

I think that's a good idea. Recently we've had quite a lot of releases with unusual names.

[Fuzzbucket]

IF this were set up, we'd really need sound clips. See the discussion about Caligenes in TLQ.

[HeatherMarie]

Oh I would love this. The different Pyralspites are a mess for me. I know I'm probably miss-pronouncing others, too.

[Obscure_Trash]

IF this were set up, we'd really need sound clips. See the discussion about Caligenes in TLQ.

I... don't agree. I think just writing it out is fine. ^^

[Fuzzbucket]

I... don't agree. I think just writing it out is fine. ^^

Luckily (for me) I don't mind whether this happens, one way or the other. Because there are so many sounds which are pronounced differently by different people however you write it out (unless you use IPA which 90% of people don't understand anyway..)

[Infinis]

Luckily (for me) I don't mind whether this happens, one way or the other. Because there are so many sounds which are pronounced differently by different people however you write it out (unless you use IPA which 90% of people don't understand anyway..)

IPA ಠ_ಠ

 

I don't mind either way on the sound clips.

 

That said, even though IPA may be confusing, I would like to see IPA provided in addition to simplified english phonetics (volunteering to help piece it together, too ), especially if no sound clips. IPA will give a more standardized way even for players with a not-so-great grasp of english to (hopefully) understand, because fuzz makes a good point about differing pronunciations.

[Zeditha]

I think IPA and a sound clip may be a good idea. Perhaps this could be an (easily) unlockable thing in the encyclopaedia?

 

Or you could just write it, but it wouldn't necessarily be a lot of help. The difference between cal-ig-neigh and cal-ee-neigh isn't necessarily obvious when written in the form I just used. ^.^

(those are the two ways I can think of pronouncing it, no clue how anyone else does)

[silver_tiger]

Is that really how you're supposed to pronouce Caligene? I was pronouncing it cal-ee-jean (idk if it's clear that way but idk how else to spell out the pronunciation), pretty much just how it looks like it's spelled to me.

 

In other words, a pronunciation guide would be amazing.

Edited November 27, 2015 by silver_chan

[Imago]

I agree that a pronunciation guide would be very helpful. But please include IPA. I adore IPA and hate descriptions or transcriptions because these tend to be vague and different people interpret them differently. Also, not being an English native speaker, I sometimes even have difficulties getting the English pronunciation of existing English words right because of its weird orthography, and English transcriptions of non-English words are often unreadable for me and probably many other people learning English as a second language. So do English transcriptions for those who can't read IPA, but please also do IPA for those who can, because there is no easier and more precise way to tell someone the pronunciation of a word.

 

(Also, learn IPA and some basic phonetics. It will open a new world to you when studying new languages. )

 

Is that really how you're supposed to pronouce Caligene? I was pronouncing it cal-ee-jean (idk if it's clear that way but idk how else to spell out the pronunciation), pretty much just how it looks like it's spelled to me.

Me too, I say something like [kæləd͡ʒiːn] which I think equals what you wrote. I didn't even think that this was an ambiguous name in terms of pronunciation. o:

[purplehaze]

From the Help forum (TLQ):

It's cal-ih-jeen :3

 

On the original suggestion, I don't really see a need for this, but I guess that is just me. I guess some people play with family and/or friends and pronunciation could be an issue. But I never use the spoken word to communicate with others about the game, so to me it doesn't seem to matter how a name is pronounced.

Edited November 28, 2015 by purplehaze

[AppleMango]

I think this is a good idea. Support.

 

I like the idea of sound clips, but just having it written out how you say it would also be good.

 

I don't even know what IPA is so I'm thinking lets not use that...

[Lurhstaap]

I envy you who can read IPA. I'm familiar with it from childhood, yet I still find it a confusing mess that I can never read without a translation guide. Transcripted phonetics work much better for me, and it is usually possible to construct them unambiguously, for example Infi's description of how to say Caligene. But I do think IPA should be offered for those to whom it is useful, alongside phonetic examples. Sound I think is a bit much though. This is a pretty unneeded 'for the fun of it' kind of feature, and while I DO support it, I don't think it needs to be overly elaborate.

 

AppleMango - Nothing personal, but just because you don't know what something is, you think that's a good reason for nobody to have it? You might want to think that through a minute (I'm not trying to attack you or be rude, but that did strike me pretty funny and I'm trying to point out what it implies in a gentle way. Sorry ahead of time if I failed at that. x.x)

Edited December 31, 2015 by Lurhstaap

[Fuzzbucket]

I am not actually terribly keen on IPA and find it hard - but it is the ONLY printed pronunciation system that is absolutely unambiguous... That's why it was invented, after all.

[laertid]

A good idea, but I'm pretty sure I'll be totally shocked to know how all these dragons' names were meant to be pronounced, because probably I pronounced at least 50% of them wrong %) Typical bookworm problem: you see words written, you don't hear them from other people, so you don't know how they should be pronounced correctly. And then, tadaaam, surprises! All around. I have this problem even with my native language, not to mention English and others...

 

But, well. Support. At least I'll know how the parasprites... pyrospites... pyralsprites... these rare ones should be pronounced.

[bluesonic1]

In support of this idea for many of the reasons others have covered already

 

On a sidenote, having soundclips that demonstrate how each name should be pronounced is a very cool idea and not that difficult to do. You'd have to decide whether it's just one person to do them all for consistency or if each of the dragon's artists submits it (where possible).

[Meg_752]

Is that really how you're supposed to pronouce Caligene?

Support entirely for this. I was the one who had to ask in TLQ, actually!

[miss1nformation]

In support of this idea for many of the reasons others have covered already

 

On a sidenote, having soundclips that demonstrate how each name should be pronounced is a very cool idea and not that difficult to do. You'd have to decide whether it's just one person to do them all for consistency or if each of the dragon's artists submits it (where possible).

If the artists didn't want to do audio recordings, services like Google Translate may be helpful. Sounds about right for Caligene anyways (I think??).

[Fuzzbucket]

If the artists didn't want to do audio recordings, services like Google Translate may be helpful. Sounds about right for Caligene anyways (I think??).

IS that what they said ???

 

In fact on that site there are already TWO versions, if you've used translate before - one in English (and mine is set for UK English, of course) and one in whatever language you translated last (in my case Norwegian) - and the two are not at all alike

[miss1nformation]

IS that what they said ???

 

In fact on that site there are already TWO versions, if you've used translate before - one in English (and mine is set for UK English, of course) and one in whatever language you translated last (in my case Norwegian) - and the two are not at all alike

I did US English to US English and it said CAL-E-JEAN, which, to my understanding, is what it's supposed to sound like.

[Fuzzbucket]

I did US English to US English and it said CAL-E-JEAN, which, to my understanding, is what it's supposed to sound like.

But if you aren't from an English speaking country, you'll get all sorts ! And I don't recall the creator having quite so much of an E in the middle when she posted (where IS that post ?) as your post suggests... More of a CAL-i-JEAN.

 

Minefield, meet dragon names

Edited January 6, 2016 by fuzzbucket

[lollipop00]

It's cal-ih-jeen :3

This is how infinis pronounced it.

 

Just wanted to say I don't mind having a pronunciation chart!

Edited January 6, 2016 by lollipop00