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HelpGawain / Gwaine
I just got back from seeing The Green Knight and was surprised by how the name Gawain was said - gowen. Or as Arthur, with a west country accent, said it: garwin, lol
I've always said/heard it as ga-wayne or gwayne... but I think I gowan best. Almost like Gavin with a w.
What do you guys think?
My PNLs = http://www.behindthename.com/pnl/37275
Top: Henry and Clara (main) / Sirius & Guinevere (GP) / James & Charlotte (top25)
Bottom: Delsin and Brisen (main) / Dinadan & Ninniane (GP) / Corvo & Deva (top25)
last updated 07/2021
I've always said/heard it as ga-wayne or gwayne... but I think I gowan best. Almost like Gavin with a w.
What do you guys think?
Top: Henry and Clara (main) / Sirius & Guinevere (GP) / James & Charlotte (top25)
Bottom: Delsin and Brisen (main) / Dinadan & Ninniane (GP) / Corvo & Deva (top25)
last updated 07/2021
Archived Thread - replies disabled
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I really like the name Gawain. I prefer the gə-WAYN pronounciation but GAH-win is nice.
I think the actors were certainly altering the name with regional accents, which is fine, but modern British accents don't really reflect historic pronounciations. In the days when phonetic spellings were more common, they would have spelled it with an 'o' if that was closer to what they said. Using phonetic spellings, the names that the modern actors were calling him would be Gowen or Garwin.
What did you think of the movie? I've been thinking about seeing it.
I think the actors were certainly altering the name with regional accents, which is fine, but modern British accents don't really reflect historic pronounciations. In the days when phonetic spellings were more common, they would have spelled it with an 'o' if that was closer to what they said. Using phonetic spellings, the names that the modern actors were calling him would be Gowen or Garwin.
What did you think of the movie? I've been thinking about seeing it.
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I liked it! It was very beautiful and artistic, with stunning visuals. I'm a fan of the tale of Gawain and the Green Knight, though the movie takes some liberties with the story. And I mentioned in a comment to )( the film is also anachronistic. At times it seems it's in the dark ages, others the middle ages, and then there's even a scene that feels Victorian. It's an interesting choice but I think it reflects the timelessness of the tale well. I don't mind when films do that sort of thing where you can't necessarily place it in any one time period.
And, of course, the performances were incredible.
And, of course, the performances were incredible.
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Gwaine (gwayne) is my favorite
I love Gwaine most (pron. gwayne). I first heard it in the bbc show “Merlin”, where I quickly started loving the name. Gwaine is definitely is my top ten for boys.
Gawain (pron. ga-wayne), is a close second.
I’ve never heard it being pronounced ‘gowan’ before. I kinda like it, but not as much as the other two pronunciations.
I love Gwaine most (pron. gwayne). I first heard it in the bbc show “Merlin”, where I quickly started loving the name. Gwaine is definitely is my top ten for boys.
Gawain (pron. ga-wayne), is a close second.
I’ve never heard it being pronounced ‘gowan’ before. I kinda like it, but not as much as the other two pronunciations.
This message was edited 7/30/2021, 10:59 PM
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I thought it was ga-wayne too! I wonder where it's said garwin!
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I think it was just the result of his accent - everyone in the movie said it gowen, but the actor playing Arthur was the only one putting on a west country accent (if you've ever seen Hot Fuzz, most of the characters in that have this accent) and so had a lot of 'ers' and 'ars' in his words lol So he said gowen as garwin.
British west country accents have always reminded me of the American yooper accent lol.
I don't know that Gawain is meant to be said as gowen though. There have been loads of other movies/shows where it is said as ga-wayne or gwayne... so it may have been a stylistic choice. Or maybe they hired a linguist who decided gowen was the most likely historical pronunciation.
(though if you see the movie, the time period is semi-anachronistic, with some parts seemingly in the 8th century where they mention saxon neighbors, and then other parts more 13th century in art and architecture. I'm pretty sure that is a deliberate stylistic choice though to reflect the time period of the stories, which are said to have originated in the dark ages but were more popular in the middle ages. So if they did employ a linguist who knows what time period they were using for pronunciation).
British west country accents have always reminded me of the American yooper accent lol.
I don't know that Gawain is meant to be said as gowen though. There have been loads of other movies/shows where it is said as ga-wayne or gwayne... so it may have been a stylistic choice. Or maybe they hired a linguist who decided gowen was the most likely historical pronunciation.
(though if you see the movie, the time period is semi-anachronistic, with some parts seemingly in the 8th century where they mention saxon neighbors, and then other parts more 13th century in art and architecture. I'm pretty sure that is a deliberate stylistic choice though to reflect the time period of the stories, which are said to have originated in the dark ages but were more popular in the middle ages. So if they did employ a linguist who knows what time period they were using for pronunciation).
This message was edited 7/30/2021, 8:50 PM
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Wow! Thank you for all that information! Very interesting observations.
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