Pronunciation guide

Unlike J.R.R. Tolkien, who provided detailed instructions for the pronunciation of the languages of Middle-earth, George R.R. Martin has provided no canonical way of pronouncing Westerosi names, stating "You can pronounce it however you like." However, it is possible to establish some guidelines.

The pronunciation guide uses International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) symbols. See IPA chart for English to learn about the symbols, and the IPA article proper for the problems of displaying and entering them.

Guidelines

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As with every good guide, we need a guide for the guide. Entries marked with:

• "GRRM", based on authorial chapter readings and question-and-answer sessions with George R.R. Martin.
• ("RD") and ("JL"), based on the audio book adaptations read by Roy Dotrice ("RD") and John Lee ("JL").
• ("RH") indicates the Random House audio interview.
• ("FF") indicates the Fast Forward television interview.
• ("GoT") indicates the TV show.
• Question marks (?) are probable pronunciations based on extrapolation from canonical pronunciations or from real-world sources.

Characters

Areo Hotah	GRRM-CBC	['ɑriəʊ həʊ'tɑː], sometimes ['həʊtɑ]
Arya	GRRM-FF GoT	['ɑɹiə], like English aria ['ɑɹjə]
Benjen	GRRM	['bɛndʒɛn]
Bran	GRRM-FF	[bɹæn], like English bran
Brienne	GRRM-RH RD, JL GoT	[bɹi'ɛni] [braɪ'i:n] [bɹi'ɛn]
Caleotte	GRRM-CBC:	['kæliɒt]
Catelyn	GRRM, GoT	['kætlɪn])
Cersei	GRRM-RH RD JL	['sɝseɪ]. ['sɜ:si]. ['sɪəseɪ].
Daenerys	GRRM-RH	[dən'ɛɹɪs] (?: [deɪ'nɛ:rɪs])
Dany	GRRM-RH	['dæni]
Davos	GRRM-RH	['dɑːvos]
Doran	GRRM-CBC	[dəʊ'ræn]
Jaime	GRRM-RH	['dʒeɪmi] (?: ['dʒeɪmɪ])
Jojen	(?:	['dʒəʊdʒən])
Jon	GRRM-RH	[dʒɒn], like English John
Jonquil	GRRM	['dʒɒnkɪl]
Lysa	GoT	['laɪsə])
Petyr	GRRM RD	[pi:'tɚ], like English Peter [pɪ'taɪə]
Rhaegar	GRRM, GoT	['reɪgɑr]
Rickon	GRRM-RH	['ɹɪkɒn]
Sansa	GRRM GoT	[sɔːnsə] variously ['sænsə], ['sænzə] or ['sɑːnsə]
Tobho	GRRM	[toʊ:'boʊ]
Tommen	GRRM-CBC	['toʊmən], RD, JL: ['tomən]
Tyrion	GRRM-RH	['tɪɹiən] (?: ['tɪrɪən])
Tywin	GoT	['taɪwɪn])
Viserys	GoT	[vɪ'sɛ:rɪs])
Xaro Xhoan Daxos	GoT	['zaːrəʊ 'zəʊ.æn 'dɒksɒs]

Houses and surnames

Presumably, bastard names (like Snow and Rivers) are always pronounced like the corresponding common noun.

Baratheon	(?:	[bə'ræθiən])
Frey	GRRM	[freɪ]
Lannister	GRRM-RH	['lænɪstɚ]
Stark	GRRM-RH	[stɑɹk], like English stark
Targaryen	GRRM-RH	[tɑɹ'gɛɹiən] (?: [ta'gɛ:rɪən])

Places

Asshai	RD:	[a'ʃaɪ]. JL: ['aʃaɪ]
Westeros	GRRM-RH	['wɛstɚos]

Titles

Khaleesi	(?:	[kə'lɪ:sɪ])
Maester	(?:	['meɪstə])
Ser	(?:	[sə:], like English sir)