Dweomer

[Scott]

How do you pronounce it? I've used dweemer and dwimmer but I recently heard somebody say something like dwee-ommer.

[foster1941]

Back in the 80s-90s I said "dwee-mer" and I think anybody I heard pronounce it in that era (possibly including Gary and other TSR people at cons) said it the same way, because if I'd heard a different pronunciation I'd probably have switched to it.

Tha said, I'm pretty sure I haven't pronounced the word out loud in at least 20 years, and I feel like I read somewhere that "dwimmer" is a more correct pronunciation. Either way, I'm pretty sure any 3+ syllable version that either separates out the d and w or separately pronounces the o (or both) is not correct.

Is this one of the words in Frank Mentzer's "official pronunciation guide" that appeared in Dragon magazine c. 1984?

[geneweigel]

"dwee-O-meer" is the way I've alwsys said it but I've heard "dwee-O-mer", "dwimmer" and "dweemer"

[GRWelsh]

This is one of those words I've seldom pronounced out loud. I used to pronounce it (mostly in my head) like 'DWAY-oh-mer' but I read somewhere that the correct pronounciation is more like 'dwimmer.'

It's funny how mispronouncing something -- even in your head -- for decades can be a habit that is really hard to break.

I still want to pronounce IUZ like 'EYE-uz.'

[geneweigel]

Until the DRAGON #93 pronunciation guide in January 1985 I had said EYE-OOZE and I still say it even though I had a photocopy of the guide in my quick reference folder.

Same for Oerth I still say O-URTH instead of the official "OYth (rarely, URth or AYRth)"

Tharizdun I said thar-IZ-doon but the guide said thar-IZ-dun which I slip up. I think Kuntz said the original name was pronounced tharz-doon. Is that right?

[Scott]

I came up with dweemer as a kid, and kind of swing between dweemer and dwimmer now.
Iuz should be pronounced like Yooz. Or an almost silent ee blending into the Y at the beginning of Yooz.

[foster1941]

I always pronounced Iuz as either Eye-uzz or Eye-ooze and can't really get used to Yooz or Eee-yooz, so I've decided in my version of the WOG that people say it differently - like how people pronounce Iran as both Eee-ron and Eye-ran. Perhaps good-aligned people even intentionally mispronounce the name out of superstition, to decrease the likelihood of attracting his attention (a la He-who-shall-not-be-named in Harry Potter).

[grodog]

I've always said dweomer like DWAY-oh-mehr.* I do Iuz as EE-uhz. Oerth is OH-earth. (And I say Iran as Ear-ahn FWIW ).

Allan.

* Come to think of it, didn't EGG write how to pronounce dweomer in Sage of Old City when Gord buys his replacement magic dagger from the greedy dwarf, after hurling his longtooth into the sea serpent's eye in the Nyr Dyv?

[geneweigel]

Jul 4, 2016 22:34:45 GMT -5 grodog said:

I've always said dweomer like DWAY-oh-mehr.* I do Iuz as EE-uhz. Oerth is OH-earth. (And I say Iran as Ear-ahn FWIW ).

Allan.

* Come to think of it, didn't EGG write how to pronounce dweomer in Sage of Old City when Gord buys his replacement magic dagger from the greedy dwarf, after hurling his longtooth into the sea serpent's eye in the Nyr Dyv?

Or how not to pronounce it at least:

"Zuch an eye you haff!" Hengel said. "You hold der best uff my daggers!" His deep brown eyes sad above the great brush of beard, Hengel stared solemnly at Gord and added, "It has der dwveemer zo dat it ignores armor und—"

"What's dwveemer?" interrupted Gord.

"Magick! Shpells und zuch!" the dwarf said a bit crossly. "Don't be shtoopid!"

Hengel's accent was getting worse, Gord thought to himself. He meant dweomer, as in dweomercraefter, a spellbinder. The dwarf must be losing his composure because of his fascination with the precious blade in Gord's hand. "Tell me more about this weapon," Gord said firmly.

I believe that the way that I say it from this line in the GORD THE ROGUE: NIGHT ARRANT short story "THE FIVE DRAGON BOWL" :

"Your Faithfulness," the halfling had said earnestly and sincerely. "I am no mean fellow when it comes to dweomere." He had patted his staff confidently, nodded solemnly, and had risen straight up to the low celling of the cleric's chamber. Returning as slowly, Biff had said. "The dweomer is but one of many that I can call upon in time of need. My services in this quest are indispensable!" Not suspecting that he used magical boots to levitate thus, the somber priest had finally agreed to accept Biff as a member of the group sent to accomplish his liege lord's desire.

". . . and I believe this strongly attests to the absolute superiority of East over West and the irrefutability of the position that the five sorts of evil dragons represent but four elements. To hold that the Western view of five elements is proven by dragons is a complete fallacy!"

But this is obviously wrong. Why would it be written different if there was an emphasis on it being different?

I think from these too lines maybe that Gord pronounces it without an "eemer" end and definitely note a "meer" ending. So either dwimmer or dwe-O-mer is likely.