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JK Rowling wrote this Harry Potter passage to stop people mispronouncing Hermione's name

JK Rowling wrote this Harry Potter passage to stop people mispronouncing Hermione's name

But you're probably still saying 'Voldemort' wrong

Emma Watson stars in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1

Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc.

Published: Tuesday, 18 September 2018 at 10:26 am

Herm-o-ninny? Her-my-o-nee? Hermy one? Although many would now think you’ve been confounded to ask how to pronounce 'Hermione Granger', this was a problem in the Harry Potter fandom before the first film came out in 2001.

In fact, during Rowling’s first TV appearances, fans regularly mispronounced the name of Gryffindor’s brainiest – in a 1999 interview with chat show host Rosie O'Donnell, Rowling is asked directly how to say ‘Hermione’ (and if ‘Cy-rus Black’ is correct, too).

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Now the author has confirmed a theory on Twitter that she wrote a passage in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire to clear up any confusion. It turns out that when Hermione explained how to pronounce her name as ‘Her-mi-o-ne’ to Quidditch superstar Viktor Krum (who kept calling her “Her-minny”), it wasn’t only for his benefit.

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Fortunately, with this passage (and the arrival of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s/Sorcerer’s Stone in cinemas a year later) muggles everywhere finally got the name correct.

However, most Potter fans still don’t pronounce another major character as Rowling does: Lord Voldemort. As the author previously revealed on Twitter, she says the Dark Lord’s name without the ‘t’ at the end, leaving a French-sounding ‘Volde-MOR’ sound.

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But as long as fans enjoy the characters there’s no need to get scared about pronouncing them. As Dumbledore wisely once put it: “Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself”.

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