@Riot: How are pronounced champions' names?

Wolfeur·4/13/2015, 4:38:40 PM·1 votes·790 views

Some are obvious: Miss Fortune, Katarina, Poppy, Bard, Draaaaaaaaaven, ...

However, some are way more difficult to know if they aren't confirmed by a Rioter.

For instance: I'm french-speaking. When French people see Ezreal, they'll automatically pronounce it ayz-ray-ahl because that's how french spelling tells us to say it. During the last UOL vs GMB match, the shoutcasters mispronounced Shaco, saying Shaco instead of Shaco. Shoutcasters are still unable to pronounce Leblanc correctly, pro-gamers still pronounce the G in Gnar.

Is Ezreal like Ezreel or Ezree-al? Is Zilean Zy-lean or Zee-lean or Zy-leen or Zee-lee-an? Is Xin Zhao like Shin Jao? Is Urgot Uh-rgot or You-rgot? Is Heimer Hy-mer or Hay-mer? Is Leblanc's c silent like it should be? Is Shaco Shaco or Shaco? Is Irelia like I-relia or EE-reelia or EE-raylia? Is Lucian Lu-ssian or Lu-shuhn?

You get my point.

6 Comments

Jungle Lux God4/13/2015, 7:09:08 PM4 votes

Is Shaco Shaco or Shaco?

Yes.

Ice Weasel X4/13/2015, 8:06:46 PM2 votes

{quoted}

Some are obvious: Miss Fortune, Katarina, Poppy, Bard, Draaaaaaaaaven, ...

However, some are way more difficult to know if they aren't confirmed by a Rioter.

For instance: I'm french-speaking. When French people see Ezreal, they'll automatically pronounce it ayz-ray-ahl because that's how french spelling tells us to say it.

As a former French speaker, I disagree with this. Sure, words ending in -ez have a long A (ayyyy lmao) sound, but so do conjugated verbs ending in -es. There aren't any French words beginning with ez- of which I'm aware, but there are many beginning with es-, and far more beginning with just e-. The majority of those pronounce the e as a short E (e.g., escargot, escalier, efficace) or a nasal sound (e.g., en, enfant, embrasser). If I thought Ezreal was a French name, I probably would've pronounced it ehz-ray-ahl. That's actually very close to how most people seem to pronounce it, which is ehz-ree-uhl.

During the last UOL vs GMB match, the shoutcasters mispronounced Shaco, saying Shaco instead of Shaco. Shoutcasters are still unable to pronounce Leblanc correctly, pro-gamers still pronounce the G in Gnar.

Is Ezreal like Ezreel or Ezree-al? Is Zilean Zy-lean or Zee-lean or Zy-leen or Zee-lee-an? Is Xin Zhao like Shin Jao? Is Urgot Uh-rgot or You-rgot? Is Heimer Hy-mer or Hay-mer? Is Leblanc's c silent like it should be? Is Shaco Shaco or Shaco? Is Irelia like I-relia or EE-reelia or EE-raylia? Is Lucian Lu-ssian or Lu-shuhn?

You get my point.

Xin Zhao's a bit iffy due to somewhat inconsistent pronunciation translations. I've heard Chinese speakers go with Shin, Jin, or Zhin (like fabergé) for Xin, with similar variations for Shao, Jao, Zhao.

Urgot is probably err (like her) got, but a lot of fans call him yergot so they can call him UrGod.

Heimerdinger is Hymer, like a hymen. There's an old slang term, "dingleheimer," which is probably the source.

LeBlanc's C should be silent. Most people don't realize that. It probably confuses some people even more because it's a masculine term, but you can probably dismiss that as a family name... or just consider it part of her Deceiver background.

Irelia is most commonly I-REE-lee-uh/I-REE-lyuh.

Lucian is an old name. Just rhyme it with loosen, but with a sh instead of s. An alternate correct pronunciation is a three syllable version where Lucy is distinctly pronounced. Think Alisha vs. Alicia.

Here's an old post where Guinsoo gave pronuncations to some names:

http://forums.na.leagueoflegends.com/board/showthread.php?t=142242

Ryze : Rise Zilean : Zeye-lee-en Kayle : Rhymes with pale Udyr : ooh, dear! Janna : Jan - nuh Kassadin : Kass-uh-din Nidalee : Nid-uh-lee Shaco : Shake-oh Sivir : Si-vur

That Zilean explanation seems weird to me. I guess that's "eye" as a long I? Most people pronounce it as zillion, but I'm sure Guinsoo would know how Zileas pronounces his character.

Jubbinaut4/13/2015, 7:17:54 PM1 votes

Is Ezreal like Ezreel or Ezree-al?

"EZ-ree-ul"

Is Zilean Zy-lean or Zee-lean or Zy-leen or Zee-lee-an?

"ZIL-ee-an"

Is Urgot Uh-rgot or You-rgot?

"UR-got" - it's actually a real English word.

Is Heimer Hy-mer or Hay-mer?

"HIGH-mur-DEEN-gur" - stronger accent on the first syllable, secondary accent on the third.

Is Leblanc's c silent like it should be?

Suppose that depends on who pronounces it. Native English speakers tend to pronounce the c.

Is Shaco Shaco or Shaco?

Yes? Personally, I pronounce it "SHAY-koh," but I've friends who swear it's "SHACK-oh."

Is Irelia like I-relia or EE-reelia or EE-raylia?

"ear-EL-ee-ah"

Is Lucian Lu-ssian or Lu-shuhn?

As far as I can tell, both "LOO-see-an" and "LOO-shun" are acceptable, with a notable preference for the latter.

EDIT: fixed a couple that I'd forgotten to accent.

Neo Cyrus4/13/2015, 7:18:23 PM1 votes

Who cares they don't pronounce champion names correctly anyway. In a video (the champ spotlight was it?) they pronounced Darius as Dare-ius, which the real name isn't. It's a common Persian name, pronounced dar, not dare. But hey: "Fuck pronunciation, lore, blanace, integrity, and pretty much anything else you like." - Rito

Forbidden Siren4/13/2015, 7:22:22 PM1 votes

Just watch the official champion spotlight for each champion on their YouTube channel. However they say it is official.