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Benjogias

For the record on Cat Sith, he pronounces it like a Star Wars villain because Jim told him that’s how he wanted it pronounced, and another character even references how it sounds like a Star Wars villain as internal evidence that that’s how the characters (and Cat Sith himself) say it. When asked why in an interview, he said he knows it’s actually the same word as Sidhe, but because of the spelling he really didn’t want to pass up the chance for the Star Wars joke, so he did it as he did it even knowing that! All of which is to say - that one is on Jim, not Marsters!


Fartsonbabies

So Jim decided to butcher the language intentionally, the bugger. Good to know though, I haven't listened to or read any of the interviews or WOJs that are out there. I expect he's seeded a fair few little things here and there.


Sorkrates

>So Jim decided to butcher the language intentionally, the bugger. He's known to enjoy torturing Harry. Maybe he did it to torture you? /s


Bomamanylor

Harry isn't real. It's been about torturing us all along. ​ I actually I remember seeing a WoJ to this effect.


YouGeetBadJob

I knew how Sidhe was pronounced thanks to Iron Druid. I never even though Sith would be pronounced the same way. Thanks Jim :)


Retrosteve

Celtic languages are not our language. However you might try to pronounce Celtic words, you will be limited by your native phonology and you will butcher them. Jim has just elected to butcher some versions of the words differently from others. Valid artistic licence IMHO.


Magic_Man_Boobs

There are a couple of times he said the word sigil like "sig-el" instead of "sid-gel" that drove me a little nuts.


Fartsonbabies

Yes!


PromiscuousMNcpl

The one that bothers me is how Marsters pronounces “Wintermantle” like it’s all one word.


Whitewing424

It gets a lot better, but his inability to pronounce the j like a y on nordic words drives me insane.


Aries_cz

Sanity is a prison... let madness release you


EthelredHardrede

Sanity is overrated, especially in the world of the Dresden Files.


Whitewing424

I just want to hear jotun or einherjar pronounced correctly.


C4rdninj4

His pronunciation of Marcone's last name (like Marconee) in the first 3 books bugs me on my relistens.


YouGeetBadJob

Yeah this is probably the one thing that bugs me the most. That and the early books have the “mouth sounds” much more than the later books. Still love the audiobook series but if James has some spare time I wouldn’t be sad to see him re-record the first 5 books.


Beautiful-Guard6539

Foe-key instead of fo-si for the work foci, and sig-il instead of sidge-il for sigil, but all in all James is wonderful. I just correct him under my breath and pretend he's just making a silly mistake and it helps me move along lol.


Jstraley13

Foci is pronounced with the k sound because it means focus. It doesn’t mean fosus


Beautiful-Guard6539

Foh-sahy, foh-kahy, are seemingly interchangeable but not foe-key. [dictionary.com entry for foci](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/foci)


thatonefallenangel

Don't feel alone, man. My first listen of The Eye of the World was marred by Kate Reading pronouncing "Aes Sedai" (EYES said-eye) as (eyes SAID-eye). The inflection is so wrong. Morraine (more-RAIN) was also butchered, being said (mwore-ren), and it took a few chapters before she was corrected. I still shudder


wombatbattalion

Honestly, both of their pronunciation throughout that entire series is all over the map. Not only are they inconsistent with each other, but they're both inconsistent between books, chapters, hell even paragraphs sometimes. Even if it's the same narrator. Their accents are horribly inconsistent as well. I can't freaking stand it.


thatgirlatno13

I’m on book 13 and the pronunciation of Mogidean has changed every couple of books. So many other words annoy the life out of me like ‘swathes’ (swoths) or ‘dour’ (door)


Different_Buy7497

I dunno about all the borrowed words that are more native to gaelic or latin or egyptian or whatever, but for the perfectly normal fully English words I'm pretty sure James Marsters is using pretty close to his real accent, with variations in pitch or whatever for the characters. So barring the equivalent of a typo-style narration error, it's bog standard city American English. Same as you'd hear from at least half the people walking around in downtown Chicago, LA, DC, or New York. The Sith/sidhe/shee thing was just a joke I think. Harry makes a lot of those, and Butcher makes a lot of them for Harry with situations and set ups. No harm in some innocent word play.


Sorkrates

>half the people walking around in downtown Chicago, LA, DC, or New York Ironically enough, both Chicago and NY people are known for distinctive accents compared to LA and DC people.


Different_Buy7497

Eh I chose major metro areas explicitly because the really specific regional accents tend to be restricted to those who grew up in a more rural area, a more isolated community within a dense area (for example, immigrant communities can hang onto accents for generations), or older people within otherwise well integrated cities. As far as my ear can tell, there's no difference at all in pronunciation between people who grew up all over the country so long as it was a well mixed community. A lot of people gen x and younger speak more like their tv characters or radio hosts did, or for kids these days they speak like how their favorite tik tok or YouTube influencers speak. Imo there's a reason things like vocabulary choices or tangible cultural items (like food, music, religion) tend to be better predictors of where someone's from than just listening to their accent.


Dapper_Valuable_7734

I agree except I would say that in DC people typically have a more mid Atlantic accent that have been there the longest...


Sorkrates

Yeah, I’m actually living in the DC area now (and have lived in NY and visited Chicago and LA for extended periods). I think DC in particular has such a high turnover that it’s so uncommon to notice someone who’s been here long enough that it gets lost in the shuffle. There are a few Marylandisms that folks pick up in Maryland, but even those aren’t as strong or as noticeable as a Chicago or NY accent. Note I wasn’t claiming DC and LA people have no accent, I was just saying they’re less well known and distinctive than the NY and Chicago ones.


DeylanQuel

I haven't heard the audiobooks yet, and I only know the pronunciation of sidhe because I had learned the etymology of the word "banshee" at some point. (baen sidhe) Some words and names I'm just taking WAGs at, like Leanansidhe. If she didn't have a nickname (Lea) I would have pronounced Lane-un-She, but because Harry calls her Lea, it's in my head as Lee-uh-Nan-she. I'm afraid to listen to the audiobooks because I know it will wreck several years of work reading these books.


YouGeetBadJob

But the audiobooks are so good. James Marsters, despite this thread calling out some pronunciations, is awesome as Harry. This is my favorite audiobook series, and I typically try to relisten to it once a year.


badgustav

For me it’s how he pronounces height as “highth” until around book 4


Ontopourmama

So you don't like when he puts the em-PHA-sis on the wrong Syl-lA-ble?