Poll: Lara Croft Pronunciation

[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.

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.

But "lah" and "law" are different sounds. "Law-ra" is how you pronounce the name Laura.

"Lah" ryhmes with "car". "Law" ryhmes with "more". Although... I guess that would depend on how you pronounce car and ARRGGG! Accents should be banned! Well... except for the sexy ones.

...

Okay, I have an idea. See this video? Start it up and skip to 3:30. That is how the name Lara is pronounced.

 

[careful]

use the IPA!

 

[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.

snip

Yeah, I got that. And I agree they are different sounds. I think the OP just overlooked "lah" and went with "law" instead. I mean, he had to. No one would ever really saw Lawruh (and I'm from South Carolina, where the drawl is still fairly common).

 

[Craorach]

Lah-Ra.. people calling her Lore Ra don't seem to understand basic spelling... Laura and Lara are two different names

 

[Farther than stars]

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

No, he simply doesn't. The first time he pronounces it dramatically because of the music, but there he just creates an entire new syllable for the "o", which is fine, because it's meant artistically, but the times thereafter he simply pronounces it Law-Rax. If you're having trouble telling syllables appart though, there are several techniques with which you can learn how to count them. Just Google for them and you'll find some.
I don't know if you still go to school, but if you still do then I suggest you talk to your English teacher about this.

Edit: Incidentally, I realised that Lorax sounds like borax (the chemical substance). This has a phonetic spelling and it's ˈbɔ:raks. Now in case you don't read phonetics, I just tell you that law (asin the practise of) is spelled lɔ and I think you can tell the rest of the word pretty much comes down to rax. That semicolon thing in the middle is a division of syballes (it's like the hyphen we've been using). So if borax is pronounced Baw-Rax then you can see how Lorax is pronounced Law-Rax, yes? If you still don't see, but do care about this sort of thing then you can always learn. It just takes practise.

Edit (again): I had to change the phonetic symbols a bit, because the forum translator couldn't read the standard variation properly, same aplies though.

 

[Zero_ctrl]

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'm from the Midwest as well and pronounce it as Lore-ah.
It's easier for me to saw Lore-Ah Croft.
Otherwise it's Law-Rah Craft or Lava Croft.
I'd never even heard of Lair-ah, but I can see why some do it that way.


EDIT: It does probably heavily weight on your accent. English can pronounced in many ways for the same word or general sound.

 

[Whoatemysupper]

Though this has become more of a side-topic (which I believe it means in Japanese), I just checked Wikipedia and sound codes and despite pronouncing it Guy-Den all my time playing game, it's gay-den. (Note it was an English-Japanese code transfer and you might not find it in your dictionaries.

 

[King Toasty]

I say Low-ra, but it's pronounced Lawra. It's my greatest guilt.

 

[Treefingers]

Lah-rah, for sure. How is this even a debate?

 

[DarkhoIlow]

I pronounce it Lah-ra.

Also,Ninja Guy-den is how I heard it from game reviews.

 

[Cyrus Hanley]

Why the hell isn't "Lah-ra" on the poll, yet there's "Lore-ah" and "Law-rah"?

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

Lah-rah

Y'know, like they say it in the games all the time?

 

[GrizzlerBorno]

But "lah" and "law" are different sounds. "Law-ra" is how you pronounce the name Laura.

"Lah" ryhmes with "car". "Law" ryhmes with "more". Although... I guess that would depend on how you pronounce car and ARRGGG! Accents should be banned! Well... except for the sexy ones

Huh? How does Law rhyme with.... I.... what?

Never mind. I DO agree with Zhukov though, it's Lah-Ra. That's how I say it.

 

[Erana]

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.

I've known this for years! I'm suprised its not common knowledge.

As for the "Gaiden" thing, with any Japanese word, just stop and think about Japanese words you know how to pronounce, and look at its spelling. Like, "Anime," in this case. The "Ae" or "ay" sound is represented by the "e." Romanization of japanese words is pretty consistent, so you can rely on a small Japanese lexicon to show you how to pronounce such words.
(And save your butt in Asian Religions class with an uptight professor who dislikes you if you don't spell it "Shva" instead of "Shiva")

 

[Moromillas]

Lair-ah? :S
Lore-ah? ....
Law-ra?? WTF...

It's Lara, LARA, they say it in the games all the time, LAH-RAH. :S
There is something very fishy about this thread.

 

[drosalion]

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.

^ this

 

[StBishop]

It's "guy" den, by the way. At least that's how I've always read it, said it, and heard it.

It's pronounce "Laura". It depends on the region you're in. Since she's from the UK, the pronunciation of her name is obviously going to sound like that. Remember that there are also different dialects there, so even British people are going to pronounce her name differently from one area to the next.

You're correct on guy-den.
But incorrect on Lara. It's LAH-RAH

As in La Ra. Or Lara.