How to pronounce ‘Fourth Wing’ names, explained

Violet? That’s an easy one. Sorrengail? Less easy. Tairneanach? Forget about it. Inspired by Scottish Gaelic, the names of Fourth Wing characters are majestic to look at, but difficult to pronounce. This guide should help.

Any general notes?

To pronounce these names correctly, you not only have to get the consonants and vowels themselves correct, but you also your oral posture. What’s oral posture? Dirty jokes aside, your oral posture is essentially the shape that your mouth takes when phonating words. Each person has their own unique oral posture, responsible for creating their idiolect, which the habitual way that a person shapes their words. Different dialects and language families have their own general oral postures as well. For instance, speakers of British English generally have more tightness in their lip corners than American English speakers. These minute changes in the tension and position of the mouth and tongue, when added together, can significantly change the way a person sounds when speaking. In the instance of the names below, one must change their oral posture to a Scottish Gaelic structure. Easier said than done. Remember, every person has their own idiolect, so not all Scottish Gaelic speakers will hold their mouth in the exact same way, but generally the tongue is set further back in the mouth, towards the throat, rather than touching the front teeth.

Also, you might not recognize some pronunciation symbols below (“ɤ” for instance). That’s because these symbols are found only in IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) which is an alphabet developed to assist in the pronunciation of all the word’s languages. There are pronunciations guides on Youtube, speaking of which, “ɤ” is pronounced like this.

Here are all the character names, listed in alphabetical order.

Thanks to Popverse and ceartguleabhar on TikTok for teaching us many of the pronunciations listed below!

Aimsir (AM-shir)
Andarna (An-dàrna-urram)
Aotrom (OO-trum)
Asgiath (Baz-guy-ith)
Baide (similar to ‘b’ in “bed,” ‘a’ in “father,” palatalized ‘d’)
Bohdi Durran (Bow-dee Der-ran)
Brennan Sorrengail (Breh-nun Soar-en-gale)
Breugan (bree-ah, ‘cra’ in ‘crack,’ slightly rolled ‘r,’ silent or soft ‘dh’)
Cath (kah)
Catriona Cordella (Cat-tree-on-uh Core-dell-uh)
Chradh (similar to ‘cra’ in “crack,” slightly rolled ‘r’)
Claidh (initial /k/ like ‘kite,’ voiceless lateral fricative /L/, vowel /ɤ/, final /ɣ/)
Codagh (KOH-guh or KOH-gah)
Cuir (initial /k/ like ‘kite,’ vowel ‘oo’ in “food,” palatalized ‘r’)
Cruth (kruh)
Dain Aetos (Dane Aye-toes)
Deigh (jay)
Fann (f/ like ‘fish,’ vowel /au/ like ‘ow’ in “cow,” final ‘ng’ sound)
Feirge (fe like ‘fy’ in “fye,” ar like ‘far,’ final g similar to German “tag”)
Fuil (FOO-il, slightly rolled ‘l’)
Garrick (Geh-ruhk)
General Lilith Sorrengail (Li-luhth Soar-en-gale)
General Melgren (Jeh-nr-uhl Male-grin)
Glane (initial /g/ like ‘go,’ sound /L/ like Welsh ‘L,’ vowel /a/ like ‘father,’ final /n/ like ‘no’)
Jack Barlowe (Jak Bar-low)
Jesinia Neilwart (Jes-seen-ya Neil-wart)
King Tauri (Taw-ree)
Liam Mairi (Lee-um Mah-ree)
Malla (mauL or ma-LUKH)
Marbh (MAHR-uhv)
Mira Sorrengail (Mee-ra Soar-en-gale)
Oren Seifert (Or-en Sigh-fret)
Rhiannon Matthias (Ree-ann-un Mi-thigh-us)
Ridoc (Rye-doc)
Sgaeyl (Suh-gale)
Silseag (SLEE-shak)
Sloane Mairi (Slow-n Mah-ree)
Solas (SOH-luhs)
Smachd (smah, ‘ch’ like Scottish “loch,” soft ‘d’)
Tairneanach (TAHR-nyuh-nuhkh)
Teine (like “time” but with an “n”)
Thoirt (initial ‘t’ in “table,” ‘o’ in “thought,” rolled ‘r,’ palatalized ‘sh’ and ‘d’)
Violet Sorrengail (Vai-luht Soar-en-gale)
Xaden Riorson (Zay-den Rye-er-son)