## Friday, April 24, 2009

### How do you pronounce my name?

So, this is pretty weird.
My whole life (and it has been a long life, cats and kittens) I have pronounced my own name "SAR-gurr-us." Rolls right off the tongue. Coffee With SAR-gurr-us. And besides, it has that same nice, flowing rhythm as all the other badass villain names. SEF-er-roth. DRAK-yoo-la. PAL-pa-teen. SAR-gurr-us.
But it has just now come to my attention that Blizzard believes my name is pronounced "sar-GARR-us." If you want proof, jump into this video at about 1:19. There it is, plain as day.
I am not a fan of this new pronunciation. It makes the blog name sound awkward, for one thing. Really, try it - say "Coffee With Sargeras" both ways and see what I mean. Also it breaks the otherwise perfect meter on the poem I wrote about myself.
Normally I would just say it's my way or Die In A Fire, but even I am not insensitive to the needs of the common man. So I ask you: How have you been saying my name? Which do you like better? And most importantly, should I stick to my old way, or grant these lowly Blizzard mortals a boon by accepting their pronunciation?

#### 38 comments:

Wazooty said...

  I always have pronounced it GARE.
  Just to spite you, mostly.
  ....

  April 24, 2009 at 12:21 AM
Otome said...

  Well, my lord, Blizzard has said a lot of things.
  We'd have new dances in WoTLK.
  Druid forms would get new skins.
  Engineering would be fun.
  None of which are true right now so I don't take what they say all too seriously anymore. Besides, if they can retcon Mal-Ganis back to life, then they can pronounce your name in a way that's befitting for one in a position such as yourself.
  SAR-gurr-us, for sure.

  April 24, 2009 at 12:22 AM
Anthony Clarke said...

  SAR-jer-us.
  It might be sar-JER-us, but im not sure.
  I'm gonna go with the first.

  April 24, 2009 at 12:26 AM
Anonymous said...

  What Tom said.

  April 24, 2009 at 12:29 AM
Markus said...

  I'd go for SAR-ger-as, just as you have always done it. This is, coincidentally, also the way I pronounce it.

  April 24, 2009 at 2:10 AM
MomentEye said...

  How about:
  Sarge'R'Us
  It says brutal authority, it says shouting and it's got that treating-worlds-as-playthings vibe.
  PDSM

  April 24, 2009 at 2:28 AM
vowdy said...

  Well personally I just say sar-gur-ASS

  April 24, 2009 at 3:43 AM
Alixa said...

  Sar-GARE-us is how I pronounce it currently, but if you say it is otherwise, I would take your word for it, as it is your name.

  April 24, 2009 at 4:26 AM
Anonymous said...

  Generally SAR-jer-us for me ... kinda like a police sergeant, only less interested in upholding the law.

  April 24, 2009 at 5:40 AM
Shanarah said...

  Sar-Jer-us
  But now that I know your preference, I'll do my best to accommodate.

  April 24, 2009 at 5:52 AM
Anonymous said...

  I pronounce it pretty much how you do, though I try not to emphasise any part of the name. Every part of your name should be feared equally, my lord.

  April 24, 2009 at 6:24 AM
TheDesktopNinja said...

  Sar-Gare-us

  April 24, 2009 at 8:09 AM
Tirion Fordring said...

  I pronounce it the way Ninja does

  April 24, 2009 at 8:21 AM
Anonymous said...

  Personally, I'd go for Ser-ger-us, but will take on whatever displeases you anyway!

  April 24, 2009 at 8:28 AM
Unknown said...

  sar-GARE-us is how ive been pronouncing it.
  But im from up in da wis-Cahn-sin dontcha know?

  April 24, 2009 at 9:17 AM
Merlot said...

  I know you are a titan and I couldn't possibly comprehend your intelligence, but how do you get 'us' from 'as'? Have you been spending time among the mortals of North America, oh diabolical one?

  April 24, 2009 at 9:20 AM
Inka said...

  I have always pronounced your name as 'SAR-gurr-as'. I believe you are correct. However it is your name, and so you should decide how it is pronounced. That and it's you - I'm sure you could easily convince (or threaten) any naysayers. :)

  April 24, 2009 at 9:37 AM
Sargeras said...

  @ MomentEye: "PDSM" makes me laugh every time I see it. :-)
  @ Merlot: My web dude is from Ohio. He must be rubbing off on me.

  April 24, 2009 at 10:12 AM
Adlib said...

  Been pronouncing it just like you have. Too late to start saying it the other way now, imo.

  April 24, 2009 at 10:31 AM
Red said...

  My brain just parsed it out as "sarr-GARE-us" the first time I saw it. And honestly it sounded just as chatty a blog title as "SAR-gurr-as" with either pronunciation. To me it makes no difference. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet....and rain just as much hellfire.

  April 24, 2009 at 10:49 AM
Anonymous said...

  I've always pronounced it as SAR-gurr-us, as well. Reasoning:
  I'm very used to hard consonant sounds, having studied Eastern European languages for the past seven years, and generally prefer them. So, the "g" has always been a "g" for me, not a "j".
  I've never pronounced the "e" following the "g" as an "a" as in Sar-GARE-us. It's an "e" and since I'm not going to say Sar-GEE-rus, I make it a schwa and say SAR-gurr-us.
  As for the last "a" ... I make that a schwa as well, because, despite your evil nature, you are not an "ass" ... so, SAR-gurr-us and not SAR-gurr-as.
  Since schwa can never hold stress (is actually the absence of stress), and since (mostly) all words have to have stress some where, I put it on the first syllable.
  SAR-gurr-us, with the "u" in both instances acting as schwa, not a "u"
  >.>
  <.<
  *cough*

  April 24, 2009 at 10:52 AM
Rat said...

  Sar-GARE-uss is how I've always said it. It didn't even occur to me that there was another way.

  April 24, 2009 at 11:16 AM
Sargeras said...

  @ Sindrow: Very good explanation. The schwa sound is indeed what I meant by my u's. I agree about the emphasis too - not that it's such a powerful extra sound, but just because the emphasis has to go somewhere and it's largely on the first syllable.
  Not that I think about this stuff either... >.> <.<

  April 24, 2009 at 11:21 AM
Eyra said...

  Personally, my lord, I believe you should pronounce your name in whichever way pleases you... Us lowly followers should adapt to your wishes :) Also, as you said, why ruin the otherwise perfect meter of a lovely poem? ^^

  April 24, 2009 at 11:31 AM
Compa said...

  Well, the way I pronounce your name might be a bit interesting since main language is Spanish:
  Sar-ge-ras
  - The Sar has no special pronunciation
  - The G has the same sound it has in the word "Galactic"
  - The E the same sound as in "Epic"
  - The R has a soft sound like the R in "Arabic"
  - the AS sounds like "Ass"
  I guess I can record a small mp3 to show you how it sounds in case you're curious.
  Second: I like yours better 'cause it sounds more menacing :D
  Third: You should pronounce your name the way you like it. What authority has a leaking ice elemental who is on fire? It's your name and if you want to pronounce the name "Sargeras" like "Overwhelming Tide of Darkness" is ultimately your choice :)

  April 24, 2009 at 12:05 PM
Dorgol said...

  Since I was introduced to your mighty powers via the WarCraft III game (and thus the video you linked)... I've always used the pronunciation used there.
  Please, don't smite me. :(

  April 24, 2009 at 12:58 PM
Anonymous said...

  Heh. Sorry, Sargeras, but I've played through Warcraft III long before WoW, and I've been pronouncing it "sar-GARE-us" as well.

  April 24, 2009 at 1:14 PM
Jae said...

  Sir, I always say Sar-GAAARE-Az.
  Because gare rhymes with scare, impair, tear, bear, ensnare, rare, (doesn't) care, lair, &c.
  Very good for iambic pentameter.
  example following:
  Sargeras, the embodiment of fear,
  Has taken the souls of many a world.
  Ensnaring lives on planets far and near,
  And rev'ling in the bloodbath he's unfurled.
  But I will cease and pronounce it your way from now on. /salute from one poet to another.

  April 24, 2009 at 1:53 PM
Unknown said...

  I just ate a huge meal at an all-you-can-eat buffet for lunch, fit for a titan.
  Just throwing that out there.

  April 24, 2009 at 3:14 PM
A zombie with knives said...

  I pronounced it SAR-jer-us, until I learned that the official pronunciation is sar-GEYR-us. Which is nothing new, it's been like that since your conception.

  April 24, 2009 at 3:23 PM
Alkaliho said...

  SAR-gerAS for me
  sar as in sargent
  Ger as in finger
  as as in pass, without the prolonged S
  no sudden youtube discovery is going to make me pronounce it in that tongue breaking way ;)

  April 24, 2009 at 5:36 PM
Anonymous said...

  I've always pronounced it as "sar-GARE-as", because I avidly played warcraft 3 before buying WoW and that was how it was pronounced in the game.

  April 24, 2009 at 6:31 PM
Anonymous said...

  SAR-gurr-us....sar-GARR-us... mhhh for me its your version, but im from germany, so anyway, i pronounce it different ^.^
  Liebe Grüße, Vegi

  April 24, 2009 at 6:31 PM
Compa said...

  To make it clear, I always pronounce it as Alkaliho:) (My previous explanation was a bit too confusing I think)

  April 24, 2009 at 6:56 PM
Anonymous said...

  SAR-gare-us (so that the middle syllable rhymes with air).
  To me, sar-GARR-us sounds like you're gargling in your coffee.

  April 24, 2009 at 8:26 PM
Sargeras said...

  Thanks everyone for your responses! This has been most enlightening.

  April 24, 2009 at 10:10 PM
Jeza said...

  To be fair, the guy who misspeaks your name in that video doesn't even have all his teeth and it's not like he's some axe swinger who got them knocked out. He probably doesn't think to floss. He's also dead, and his nickname is Dan. How much credibility are you giving him?

  April 25, 2009 at 3:56 AM
Petninja said...

  Toe-may-toe, toe-matto. We can pronounce it however we'd like, but you're still going to burn the fruit to cinders ;).

  April 25, 2009 at 3:59 AM

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