Talk:Lancre

2018-06-14T23:09:30Z

Tanzanite Dragoness:

What's the pronunciation?
--[[Special:Contributions/68.96.79.79|68.96.79.79]] 18:55, 24 June 2009 (UTC)

I don't think anybody really knows. (I floated the idea of a pronouncing guide a few weeks ago to no response at all.) I think of it as ''Lank-er'', rather than as the old French Inquisitor since their Quirmian isn't likely very good in Lancre. Probably we could accept Stephen Briggs's pronunciation, but I haven't heard any of the Witches series. --[[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] 19:24, 24 June 2009 (UTC)

I say it in my head as Lan-ker, but if the r is not pronounced it makes the adjective lancrastian problematic, so maybe Lank-ruh.--[[User:Attercop|Attercop]] 20:10, 24 June 2009 (UTC)

:Why problematic? It's not Lancastruh, either. --[[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] 21:42, 24 June 2009 (UTC)

Because LancRastian does have an R, as in Lancrastian Army Knife. How do avoid sounding the R in the middle--[[User:Attercop|Attercop]] 21:51, 24 June 2009 (UTC)?

:I'm a step behind, here; ''why'' do we avoid pronouncing the "r"? --[[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] 23:04, 24 June 2009 (UTC)

I'm not explaining well. The adjective Pterry has derived for things of Lancre is Lancrastian. Lancrastian really has to be pronounced lank-ras-ti-yun, with a sounded R in the second syllable. As this adjective has a sounded R then it makes me think Lancre should have a sounded R, hence lank-ruh not lank-er.--[[User:Attercop|Attercop]] 06:51, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

:Ah. I began to think it had to do with the tendency to drop final "r"s in England. I of course wouldn't, nor someone from Somerset either, I believe. Still, the same "r"-dropper wouldn't pronounce it in ''Lancaster'', either, would he? Brings me back to my hope for audio files for a pronouncing guide. (Phonetic alphabets are fine, except no one can read them.) --[[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] 12:37, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

The audio book is Lank-Er

Knurd

2018-06-14T22:40:35Z

Tanzanite Dragoness:

Consider the following scale:

* Being drunk is to be intoxicated by alcohol to such an extent as to be unable to perceive the world clearly through the senses.
* Being sober is to be able to perceive the world clearly through the senses, yet humans are quite capable of giving themselves illusions and little stories to make life more bearable.
* Being knurd is to be (un)intoxicated with [[Klatchian Coffee]] to such an extent that all such comfort stories are stripped away from the mind. <br/>This makes you see the world in a way 'nobody ever should', in all its harsh reality.

People generally find being knurd excruciating, as their comfortable illusions are stripped away and all of life's terrors are exposed. (Is this what the [[Hiver]] feels like ''all the time''?) When accidentally knurd, people hurry to get alcohol into them to restore the balance. In fact, they generally go too far, getting very drunk in order to a) make certain they aren't knurd, and b) get so comfortably illusory that the mind can't recall those terrible realities.

There are some unfortunate individuals (for example, [[Samuel Vimes|Sir Samuel Vimes]] of the [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch]]) whose body does not make enough natural alcohol, and is consequently slightly knurd all the time until he has had a drink. Since he's promised [[Sybil Ramkin|Lady Sybil]] he'll stay off the sauce, this lack of comforting illusion is probably the reason for his core cynicism: whereas most of us nurture the hope that the best and happiest outcome is always an option, he knows things aren't going to be any good and all he can hope for is to make them the least worst. Another Likely Example is that of [[Lord Vetinari]] the current [[Patrician]]. This may explain his inability to get drunk, and the fact that even Vimes calls him a quote 'cynical bastard'.

Mis-dosing in an attempt to treat natural knurd-ness can lead to pathological alcoholism, or merely pathological violence as in the case of [[the Luggage]], when given a handy [[chimera]] or [[basilisk]] to take its anger out on, following a prolonged session of getting knurd on coffee with [[Orakh|orakh]] chasers (the [[Klatch]]ian method favoured in the city of [[al-Khali]]).

Knurd is, of course, "drunk" spelled backwards.

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Talk:Lancre

Knurd