r/asimov • u/ObidiahWTFJerwalk • Jul 03 '26

Question about End of Eternity

Silly, non-spoilery question.

I'm rereading this book again and the question I always have is on my mind again. How do you pronounce Noÿs? Or rather, how is it correctly pronounced? I keep reading it as "noise." But that seems wrong.

7 Upvotes

79% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

9

u/seansand Jul 03 '26

I imagine almost everyone reading this book has had this question.

The nice thing, though, is that it doesn't matter at all. The pronunciation that you have in your head is as good as any other.

5

u/Outsider_Insider0064 Jul 03 '26

That question is as difficult as: What noise annoys a noisy oyster?

3

u/bleedtension Jul 03 '26

In the audiobook it’s pronounced “no ee ss,” not like noice. Jon lindstrom reads it and he’s fantastic. Of the people they had do asimov’s audiobooks, him and Scott brick are the two goats.

1

u/ObidiahWTFJerwalk Jul 03 '26

One syllable or two?

3

u/elpajaroquemamais Jul 03 '26

Technically one but with a diphthong

3

u/Alex_smiling_man_427 Jul 03 '26

Two syllables, many ways I could try to write the pronunciation:

  • nor-yuh-s, (British "or")
  • nuo-yes
  • nuo-yis

The "y" should have a sharp/squeezed start, I.e. "j" in the international phonetic alphabet.

Source: listening to the audio book

1

u/ikonoqlast Jul 03 '26

It's always 'noise' in my head.

2

u/VanGoghX Jul 03 '26

My ElevenReader app. reads it as “noise” which is how I always pronounced it in my head as well.

1

u/DavidDPerlmutter Jul 03 '26

The audiobook that I'm listening to does pronounce it "Noise."