You might’ve thought you learned how to pronounce the name of every Harry Potter character (even Hermione) after seeing the movies. But according to a list just published by Pottermore, there’s another major character’s name — and a bunch of other words — that we’ve been saying all wrong.
The name people are still mispronouncing, according to Pottermore’s blog post, is “Voldemort.” It seems pretty straightforward, but as it turns out, the “t” is silent. J.K. Rowling has confirmed it herself: She retweeted a tweet in 2015 reading, “One piece of Harry Potter trivia I always forget to mention: the ‘t’ is silent in Voldemort, according to @jk_rowling.” She then added, “but I’m pretty sure I’m the only person who pronounces it that way.” So, he who must not be named really hasn’t been named much at all, at least not accurately.
Even more obscure, though, is the pronunciation of “knuts.” Unlike the T in “Voldemort,” the K in “knuts” is not silent, and the currency is pronounced “ca-nuts.” A few other tidbits: You pronounce all the Ts in “Amortentia” (a love potion); “Bezoar” (a stone from a goat’s stomach) has a silent A; the dark incantation “Morsmordre” is pronounced “mores-more-druh;” and the centaur Firenze’s name is pronounced like “frenzy.”
It’s nice to know that even after we’ve read and seen all things Harry Potter, there are still more secrets to uncover about the wizard world.
… 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
Taken from Teen Vogue. Click here to read the original.
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