Semi-drifting until end of May (16/5/19)

Okay, I should have started on the second chapter of The Children Of Hurin asap. After all, I managed to build up a momentum despite having to adjust my brain to the KJV style of J.R.R. Tolkien. Thankfully, my brain is currently in optimal shape for that. However, my sis will be getting married this Saturday. This means plenty of mad scrambling resulting in attempts to drive poor Victor and his lol bros mad. Also, we’re nearing the end of May where hopefully I can make a fruitful trip to Heliopolis City next weekend. At the same time, nearing the end of May means nearing yet another year of beautiful June. Minus Hatsune Miku ofc.
It was a very beautiful June.
Okay, that’s actually a lie.

I know above links are very emo. But it’s not as if the world will be facing the nearest person to Emiya Kiritsugu come this June. That’d be horrible and utterly terrible considering Singapore was recently reminded of Aloysius Pang’s untimely death in the most unfortunate manner conceivable.

I’m just going to mess this post around. In other words, it’s going to be harmless stuff. At least I hope so.

When I first started off reading The Children Of Hurin, I didn’t start from the actual deal. To better appreciate the story, one must begin from the very start. In this sense, I find The Children Of Hurin to be a good start if you want start reading the more notable works starring heroic nobodies from Singapore. Oops, I mean Shire. Sorry.

The reason why I say that is because the starting point was never a prologue. Rather, it’s teaching the reader how to speak the Tolkien language. This is not a joke, his son Chris really compiled his dad’s archaeological creations. Understanding proper Elvish won’t earn you a girlfriend from Mediacorp, but that’d surely be like getting to know your future girlfriend better. No offence intended by the way because I don’t blog like Xiaxue but rather Lewis Carroll in Wonderland.

This inspired me to try emulating Tolkien Sr on this end. At the same time, I’m under no illusion that it’s one thing to try, quite another attempting to trace Excalibur. There’s no way I can do that because we’re of two very different worlds. One was of Avalon, the other... well, was from Singapore. But knowing I’ll fail doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try. Unlike the typical Singaporean, I can be as relentless as a Relentless One, Aeravor or no Aeravor.

So in this post, I’m going to try doing some pronunciation tips. Not that this will amount to something unless Tolkien Jr chooses to out something absolutely nuclear, no Original Guy’s iCloud leak could hope to outdo it. That’d be like Emiya Shirou’s Unlimited Blade Works beasting Gilgamesh’s Gate of Babylon, only that it’s not going to happen. I mean my side of circumstances since the other situation did happen.

Also, I’m going to talk some crap that’s not even 1/10 Instagram worthy. Like Goblin Slayer talking non-stop about goblins, something which every human being in Singapore and beyond would just switch off as a result.

Pronunciations according to vowels:
There are two aspects of this if we’re talking about elven names alone. Because they’re living relics from the past known as Age of Renown, pronouncing any of their names is like trying to speak proper French by using the English way of saying things. You know it’s not going to work. How France surprisingly defined Singapore’s standard of English was quite another story.

Elven names are surprisingly un-English. Both genders have a middle bridge between the first name and last. This bridge denotes the gender. For men, it’s the word “de” while for the women, it’s “von”. Quite obviously, the former sounds like French while the latter sounds like German. So just treat it like saying “it tastes like meat” rather than “it tastes like mutton” or “it tastes like beef”. However, in the same way beef doesn’t taste like mutton and vice versa, there’s a distinctive difference between pronouncing “de” and “von” beyond the alphabets. Interestingly, “de” is pronounced according to the alphabets while “von” has a longer pull. No matter which gender, the tone used is one of a softer type while the first and last names are to be more clearly pronounced.

Interestingly, places with names always start with the capital D as the sole prefix. Pronouncing this D is like saying “D” in a distinctively clear way after which the pronunciation swiftly transits to the main word itself.

Elven names comprise of either of the three vowels A, E, or I. Pronouncing the first letter means pronouncing it according to the original vowel. After that, any subsequent vowel will be pronounced in the secondary manner. However, Elven names are also meant to have some kind of French twist. At least some of them.

One thing of vital note is that Elven last names are not given based on family. Rather, they’re given on the basis of exceptional character capability and/or personality. As a result, the nobility are identified by a formal title unique to the individual’s clan. The sole exception would be the monarchy where no other person beyond royal family members can have it.

Since there’s no point in continuing like Goblin Slayer talking non-stop about goblins, I may as well list down a few names as examples.

Aeravor: {Aee-rah-vor}
Edit: I made a terrible mistake on this just now, hence the correction. Wouldn’t be surprised if Safari and Apple got me again.

Edeaux de Serpentwine: {Ee-day-ou de Ser-pen-twine}

Ioin de Bladefort: {Eye-o-in de Blayd-for}

Ines von Stormhearth: {Eye-neys vo-on Storm-hayf} with the last part sounding in an unconventional manner due to the presence of “ea”. Not to be confused with Ea btw because that’d entering actual mythology and the Epic of Gilgamesh (plus his noble phantasm)

Eijon de Morte: {Ee-yon de Mor}

Alaudea von Stormhearth: {A-low-dia vo-on Storm-hayf}

D’Estat: {D Ee-sta}

P.S: Doing this with Safari’s auto-correct is truly not for the faint of heart. I swear anyone with a lesser grip on his/her mind would have screamed and curse like an Anglo-Saxon instead of staying calm like an Anglo-Norman, university graduate or no university graduate. Needless to say, I achieved the fortitude of an Anglo-Norman for some funny reason beyond getting used to the OS taunting.