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The correct pronunciation will drive you mad, MAD!

Posted By ***Dave On In Books,Writing and Language | 3 Comments
Cthulhu

Got an IM from Avo about the right way to pronounce “Cthulhu” (the chief Elder God / Great Old One from H.P. Lovecraft’s literary canon).

According to the font of all wisdom, Wikipedia [1]:

Cthulhu has also been spelled as Tulu, Clulu, Clooloo, Cthulu, Cighulu, Cathulu, Kutulu, Q’thulu, Ktulu, Kthulhut, Kulhu, Thu Thu,[3] [2] and in many other ways. It is often preceded by the epithet [3] Great, Dead, or Dread. 

Lovecraft transcribed the pronunciation of Cthulhu as “Khlûl’-hloo” (IPA: /ˈkɬʊl.ɬuː/ [4] ?).[4] [5] S. T. Joshi [6] points out, however, that Lovecraft gave several differing pronunciations on different occasions.[5] [7] According to Lovecraft, this is merely the closest that the human vocal apparatus can come to reproducing the syllables of an alien language.[6] [8] Long after Lovecraft’s death, the pronunciation kə-THOO-loo [9] (IPA: /kəˈθuːluː/ [4]) became common, and the game Call of Cthulhu [10] endorsed it.

And now you know. And knowing is half the battle descent into INSANITY.

(But do be careful [11].)

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3 Comments To "The correct pronunciation will drive you mad, MAD!"

#1 Comment By ***Dave On Mon 28-Sep-09 7:32am @ 7:32am

Avo notes [13] on the question. The “preferred” answer basically points to the Wikipedia entry above. The following, though, from Dragosani, provides more detail:

As other folks have mentioned, there are a number of pronunciations that have been put forward, and the matter further confused by the alternate spells found other stories (Lovecraft encouraged other folks to use what he invented, as he adopted their’s).

The most commonly used pronunciation is “kuh-THOO-loo.”

An example of how widespread the confusion is can be found in the only current offical entry of the noun in a modern dictionary. The entry does not contain *any* of the pronunciations.

“Main Entry: cthulhu; Part of Speech: n; Definition: a fictional high priest of elderly gods, sleeping in his city of R’lyeh; Etymology: in writings of H.P.Lovecraft.”

It would appear that some of the various pronunciations are derived from some of the variant spellings.

The first link below includes excerpts from some of Lovecraft’s letters with some of his own expanations of how it should be pronounced.

“The actual sound — as nearly as human organs could imitate it or human letters record it — may be taken as something like Khlul’hloo, with the first syllable pronounced gutterally and very thickly. The u is about like that in full; and the first syllable is not unlike klul in sound, since the h represents the gutteral thickness. The second syllable is not very well rendered — the l being unrepresented. (Selected Letters V, pp. 10-11.)”

The other example that Lovecraft himself used was covered in a letter dated two years after the one quoted from above.

“The best approximation one can make is to grunt, bark, or cough the imperfectly-formed syllables Cluh-Luh with the tip of the tongue firmly affixed to the roof of the mouth.” (Selected Letters V, p. 302.)”

[14]
[15]
[16]

#2 Comment By Avocet On Tue 29-Sep-09 1:24am @ 1:24am

Yes, citations gave Dragosani a credibility edge. Unless, of course, he was stark raving mad from… Well, you know.

#3 Comment By ***Dave On Tue 29-Sep-09 7:33am @ 7:33am

To paraphrase Nietzsche, “He who cites about monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.”

Or, to put it in D&D terms, if you try out a pronunciation of an Elder God’s name three times, and it happens to be right, what are the odds …?