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Arc-ah-nists or Arc-ay-nists


11th Thunder

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Yeah, Tomb and asian names really annoy me.

 

I'm not asking people to learn another language's emphasis or sounds which aren't in english (like Japanese or Spanish special "r"s) , but they're both is pretty easy to awkwardly pronounce/ w/o a good accent, since they're phonetic, which is plenty enough for me. But, are often mispronounced to the point where I don't recognize the word they're saying. Then again, I guess if people can't get tome/tomb right, I guess I shouldn't expect them to sound out foreign words :(

 

I do. Malifaux is a multicultural game, and the fluff and crews make it clear that it's a world inhabited by people from all countries and walks of life (Spanish/Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, Prussian, and British - just to cover the crews I have). Proper pronunciation is important, especially if you're learning the game or playing against someone for whom English is an ancillary language. ("Francisco" only turns into "Frank" if you speak English, otherwise it can be very confusing.) Good manners and professional courtesy cost nothing, after all.

 

If people mispronounce a model, I correct them. "You mean Kir-EYE, not Kir-AY." Most people are happy for the correction.

 

(Two disclaimers to this: 1. I'm dyslexic, so I need to know when I mispronounce something! 2. You can take the teacher out of the school, but you can't take the school out of the teacher.)

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Eh, if I know someone, I'll correct them, if I don't, I'll leave it. I'm pleasantly surprised if someone pronounces it kirai, impressed if someone pronounces it kiɽai, and unsurprised if they pronounce it kiriā or something else with random extra or rearranged sounds

 

The dyslexic thing is interesting, hadn't thought about that. And regarding teaching, while I don't do the same thing, I totally sympathize with the impulse.

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I gotta admit Tome / Tomb is a pet hate of mine but one that really bugs me is people who refer to the Ml (Capital "M" Lower case "L") of melee actions as Mi (Capital "M" and lower case "i"). Why would both Sh and Ca have a capital first then lower case second and then Ml have a capital M and I?? Not only does it break the trend but Mi makes no sense. It's Melee not Milee. I know it's kind of confusing because lower case "L" looks like capital "I" but a little common sense should lead you to the right conclusion surely? So often am i having to correct beginners at my club. One guy still refers to it all as CB which also drives me mad but that's another moan for another day  :D

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I found this old thread that has a longer discussion about how to pronounce Kirai.

It's a pretty common Japanese word, it's pretty easy to encounter it spoken in Japanese movies & whatnot. I can't tell, are you being emphatic? trying to be helpful? That thread was pretty much full of a jumble of misinformation. Like I said, Wyrd's suggested phonetic spelling will get you close enough w/o spending any time learning a language or studying linguistics in general... though that thread you linked to actually had some suggestions that could probably lead you to pronounce it like an idiot if you picked the wrong person to trust :/

 

And yes, I first encountered "M I" as the name of melee recently... really frustrating, since it takes like 5 seconds to go "wait, why's this stat 'MI"- that doesn't match melee, and is caps while the others are lower... oh, I get it".

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It's a pretty common Japanese word, it's pretty easy to encounter it spoken in Japanese movies & whatnot. I can't tell, are you being emphatic? trying to be helpful? That thread was pretty much full of a jumble of misinformation. Like I said, Wyrd's suggested phonetic spelling will get you close enough w/o spending any time learning a language or studying linguistics in general... though that thread you linked to actually had some suggestions that could probably lead you to pronounce it like an idiot if you picked the wrong person to trust :/

I don't know Japanese at all, or consume all that much Japanese media (mostly the occasional Ghibli or Kurosawa). There are two posters in that thread that claims to know Japanese (Q'iq'el and LonelyPath), this being the internet I don't know if they actually do, or for that matter if you actually do. :P

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Coming from a background of about 8 years studying the language back in school, plus a little time living there...

 

Q'iq'el starts off with "i" in Japanese being compared to Kim, which I've only ever heard pronounced like "quick", so unless he's referring to some obscure pronunciation, that statement's completely false- I've never heard that sound in Japanese.

 

LonelyPath makes a few statements that could be easily misinterpreted, but I think is much closer.

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Slander upon my beautiful language! :D

 

 

Well, actually, it isn't. It means (approximately) "beef labelling regulation & delegation of supervision law", so it's bureaucracy, not language. Furthermore, said law was abolished some years ago, so the word doesn't describe something real anymore.

 

But you can build such words, which is hilarious. It isn't even the longest one I have ever seen. (That would be Donaudampfschiffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft.)

Ich Sprehe kliene bissen deutsch but I understand a bit more and find the written language pretty easy to grasp. Its the grammar that kills me.

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Ich Sprehe kliene bissen deutsch but I understand a bit more and find the written language pretty easy to grasp. Its the grammar that kills me.

 

What about it? Since it comes natural to me, I'm curious what you find so difficult. Is it the infamous articles or the verb forms or sentence structure, or something completely different?

 

Or is it the glottal stop that lets us sound like bossy idiots to English speakers although we're a polite and caring people?  :D

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Or is it the glottal stop that lets us sound like bossy idiots to English speakers although we're a polite and caring people?  :D

 

To the British anything you say in German no matter how you say it sounds like you are insulting their mother. It's not the softest language out there, still given the choice to go back to school and learn German, French or Spanish I'd still go back to learn German. 

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To the British anything you say in German no matter how you say it sounds like you are insulting their mother. It's not the softest language out there, still given the choice to go back to school and learn German, French or Spanish I'd still go back to learn German. 

 

Yeah, I know. Makes me glad that it'S all written communication here... 

 

On topic: I just visited Skyhold's Undercroft, and Bioware seems to be in the Ar-CAY-nists corner.

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What about it? Since it comes natural to me, I'm curious what you find so difficult. Is it the infamous articles or the verb forms or sentence structure, or something completely different?

 

Or is it the glottal stop that lets us sound like bossy idiots to English speakers although we're a polite and caring people?  :D

 

It's fearless, and English has trouble with things it can't conquer.

 

German is far more polite than French. German manners are for making sure everyone gets along. French manners are for making sure everyone knows just how badly they let you down.  :lol:

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Yeah, I know. Makes me glad that it'S all written communication here... 

 

On topic: I just visited Skyhold's Undercroft, and Bioware seems to be in the Ar-CAY-nists corner.

 

I revert back to my original point. They are a North American company and couldn't correctly use the English language if their lives were on the line. Silly Americans!

 

It's Pavement not Sidewalk, Sweets not Candy, Coke not Soda, Lift not Elevator, Mobile Phone not Cellphone, Trousers not Pants and it's definitely ALUMINIUM not ALUMINUM. 

 

You'd never guess this sort of thing winds me up right?  :D

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If you think that the German language is only ever harsh and brutal sounding, I strongly suggest you go onto Youtube and listen to the song Künstliche Welten, by Wolfsheim. It'll surprise you. :)

 

I found "Die Forelle" performed by Moriarty in Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows surprisingly well executed. His German pronounciation is quite good for an English speaker (especially since he has to SING), and it's a lovely song.

 

 

You'd never guess this sort of thing winds me up right?  :D

 

Nah. Frustration over loosing that Empire is sort of expected of you Island People.  :P

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Nah. Frustration over loosing that Empire is sort of expected of you Island People.  :P

 

Yup, and we will always blame the USA and Woodrow Wilson for that thank you very much! Self Determination... pfft!

 

To be fair we still have an empire... or sorts. Gibraltar, Fauklands, a bunch of small Islands around the world and a substantial chunk of Antarctica are considered part of the empire where once it spanned the globe. Alas... All empires must fall. 

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it's definitely ALUMINIUM not ALUMINUM

 

This one's always a bit funny, since the original discoverer of the metal (Humphry Davy, a Cornishman) called it "aluminum" (well, "alumium" until he realised that sounded daft, then "aluminum"). He was overruled by other scientists who felt the name didn't sound "classical" enough.

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This one's always a bit funny, since the original discoverer of the metal (Humphry Davy, a Cornishman) called it "aluminum" (well, "alumium" until he realised that sounded daft, then "aluminum"). He was overruled by other scientists who felt the name didn't sound "classical" enough.

 

I know what you mean I've looked into the origins of the differences (you can tell I'm a riot at parties) and it seems to have gone back and forth over the years. It's been Aluminium as far as the English are concerned for at least the last 5 decades and the Oxford Dictionary of English (the only one worth using!) has it as Aluminium. I read somewhere that in the last 20 years the "official" US spelling has also reverted to match the English however the vast majority of the population still refer to it as Aluminum and even spell it that way. 

 

Still it makes me cringe whenever I hear American's say Aluminum or even Worcestershire Sauce. I love the German accent when speaking English though, that's 100% awesome!  :D

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Ive always pronounced it ar-cane-ists as it makes sense with them dabbling in the arcane and as was said the i in machinist is pronounced the same as in machine.

Surprised the way americans pronounce nucular hasnt been brought up.

Speaking of languages though surely welsh with words like popty ping(microwave) is up there with the best

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwll-llantysiliogogogoch takes some beating as a place name too!

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If your Mrs would Murder you for wanting to play with her 'meat curtains', it might be time to look for a divorce lawyer .. 

forgive my naivety, but what's a "meat curtain"? :P

 

~Lil Kalki

 

EDIT: OT: Because I am a pedant of the English language, having majored in it in college, I should probably start calling them Ar-CANE-ists but sadly, I have a tendency to stick with the first pronunciation I am dealt so it is possible that I may need to resign myself to ARC-uh-nists.... D:

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