Pronunciation Guide (Updated)!

When I imagined the day my book became widely available, I didn’t anticipate that most of the questions I’d get from my readers would revolve around how to pronounce the names! So, I’m publishing this guide to pronouncing the character and place names appearing in The Crafter Chronicles! (As a bonus, I’ve also included some other non-name words that I think might be unfamiliar to many people, and especially words I’ve created, like satje.)

Update (2/6/2020): In addition to providing information about pronunciation, I am now turning this guide into a glossary of sorts. Based upon reader feedback, I will plan to include this information as an addendum in any of my forthcoming works, as well as any future editions of The Crafter’s Son.

Aegir - (Ā-jeer) - A seafaring giant.
Aelric - (ALE-Rick) - A half-elf ranger of some repute.
Andehar - (AN-də-här) - The family/last name of Breeden, and his parents Holt and Marlene.
Aoilfhionn - (Ā-ō-lən) - The city of trees. Capitol city of Fardach Sidhe, homeland of the elves.
Arlon - (ar-LON) - The capitol of Hyrde, and seat of the kingdom.
Ath - (rhymes with bath) - A land comprised of mountains and a fertile river valley. Home of the giants. It occupies the northeast region of Erda.
bailey - (BĀ-lē) - A defensive wall that encloses the land surrounding a castle.
Beltide - (BEL-tide) - A holiday celebrating the arrival of spring.
Bertil - (BURR-til) - A dwarven smith of ancient legend.
Birghid - (burr-ƷĒD) - Goddess of wisdom and beauty.
Chavenay - (shä-və -NĀ) - A large family estate in Laon held by the Robinet family.
Conkle - (CON-kəl) - Last/family name of a Ridderzaal Carpenter and his son.
Culuden - (CƏ-lə-den) - Capitol city of Pretania. Seat of the Pretanian clan chief, Ayres Starkad, father of Kestrel Starkad.
Dura - (DÜ-rə) - Assistant to the Princess's torturer.
Dvargheim - (DVARG-hīm) - Mountainous home of the dwarves, occupying the eastern region of Erda.
Einar - (Ī-nar) - The name of Breeden's father, given to him by Aegir the giant.
Ekszer Hegy - (ECK-Zurr HEH-gee) - An island off the dwarven coast of Dvargheim. Home to a fortress run by wizards and scholars.
Erda - (UR-dä) - The continent of known lands where The Crafter’s Son takes place.
Fardach Sidhe - (far-däk SHĒ) - Forested homeland of the Elves, occupying the western region of Erda.
Fuller - (FƏL-ər) - Last/family name of Janelle, daughter of a cloth merchant of Ridderzaal.
Gaidheal - (GĀ-ell) - The ancient name of the people of the land of Shenn Frith, who are colloquially referred to as Shenn Frith.
gambeson - (GAM-bə-sən) - A padded shirt worn under armor.
Geornlice - (JORN-liss) - Southern land known for its swamps and bayous. Inhabited predominately by gnomes.
Götar - (GÖ-tär) - Dwarf god of war.
Guéret - (GÖ-rā) - The land in Laon held by the Marchant family.
Hewrey - (HYÜ-rē) - Raffe, sergeant at arms at Ridderzaal.
Hyrde - (HĒRD) - Central region of Erda. Homeland of Breeden, Janelle, Oskar, and Lorelei.
Hyrden - (HĒRDen) - The people of Hyrde.
Jenlyns - (JEN-linz) - A Knight-Captain of Hyrde.
Jetningen - (JET-ning-en) - Mountainous land to the east of Erda. Inhabited principally by trolls.
Keir - (KAIR) - Famous Pretanian King who lived 200 years before The Crafter’s Son.
Krigare - (CREE-gar) - The war-like race of people living in the north.
Krigsrike - (KRĒG’s-rike) - Home of the Krigare. The land occupying the northern-most region of Erda.
Laon - (LAY-on) - The breadbasket of Erda. A flat land of rich soil where a majority of the grain consumed in Erda is produced. Occupying the southwest corner of Erda, between the forests of Fardach Sidhe and Shenn Frith, and the swamplands of Geornlice.
Laonese - (LAY-on-ēz) - The people of Laon.
Long Lake - A large lake which forms the eastern border of Hyrde. To the east of the lake lie Jetningen and Dvargheim.
Lorelei - (LORE-ə -lie) - A princess of Hyrde.
Mahjar - (MÄ-ʒar) - A tribal and nomadic race of humans from the Namur region, famed for their horses. All Mahjars are from Namur. But not all people of Namur are of the race of the Mahjar.
Mairwen - (MAIR-wen) - A maid of Ridderzaal castle.
Marchant - (marsh-AUNT) - Laonese family name of Laudan and his father Odilon.
Mikele - (mi-KEL-lay) - A goddess and patron/protector of the Gaidheal.
Miremont - (MIR-ə-mont) - A large trade city in central Laon.
Mirgul - (MEER-gül) - A god. Brother to Mirren.
Mirren - (MIR-en) - A god. Brother to Mirgul.
Mungo - (Mung-go) - Pretani god of luck.
Namur - (NÄ-mur) - A land of rolling hills and wild grassland where the Namur people raise their herds of half-tame horses. It occupies the region between Pretania to the west, Krigsrike to the north, Ath to the east, and Hyrde to the south.
Oskar - (OSS-kar) - An orphan who grew up on the streets of Arlon
Per/Pers - (Pur/Purz) - Short for Persimmon. A young boy who helped Breeden and Sergeant Hewrey with the binding of Tavish Ranald's injury.
Pretania - (pre-TÄN-ya) - A land of high elevation with a challenging terrain composed of bluffs and steep hills, occupying the northwest region of Erda.
Pretani/Pretanian - (pre-TÄN-ē/pre-TÄN-ē-ən) - The people of Pretania.
Ranald - (RA-nəld) - Last/family name of Tavish, a Hyrden noble.
Raulin - (Raw-lin) - The King of Hyrde, Laon, and Pretania.
Rhonwen - (RON-wen) - An elven princess and warrior.
Ridderzaal (RID-ur-zäl) - The name of the castle, and the city which surrounds it, in the south of Hyrde, on Long Lake.
Robinet - (rob-i-NĀ) - Family name of Derek, and his father Hugh. Laonese nobles.
satje - (SÄT-jay) - A spicy treat of smoked or dried fish, beef or poultry served on sticks.
seneschal - (SEN-ə-Shəl) - A steward in charge of a lord’s estate.
Shenn Frith - (shenn FRITH) - A small region of land located in the western forests of Erda, occupied by the Gaidheal. Also, the name commonly used to describe the people of that land.
Starkad - (STAR-kad) - Family name of Kestrel, and his father Ayres, Pretanian nobles.
tabard - (TA-bard) - An outer tunic worn by a knight over his armor.
Usen - (YÜ-sen) - The prophet of the One God.
Wilham - (WILL-em) - A famous conquering king of Hyrde who consolidated the nations of Pretania, Laon, and Hyrde as a single kingdom.
Woodfall - (WOOD-fall) - River and town on Long Lake where Breeden grew up.
Ydenia - (ē-DĒN-yə) - A journeyman mage, and friend of Cedric.

Other:
Knight-Captain - A commanding officer of an army of knights and accompanying foot soldiers.
Knight-General - A commanding officer in charge of a nation’s army in times of war.
1 gold crown = 10 silver swans
1 silver swan = 10 copper commons

I will plan to update this list as the requests come in, or I think of any other potentially challenging words. But these are probably a good place to start!

* Stress/emphasis is shown by word parts in ALL CAPS (non-stressed syllables are in lower case). Where I’ve used symbols or diacritical marks, here is what they mean!

a - “a” as in bad
ä- “ah” as in ma or father
ā - “ay” as in day
ə - “uh” as in duh or what
e - “e” as in bed
ē- “ee” as in feed
i - “ih” as in dip
ī– “ii” as in wide
ʒ - “zh” as in version or usual
ö - “oe” as in voyeur
ō- “oh” as in go
ü- “oo” as in goose or blue