Does English operate differently in the Star Wars universe?

Executor as in the ship could be a heteronym. De-sert. Des-ert. Bay-s. Bah-ss. And by far the most relevant one, polish and Polish.

Did some research into licensed sources, both come up.

It's pronounced Like the Pokemon exeggutor, for which the ship was obviously named

ex-EK-yoo-tor

I stress the second syllable because that's also where I put the stress in "executive", but I wouldn't find it odd if someone put the stress somewhere else.

Does English operate differently in the Star Wars universe?

Executor as in the ship could be a heteronym. De-sert. Des-ert. Bay-s. Bah-ss. And by far the most relevant one, polish and Polish.

As a countryman of mine wrote about a hundred years ago:

http://www.mipmip.org/tidbits/pronunciation.shtml

I think we pretty much figured this mystery out on page 1.

/thread

X A Q T R

Used to say it the first way when I was younger because, yeah it sounded more fitting. But then I eventually caved to saying it the second way due to it being a real word and they finally made a Star Wars video game (Empire at War i think it was, or maybe rogue squadron 3 on gamecube or w/e) that had voice actors pronounce it the second way.

It's pronounced "OH crap, we're in trouble!"

ex·ec·u·tor

[ig-zek-yuh-ter or for 1, ek-si-kyoo-ter] Show IPA

Interesting that this definition gives 2 pronunciations for the real word, one of which matches what is almost certainly the intended pronunciation for the made up name, execute-er.

Most online dictionaries have audio files attached to the definitions of words. Seems pretty straightforward to me.

Which would give the pronounciation of an IRL executor and not Executor-class Super Star Destroyer.

Does English operate differently in the Star Wars universe?

English doesn't even operate the same in its country of origin! =D

[book: b-uk vs b-oo-k/ c-uk vs c-oo-k, to name one form of regional variation. There are more extreme examples, and then you only have to cross the pond(s) to really open up a can of worms. Trash/garbage vs rubbish, colour vs color, herbs vs 'erbs, ba-zil vs bay-zil, heck we can't even agree on letters like zed (or is that zee?)]

That and English is notoriously changeable with no fixed pattern of pronunciation, unlike a language like French or German. And pidgins, creoles and other alternative language forms/dialects can alter any language.

Dictionaries are also rarely perfect arbiters of language, thus why different dictionaries give different definitions, all influenced by the experiences and biases of the authors and ultimately the opinions of those authors (well researched and well informed though they might be, opinions they are none-the-less).

Indeed, the notion of 'Basic' being a tenable idea in any sci-fi is likely a sci-fi trope to aid stroytelling, and probably very unlikely to occur in a real galactic society. Language is a part of culture, and both are highly mutable by nature.

I mean no disrespect, it's reasonable to consult an authoritative source, I just think it's worth pointing out that English can make finding such a definitive source problematic.

But as per pronunciation, I defer to the mighty High Templar Tassadar (and seemingly, the others in this thread)

Ex-ek-u-tor.

En Taro Tassadar!

I always wanted to call this ship the "execute-or", because this seemed a more fitting title for the murderous command wedge of Death Squadron, as "Ex-zecutor" sounded like a more noble and benign business manager title. While there is a day shift manager Darth out there, he isn't in the Star Wars universe.

so "execute-or-not-execute" that is here the question - just to mangle a phrase.

Good lord, people will come up with all kinds of reasons for perpetuating a topic with an easy and obvious solution.

I'm not citing some abstract rule here. Executor is a distinct word. We know what it means, we know how it's pronounced, and whether or not it conforms to the phonic norms of English is well beside the point. There are no colloquial variants, no obscure dialectical offshoots. And if you're going to sit here and tell me that finding an authoritative source is problematic, I'll kindly direct you toward the OED.

This was an open and shut case from the very first post, and all we've managed to accomplish since then is some pseudo-academic circle jerk about how flexible the rules of the English language are. Yes, the language on this planet with the most words - over a third again as many as the next closest language - uses seemingly arbitrary pronunciations for many of them, no doubt stemming from its mixed French and Germanic heritage. That is not carte blanche to simply shrug our shoulders and ignore centuries of linguistic precedence. Can we stop with the pedantry and get back to talking about X-Wing now?

Personally, I think if someone were to call Darth Vader's personal flagship the 'exz-ECK-yoo-ter' I would just stop and stare at them for a moment, maybe with a little eye twitch while I tried to comprehend what they just said.

Star Destroyers have menacing sounding names. The Devastator. The Accuser. The Predator. The Punisher. They're supposed to illicit a feeling of dread and foreboding, just as the Empire does this visually, in the case of a 1600 meter long city in the sky chasing you, or a space station the size of a moon, or a cloud of hundreds of TIE Fighters coming at you.

Pronounced as 'EX-eh-cute-er' it brings to mind an execution, and while executioner would have been a more English-savvy title, I think it does the job fine how it is. Intimidating in both appearance and name.

Conversely, 'exz-ECK-yoo-ter' brings to mind a board room, a table full of share holders, and a sweaty fat guy in an expensive suit igniting his cigar was a burning $100 bill. Either that or a young dude sitting in front of an oak table while a guy in a suit reads to him from a Will. These mental images aren't intimidating or menacing. They're confusing and out of place.

It makes absolutely no sense to me to pronounce it any other way besides 'EX-eh-cute-er'.

And sometimes they might even elicit those feelings.

But hey, the way you'd feel if someone pronounced it that way to your face? That's the way I feel when people prefer to be deliberately ignorant about language because "it makes absolutely no sense" to them.

Good lord, people will come up with all kinds of reasons for perpetuating a topic with an easy and obvious solution.

I'm not citing some abstract rule here. Executor is a distinct word. We know what it means, we know how it's pronounced, and whether or not it conforms to the phonic norms of English is well beside the point. There are no colloquial variants, no obscure dialectical offshoots. And if you're going to sit here and tell me that finding an authoritative source is problematic, I'll kindly direct you toward the OED.

This was an open and shut case from the very first post, and all we've managed to accomplish since then is some pseudo-academic circle jerk about how flexible the rules of the English language are. Yes, the language on this planet with the most words - over a third again as many as the next closest language - uses seemingly arbitrary pronunciations for many of them, no doubt stemming from its mixed French and Germanic heritage. That is not carte blanche to simply shrug our shoulders and ignore centuries of linguistic precedence. Can we stop with the pedantry and get back to talking about X-Wing now?

Hey, it's you who keeps opening this thread. You don't want to discuss the pronunciation of Executor, don't open the topic.

Most online dictionaries have audio files attached to the definitions of words. Seems pretty straightforward to me.

I was wondering how any posts before someone pointed this out. You get the cookie.

That's the pronunciation of executor. However, we don't know if Vader's flagship is named after a person who carries out the last will and testament of a dead person. Executor may not be the same word as executor. Could be a heteronym.

There isn't an online dictionary of Star Wars ship names.

I'm doing this from my phone, but here's the Merriam-Webster link:

http://i.word.com/idictionary/executor

The regular link for Merriam-Webster is http://www.m-w.com. I'll let you guys figure out where to go from there.

1 a) : one who executes something

b) obsolete : executioner

2 a) : the person appointed by a testator to execute a will

As you can plainly see, only one of those definitions has anything to do with wills. The link to the audio clip looks like a little red speaker, and it's situated next to the main entry. I'm starting to wonder whether this is really about language, or just a test of our google skills.

Executor is a distinct word.

Yes it is. And as I (and sort of Khyros) pointed out 11 posts ago, that word has 2 different pronunciations listed in the dictionaries (both Dictionary.com and the Merriam-Webster entry you linked to). It can be pronounced

Ex-zek-you-tor

or

Ex-eh-cute-or

So the question really is, which of the 2 valid pronunciations was intended for the fictional space ship?

And sometimes they might even elicit those feelings.

But hey, the way you'd feel if someone pronounced it that way to your face? That's the way I feel when people prefer to be deliberately ignorant about language because "it makes absolutely no sense" to them.

I don't necessarily think people claim ignorance so much as take liberties with a notoriously squishable and moldable language. I mean, really? Selfie is in the dictionary now?

Besides, on the topic of pronunciation it isn't always an open and shut case as there's room for interpretation.

Sure, you can only pronounce bomb one way. And house and tree, however there are certainly regional variations to a lot of words.

How do you pronounce caramel? Or crayon? Or mayonnaise? Across the country (not to mention the rest of the world) people will say it differently. Doesn't mean it's wrong, it's just different. Maybe strange or borderline wtf, but it's how things are.

Most of these I would probably venture to say evolved multiple forms of pronunciation due to laziness when speaking. The word comfortable has four syllables. Do you say it that way or does it squish together into comf'terble? Or car'mel, or cra'n, or ma'nnaise?

And while this topic is on none of those, it's merely a poll to see how you pronounce a word from a movie that was never spoken on screen.

Speaking of which I've got another one for you. How do you pronounce Tantive? I hear people all the time call it the 'tantiv' and it's another eye twitcher for me. I thought that's how it was pronounced until I listened to the Star Wars Radio Drama as a kid where I discovered it's pronounced 'tanti-VEE'.

Executor is a distinct word.

Yes it is. And as I (and sort of Khyros) pointed out 11 posts ago, that word has 2 different pronunciations listed in the dictionaries (both Dictionary.com and the Merriam-Webster entry you linked to). It can be pronounced

Ex-zek-you-tor

or

Ex-eh-cute-or

So the question really is, which of the 2 valid pronunciations was intended for the fictional space ship?

You mean the one that's referring to the obsolete definition?

You mean the one that's referring to the obsolete definition?

That would be meaning 1b, meaning 1a isn't obsolete.

And sometimes they might even elicit those feelings.

But hey, the way you'd feel if someone pronounced it that way to your face? That's the way I feel when people prefer to be deliberately ignorant about language because "it makes absolutely no sense" to them.

I don't necessarily think people claim ignorance so much as take liberties with a notoriously squishable and moldable language. I mean, really? Selfie is in the dictionary now?

Besides, on the topic of pronunciation it isn't always an open and shut case as there's room for interpretation.

Sure, you can only pronounce bomb one way. And house and tree, however there are certainly regional variations to a lot of words.

How do you pronounce caramel? Or crayon? Or mayonnaise? Across the country (not to mention the rest of the world) people will say it differently. Doesn't mean it's wrong, it's just different. Maybe strange or borderline wtf, but it's how things are.

Most of these I would probably venture to say evolved multiple forms of pronunciation due to laziness when speaking. The word comfortable has four syllables. Do you say it that way or does it squish together into comf'terble? Or car'mel, or cra'n, or ma'nnaise?

And while this topic is on none of those, it's merely a poll to see how you pronounce a word from a movie that was never spoken on screen.

Speaking of which I've got another one for you. How do you pronounce Tantive? I hear people all the time call it the 'tantiv' and it's another eye twitcher for me. I thought that's how it was pronounced until I listened to the Star Wars Radio Drama as a kid where I discovered it's pronounced 'tanti-VEE'.

That's a horse of a different color. And, speaking of horses, whoever conceptualized the ship and its name was probably alluding to tantivy, a real word that means "a rapid gallop or ride." I find that explanation acceptable, since it is, after all, a blockade runner. But this is more a question of etymology (and hypothetical etymology at that) rather than word use. Again, yes, lots of different words are used lots of different ways. Executor isn't one of them. We should not suddenly decide that we can pronounce any word however we please simply because the English language isn't always uniform.

You mean the one that's referring to the obsolete definition?

That would be meaning 1b, meaning 1a isn't obsolete.

And yet there's only one audio file...

If I had my druthers, I'd be citing the OED and not Webster's. Alas, I have no access to it this far from campus.

I just don't think that it's much of a stretch to go from 'made up words' in a fictional universe to 'alternate pronunciation for existing words' in the same setting.

What the hell is a Bossk? I don't know. But that bounty hunter in ESB knows. Same with The Executor. Until the guy who named it out here in the real world chimes up and tells us I say it's up for interpretation, meaning you can't really be wrong in how you say it. Unless you call it The Hamster. Then you're wrong.

Having said all of that I certainly am one of those people that correct others when they pronounce things incorrectly such as espresso vs expresso and alzheimer's vs old-timers.