Serious or Sirius (was Re: CHAPDISC: HBP1, The Other Minister)

[spotsgal]

No: HPFGUIDX 141882

> Geoff:
> 
> Most people I know here in the UK pronounce it with a short "i" as 
> in lizard, Miriam or pit.

Christina:

I personally say "Sirius" with a shorter "i" (as in "lizard" as you
said) while "serious" has a long "e" like the first "e" in "cereal."  

I'm American, and I have noticed that most of the people I've spoken
to over here pronounce it just like "serious," but I like the short
"i" sound much better.  Dictionary.com agrees with me at least :)
(look up "serious" and "Sirius" and compare).  Which of course, leads
to...

>Carol:
>Question: JKR twice puts "Serious" (Black) in quotation marks in this
>chapter. Is she doing that to indicate that this is how the PM thinks
>it's spelled (like "Kwidditch" for Quidditch)? Or is "Serious" not
>the correct pronunciation for Sirius (which means I've been
>mispronouncing it all this time)?

Christina:

I think that the "'Serious' Black" was put in mainly for comedic
purposes.  Even if JKR personally means for "Sirius" and "serious" to
be pronounced a bit differently, that doesn't mean that everybody
pronounces them that way.  It seems reasonable to assume that perhaps
Fudge "fudges" (sorry) Sirius's name a bit, not really knowing him
personally, or that the Prime Minister is in such a state of shock
(poor guy) that he hears it as "serious" (the differences are subtle,
after all).


Christina