Poll: Lara Croft Pronunciation

[zelda2fanboy]

Everybody knows Ninja Gaiden is pronounced Ninja Gay-den because everything with gay in it is inherently better for a variety of reasons. But what about Tomb Raider Lara Croft? I've heard the name said many different ways. For awhile I assumed it was just a funny spelling of Laura (Lore-ah), but after becoming a fan of 60 Minutes' Lara Logan, doubt has been planted in my mind (she and her colleagues seem to refer to her as Lair-ah). Is this a British V. American variation or am I just dense (thick, as the UK might say)?

 

[RatRace123]

I thought it was Lore-a for a while, but after seeing that it was spelled LARA (Instead of Laura), I now think it's pronounced Law-ra.
I'm also American, not sure if that would change my pronunciation.

 

[Farther than stars]

It's Lah-Rah, for sure. Yeah, I guess it could be that fact that she's British, but then I haven't heard Americans pronounce it any differently (then again I haven't played any of the games). Lore-ah is the most difficult to pronounce, with an unnatural pause between syllables, and Law-ra is how you pronounce Laura (with a "u").

Edit: Lair-ah sounds rather South African to me. It could be since the franchise is so tropically orriented that you may have heard it being used in story by someone from around those parts.
In the end, this is rather trivial. There are so many different ways to pronounce the same word in different dialects, especially within a language so diverse colloquailly speaking as the English one.

(Yay, 10th post. Finally, I've been upgraded to paperboy. Gonna fix something else than this Anonymous picture now.)

 

[bob1052]

Ninja Gaiden is Guy-den.

Lara Croft is Laura (Lore-ah).

 

[Ordinaryundone]

Lar-Ah Croft. And it is, actually, pronounced Guy-Den (think of how they pronounce "Raiden" in the MGS games). Don't pay attention to Mortal Kombat's pronunciation, they can't even spell right >__>

 

[zelda2fanboy]

As I said, gay things are better. It's gay-den. Argument null and void. Don't care what the developers, Japanese, or 5th graders in the lunchroom have to say about it.

 

[smeghead25]

It's Lah-ra Croft. Just go listen to any developer commentary...

 

[Loop Stricken]

Is this a British V. American variation or am I just dense (thick, as the UK might say)?

I think everyone here has fallen off the back end of the stupid truck.

It's Lah-ra. As in balaclava. As in farmer. As in calmer. As in llama.
...or indeed as in karmarama farmer. God, Startopia was a great game.

Edit: Also Lore-ah and Law-ah are the same, surely.

 

[Farther than stars]

Ninja Gaiden is Guy-den.

Lara Croft is Laura (Lore-ah).

It is in fact Gay-den. Don't worry, I pronounced that wrong as well for a while, but that's because I was just reading it.

More importantly, I challenge everyone right now who thinks it's pronouncable as Lore-ah to even say the word Lore out loud followed by the sound you make when you go to the dentist. It's simply not possible to do so without pausing. Placing a syllable there is ridiculous and unnatural. (It's like pronouncing Waiter (Way-tur) as Weight-ur.)

Edit: No wait, it was the other way round, I was pronouncing it Gay-den and it was in fact Guy-den, my apologies for calling you on that there.

(Yay, 11th post.)

 

[Frozen Donkey Wheel2]

As I said, gay things are better. It's gay-den. Argument null and void. Don't care what the developers, Japanese, or 5th graders in the lunchroom have to say about it.

What does that MEAN?

And I've always pronounced it "Law-ra". That's how it's spelled.

 

[The Shade]

It's "Ninja Guy-den" to most people. Is it even a real word, though? (I don't know.)

Also, if the movies are to be believed, and British people, her name is pronounced "Law-ra Croft"

 

[zelda2fanboy]

I can say Lore-ah no problem. It's as easy as saying Lorax (lore-ax, not low-rax). On Law-ra, I have to pause and consciously think about it. Seems like that's the one that makes me sound a little Ron Weasley. Could Lore-ah be a Midwestern thing, maybe? Personal previously undiagnosed speech impediment? The poll is more evenly spread than I thought it would be. This may be a topic for No Right Answer.

 

[Zhukov]

You people are all crazy.

Or possibly just American.

Lara is a fairly common name. It's pronounced "lah-ruh". Like llama but with an "R" instead of an "M".

Laura ("lore-ah") is a different name.

 

[DustyDrB]

You people are all crazy.

Or possibly just American.

Lara is a fairly common name. It's pronounced "lah-ruh". Like llama but with an "R" instead of an "M".

Laura ("lore-ah") is a different name.

Looks like more people are agreeing with you as opposed to the other ways of saying it though. Except the OP decided to go with "law" instead of "lah".

I'm from the US and pronounce it Lah-ruh.

 

[CaptVickHartnell]

It's pronounced Lah-Rah. Everyone I know named Lara pronounces their name that way. Why is this even a debate? I had no idea anyone pronounced it differently.

 

[Macgyvercas]

Lah-Rah.

I have yelled at several of my friends countless times about this exact situation.

 

[Farther than stars]

I can say Lore-ah no problem. It's as easy as saying Lorax (lore-ax, not low-rax). On Law-ra, I have to pause and consciously think about it. Seems like that's the one that makes me sound a little Ron Weasley. Could Lore-ah be a Midwestern thing, maybe? Personal previously undiagnosed speech impediment? The poll is more evenly spread than I thought it would be. This may be a topic for No Right Answer.

I looked up on it a bit. Apparently it used to be Laura (Law-ra), but it changed so Americans would be able to pronounce it easier (as Lah-Rah), so there you go. But yeah, as I stipulated in my first post, so many people pronounce the same thing differently that it's very difficult to form one opinion. In the case of a name you could refere to what the original creators of the name pronounce it as, but then I don't really see the reason for this poll. After all, we shouldn't really have to judge something which is an exact fact.
Also, you don't pronounce it Lore-ax. (Those are just the words Lore and Axe taped together.) But Low-Rax isn't the only variated of that word with the syllable on that place. Its pronounciation is closer to Law-Rax. Phonetics are of course the easiest way to determine where to divide syllables. The hard thing about that with names, however, is that unless the creator of those names have given you a phonetic spelling for it, well... then you just get a load of threads like this online.

(Yay, 12th post.)

 

[zelda2fanboy]

Also, you don't pronounce it Lore-ax. (Those are just the words Lore and Axe taped together.) But Low-Rax isn't the only variated of that word with the syllable on that place. Its pronounciation is closer to Law-Rax. Phonetics are of course the easiest way to determine where to divide syllables. The hard thing about that with names, however, is that unless the creator of those names have given you a phonetic spelling for it, well... then you just get a load of threads like this online.

(Yay, 12th post.)

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6650219631867189375

Eddie Albert seems to think it's lore-ax. He even sings it out slow like lore axe.