I'm reading Dune and was wondering how you pronounce "Bene Gesserit."
Dune pronunciation question
- Thread starter Starfleet Engineer
- Start date
I always thought it was ben-AY GES-ser-uht. That's how it is in the David Lynch film, at any rate.
MeanJoePhaser
Admiral
It's actually pronounced just like the Elton John song.
Bene & the Gesserits
Hey kid, stick your hand in the box
The gom jabar's on your jugglar
And you'll be deader than Redd Foxx
If you take it out
So please stick around
You're gonna feel flesh-eating pain
Screamin' walls of sound
Say, Leto and Jess, have you seen them yet
But they're so spaced out, Bene Gesserit
Oh but they're weird and they're wonderful
Oh Jessy she's really keen
She's got a fat evil father and a still suit
You know I read it in a magazine
Bene Gesserit
Hey kids, plug into the faithless
Maybe they're blinded
But Bene makes them ageless
We shall survive, let us take our female flock
Where we fight the Fremen out in the dunes
To find out who's the Kwisatz Haderach
Bene & the Gesserits
Hey kid, stick your hand in the box
The gom jabar's on your jugglar
And you'll be deader than Redd Foxx
If you take it out
So please stick around
You're gonna feel flesh-eating pain
Screamin' walls of sound
Say, Leto and Jess, have you seen them yet
But they're so spaced out, Bene Gesserit
Oh but they're weird and they're wonderful
Oh Jessy she's really keen
She's got a fat evil father and a still suit
You know I read it in a magazine
Bene Gesserit
Hey kids, plug into the faithless
Maybe they're blinded
But Bene makes them ageless
We shall survive, let us take our female flock
Where we fight the Fremen out in the dunes
To find out who's the Kwisatz Haderach
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My take: Bennay Jess-er-et. Stress on first syllables.
I would take the pronunciations from the movie and not the miniseries. Frank Herbert was actually involved with the movie and I believe those pronunciations to be correct. One of my biggest annoyance with the mini-series was the pronunciation of Harkonnen. Every time someone said Harkonnen in the mini-series, it was like listening to nails on a chalk board.
I was learning German at school when I first read Dune and "pronounced" Sardauker as if it was German. Some years later a friend and I had an argument about how the names were pronounced and he particularly objected that.
Personally, I think it's Ben-ay (rhymes with day) Jes-er-rit.
I thought T'lie-lax-oo was OK.
Personally, I think it's Ben-ay (rhymes with day) Jes-er-rit.
I thought T'lie-lax-oo was OK.
I pronounce it as if it were latin: Bennay Gesserit (with a hard "g", not a "j" sound).
Not that it really matters. I can't speak Galach.
Not that it really matters. I can't speak Galach.
I agree with the annoying way the Dune Mini-Series tried everything to be "anti original movie" such as pronouncing Harkonnen "hark enen".
If they had even read the original books, the Harkonnens took their name from the town of Harko on Geidi Prime.
Ben-A Jesserit (accent on the second syllable A).
If they had even read the original books, the Harkonnens took their name from the town of Harko on Geidi Prime.
Ben-A Jesserit (accent on the second syllable A).
I've read that Frank Herbert took the name from the legal Latin phrase "quamdiu se bene gesserit" -- "as long as he/she shall have behaved well". If that's the case, it should probably be pronounced "benneh gesserit" with the stress on the first syllable of each word, and a hard "g" (as in "gutteral") rather than a soft "g" (as in "gem").
I twitch like crazy every time I hear "Muad D'ib" pronounced "mwaDIB." Dammit, those are two words. It's Muad D'ib. That's Mooahd. Dib. There are TWO Ds, one at the end of the first word, one at the beginning of the second. It's the same sound you get in "bad dog." You don't say "badog."
Oh, and it's not "Chain-ee". It's CHAHN-ee."
Oh, and it's not "Chain-ee". It's CHAHN-ee."
I use the pronunciations used in the Lynch film. I saw that before reading the book, so it kinda stuck.
The DVD of the Lynch movie has a booklet that includes definitions and pronounciations Dune terms. It comes in quite handy.
One thing that always got me, how is the name Leto supposed to be pronounced? The movie pronounces it Lee-to, while the mini pronounces it Lay-to.
Personally, I prefer Lay-to, as it sounds cooler, but was curious what thoughts everyone else had on this matter.
One thing that always got me, how is the name Leto supposed to be pronounced? The movie pronounces it Lee-to, while the mini pronounces it Lay-to.
Personally, I prefer Lay-to, as it sounds cooler, but was curious what thoughts everyone else had on this matter.
BEN-ee-JESS-ər-it according to Frank.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bene_Gesserit#cite_note-0
To be fair, if you say "bad dog" loud and fast enough it probably may as well be "badog", so for when they're using Muad'Dib as a battle cry, it's understandable. Of course that doesn't excuse all the other times.
I never did quite understand why the Duke had a girl's name.
