"How does one pronounce Tolkien?"

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Originally Posted by Estelyn Telcontar

For many who read the book in the original English though they are not native speakers, the pronunciation is coloured by the influence of their primary language. That means some names may be pronouced correctly, if Tolkien's idea is similar to the use of those sounds in that language. I have no difficulty with the correct pronunciation of "Sauron", for example, as it would be pronounced just like that in German. Cirdan, on the other hand, would be called "Tsirdan" in German.

Good point. In my mother-tongue Swedish the correct pronunciations usually come easy and naturally. "Soron" sounds wrong to me while the authorized "Sow-ron" is what I've always used. In Swedish the three syllables in Tol-ki-en also come naturally.

As for the hard C's, I'm perfectly fine with Keleborn and Kirith Ungol. For some reason I like Keleborn better than Seleborn, but much prefer Sirdan to Kirdan. Although I too make the effort to get it right (when I know what is right, that is) I would never do it at the cost of reading enjoyment. So Sirdan it is.