Being a native English speaker, I find myself inclined to pronounce D'ni much the same way as English. For example, I say "Gahreesen" as "Gah-ree-sen".

However, there are things that suggest to me a pronunciation more akin to Japanese, where every vowel has the same pronunciation regardless of context - "a" is "ah", "e" is somewhere between "eh" and "ay", "i" is "ee", "o" is "oh" and "u" is "ooh". "Yeesha" is an obvious example that suggests my previous thoughts are incorrect.

So which way is it? Are vowels in D'ni pronounced depending on context, or independent of context? Is it "Gah-ree-sen" or "Gah-ray-sen"?

_________________
Perhaps the ending has not yet been written...

They will come. He will come. And I will come as well.

Gah-ree-sen is proper. Most D'ni is phonetic so you would pronounce it exactly the way it is spelled. Kemo is "key-moh" Kerrath is "Ker-wrath." The only one that threw me off was Kadish.. which is "Kay-dihsh(like a dish you eat off of)"

For more info on pronunciation I'd recommend the DLF http://linguists.bahro.com/dniling.html

_________________
MOUL KI# 10281985
MOULa KI# 1492059

Fear is the mind-killer

more properly, D'ni is phonetic in respect to its own alphabet. Transcription into Roman letters is variable, and often dependent on what the marketing people thought looked better. For example, Aitrus and Atrus are pronounced exactly the same.

_________________
Your story is Unwritten.
Unwritten - Adventures in the Ages of Myst and Beyond
MOULagain KI#27460 - Second Life: Vax Sirnah

I was playing Myst V and I noticed the Esher and Yeesha pronounce some words in a different way. Since Esher is a native D'ni his ponunciation of the words should be preferred.
Usually the word D'ni is pronounced something like DunNee, even by Yeesha and the guys from Cyan, right? Well Esher seems to say DuchKnee. He sounds almost like a dutchman.
Any ideas on that?

_________________
Ethan the Bahro Boy - MO:ULagain KI# 4988
---Blessed are those who laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused---

EthanEver wrote:

Since Esher is a native D'ni his ponunciation of the words should be preferred.

The "real" Esher's pronunciation would be a good guide, but the guy in Myst V is an actor. And in fact, rumour has it that RAWA twitches oddly whenever he hears "duck-knee".

Are you saying that it was someone impersonating Esher, or that the OOC actor didn't have a qualified dialect coach ?
Anyhow DuckKnee sounds kinda cool and definately foreign enough to me...

_________________
Ethan the Bahro Boy - MO:ULagain KI# 4988
---Blessed are those who laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused---

EthanEver wrote:

Are you saying that it was someone impersonating Esher, or that the OOC actor didn't have a qualified dialect coach ?

I think, Tesseract is speaking of the IC actor of IC Cyan, who isn't Esher (obviuosly). EoA is a game in IC, too.
So while you were playing the game you heard the voice and the pronunciation of the actor, not the voice of Esher

_________________
"No one expects it to be a smooth ride, so let's all type twice and post once."-Zardoz
Unless otherwise stated, opinions are mine only and not Guild endorsed.

Pretty much, though it's equally true OOC. The voice actor (David Ogden Stiers, whom you may know as Zandi) got a bit "creative", much to the horror of his dialect coach (RAWA).

Esher's "ducknee" always annoys me. Well, Esher annoys me to the point where I don't like replaying Myst 5. Atrus tends to say "Dunny," while Yeesha seems to say "Dnee." I've always gone the simple route with "Dnee," even before I heard Yeesha say it. Take your pick.

_________________
Want to learn more about the D'ni? Look here: http://www.dpwr.net/

Tesseract wrote:

Pretty much, though it's equally true OOC. The voice actor (David Ogden Stiers, whom you may know as Zandi) got a bit "creative", much to the horror of his dialect coach (RAWA).

Well, of course it's true OOC. I'd be a bit surprised if IC it was an actor, and OOC it was Esher.

_________________
Ian A. Pertwee in Cavern - KI# 374362
Ahnotahm - Il quartiere
Not talking as a mod unless I say so

Ian Atrus wrote:

RAWA quite blatantly said that Duck-knee is a curious speech impediment that Esher acquired after being bitten one too many times by the snakes in Noloben.

Oooo I like that. The bugger probably deserved every bite. And now the Bahro are probably taking bites out of him (speaking of which, any idea what the Bahro actually did to him?)

And I always just thought he was hitting the pipe a little too hard.

Lord Chaos wrote:

Esher's "ducknee" always annoys me. Well, Esher annoys me to the point where I don't like replaying Myst 5. Atrus tends to say "Dunny," while Yeesha seems to say "Dnee." I've always gone the simple route with "Dnee," even before I heard Yeesha say it. Take your pick.

To me it sounds like they are both saying "Dunnee", but Atrus puts the emphasis on the "Dun-" while Yessha puts the emphasis on the "-nee".

_________________
Frisky Badger
Guild of Maintainers
My opinions are my own and not necessarily those of the Guild of Maintainers.
KI# 00140468