ICYMI: The “T” in “Voldemort” Is Silent, Says JKR
In what was more of a reminder to fans than completely new information, Harry Potter series author J.K. Rowling took to Twitter last night to address a common pronunciation error when dealing with the characters. It would seem that Lord Voldemort, the series’ primary villain, should be pronounced with a silent “T.”
The issue was raised most recently by College of Charleston English major Michael Lucero:
@Universe_Box One piece of Harry Potter trivia I always forget to mention: the "t" is silent in Voldemort, according to @jk_rowling.
— Michael Lucero (@mhenrylucero) September 9, 2015
… to which J.K. Rowling herself quoted his tweet and responded,
… but I'm pretty sure I'm the only person who pronounces it that way. https://t.co/HxhJ5XY5HP
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) September 9, 2015
Of course, there exists variation in the pronunciation of “Lord Voldemort” even within officially released, sanctioned media such as audiobooks (narrated by both Jim Dale in the U.S. and Stephen Fry in the U.K.) as well as the Warner Bros. film series. Still, Rowling has always pronounced it consistently, and it would appear that the name’s unusual nuance (“Voldemort” means “flight from death” in French) has simply been commonly ignored or forgotten.
How have *YOU* been saying Voldemort’s name? Will you change how you pronounce it in the future? Let us know!