(no subject)

[vyvyanx]

In the absence of a paid account, this will have to be a pseudo-poll:

Do you pronounce the words "golem" and "Gollum"

1) exactly the same (with the first vowel as in "pot")?
2) exactly the same (with the first vowel as in "pole")?
3) differently ("golem" with the first vowel as in "pole" and "Gollum" with the first vowel as in "pot")?
4) some other way?

(I will explain why I'm asking if anyone's interested.)

Comments

[velvetfox.livejournal.com]

go-lem and gol-lum

[simont]

3.

[aldabra]

3.

[acronym.livejournal.com]

Simon, Aldabra: <AOL>.

[crazyscot.livejournal.com]

I'm with them.

[nmg.livejournal.com]

3.

[dmh.livejournal.com]

3.

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

3)
*remembers conversation at Andy's BBQ and thinks he's probably not quite right* ;o)

[mobbsy.livejournal.com]

3

[fluffymormegil.livejournal.com]

I use a longer 'o' in "golem" than in "pole", and a pot-style 'o' in "gollum".

[scy11a.livejournal.com]

Ditto

[emperor]

3

[ptc24.livejournal.com]

'golem' has an 'o' as in 'go'. 'Gollum' is pot-style.

[ghoti.livejournal.com]

What he said.

[ceb.livejournal.com]

ditto

[ewx.livejournal.com]

I'll have a 3, please, Bob.

[mtbc100.livejournal.com]

3, but with little confidence in my correctness.

BTW, Benjamin seems to be using "his" for both "his" and "her".

[mtbc100.livejournal.com]

I should add that I'm interested in why you're asking. (-:

[duncanneko.livejournal.com]

#3

[senji.livejournal.com]

Like 3. But I note that the second vowels are quite different too...

[teleute.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm going to be different, and say 1. However, I am discovering more and more that I pronouce unusual words (I consider golum unusual) wrongly almost all the time, since I try to pronouce everything phonetically if its a word I've only read, never heard. For instnce I was pronouncing epitome as epy-tome for years. I also used the word e-pit-o-me when speaking, but hadn't twigged that they were the same word.

[wechsler.livejournal.com]

3

[zotz]

3, although I've a vague idea that 1 is more accurate.

[angoel.livejournal.com]

2 is the closest.

In reality, I use the first vowel as in 'golly' for both of them, and use erm and um for the rest.

[kaet.livejournal.com]

I pronounce golem like phone or home: g@Ul@m. Ang gollum I pronounce like pot or lot: gQl@m.

[robinbloke.livejournal.com]

4. The 'gol' part remains the same, the last part changes.

[teleute.livejournal.com]

So why do you want to know?

[cjwatson]

3, apparently like most other respondents. Curious why you're asking, though ...

[aiwendel.livejournal.com]

1./4.
both with a short hot pot O, but slightly different lem or lum at the end...

definately NOT with a long pole O in either!

you'll have to tell us why!!
:)
xxxxxxxxxx

[beckyc.livejournal.com]

3 for me.

[valkyriekaren.livejournal.com]

Gow-lem

Go-lum

[vyvyan.livejournal.com]

Which of my options does this correspond to? I gather you pronounce them differently, but does "gow-" rhyme with "cow" or "low"? And does "go-" rhyme with "go" or "got"?

[berglaug.livejournal.com]

i think i pronounce them the same, but golem with a long o, gollum with a short o... and both the pot kind of o...

but i don't count because i'm not a native speaker

[berglaug.livejournal.com]

though i do believe i should pronounce golem with a diphthong (as in pole), i don't , because i'm inclined to pronounce o as an open *tries to do IPA on lj and fails miserably*.. argh, as a 'pot' sort of o, since the 'pole' diphthong o is a different letter in icelandic, ó.

so, even if i use the right o's in common words, when i have to guess at pronounciations i quite often use the 'pot' o, in different lenghts depending on the lenght of the following consonants (in icelandic a vowel's lenghth is dependent on the consonants following it)

so

yeah

i don't count at all, i have a nasty foreign accent ;) :þ

[3c66b.livejournal.com]

3