Mispronunciations

Some words show up a lot in fantasy fiction—books, games, audiobooks—and yet I hear friends and even audiobook narrators mispronounce them all the time. I get it. English is weird. But still.

Here are a few that bug me every time I hear them mangled:

• Ichor — It’s eye-core, not ick-or. This one’s especially painful in high fantasy settings where gods bleed the stuff. More often, though, it’s used to describe some vaguely gross bodily fluid that oozes out of a slain monster or giant insect—which often means it shows up alongside…

• Chitin — It’s kite-in, not chai-tin. Typically referring to the exoskeleton of bugs. If you’re fighting giant insects, at least get their armor right.

• Chthonic — It’s thonic, not chuh-thonic. The “ch” is silent. Although, it is apparently okay to prefix it with a hard “k” sound. From the Greek word khthonios, meaning “of the Earth,” specifically the underworld. Chthonic deities were the ancient gods of the subterranean realm—Hades, Persephone, and friends. It’s easy to see how that vibe fed directly into Lovecraft’s mythos. Tentacles optional.

• Chasm — Just a friendly reminder: it’s kaz-um, not chaz-um. No one wants to fall into a mispronounced abyss.

Interestingly, all of these examples are Greek in origin and involve the letter chi (χ), which is typically transliterated as “ch” in English—even though the original sound is more like a hard “k” or guttural “kh.” So while our spelling looks like “chocolate,” the pronunciation leans more toward chaos.

I’m keeping an ear out for more of these. Suggestions welcome.