What is the pronunciation of "Schierke"?

Okay, I've searched this forum and googled like a muhmugga and so far, no absolutely correct answers.

What I do know is "Schierke" is a German name. In the PS2 cutscenes in Japanese they say, "Shiruke" like.. "Shee-roo-keh."

I did some half-assed research on German pronunciation pages and haven't got a complete answer there, either. So far, I know the "Sch" is just like "Sh" and the "ie" is just like "ee." So put 'em together and we get "shee"... said like "she" when you refer to a girl in english.

All that's left is Schierke.

Let's do this thang.

Well I always called her Silke, though it's not correct by any means. Just simpler for me to pronounce.

At a glance,I always thought her real name was pronounced 'shriek' for some reason.

I have never put much thought into the pronunciation of her name, so I've probably been pronouncing it wrong. I pronounce as Sheer-key.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JvJOSxORuY

Go to 1:40.  (Schierke mentioned at 1:48-1:49)

(german)
Die Rundreise durch den Oberharz beginnen wir in Wernigerode.
Als erstes schlagen wir ihnen einen Abstecher nach Schierke.....

And that's how you pronounce it.

Edit:
If that's not enough - man, I'm in a good mood today - imagine:

sheer + ke (ke like in kept, keck, kedge)

Sheel-(keh/kuh). Eh? Eh?

*EDITED. I just had "Sheel-kuh" before. Plus "Everyone agree?"

More input and then I think we can speak for all non-Japanese speaking Berserk fans everywhere. Or not.

royoak said:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JvJOSxORuY

Go to 1:40. (Schierke mentioned at 1:48-1:49)

(german)
Die Rundreise durch den Oberharz beginnen wir in Wernigerode.
Als erstes schlagen wir ihnen einen Abstecher nach Schierke.....

And that's how you pronounce it.

Edit:
If that's not enough - man, I'm in a good mood today - imagine:

sheer + ke (ke like in kept, keck, kedge)

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Well, there you go. It sounded more like Sheer-kuh, though maybe I need to listen more carefully.

Gobolatula said:

Sheel-(keh/kuh). Eh? Eh?

*EDITED. I just had "Sheel-kuh" before. Plus "Everyone agree?"

More input and then I think we can speak for all non-Japanese speaking Berserk fans everywhere. Or not.

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Alright: 

Sheer-keh  (like sheer + kept (without pt obviously)) is the correct one

Sheer-kuh would be considered as the colloquial pronunciation
              (it might sound like that in the Youtube link I posted, if you're not familiar with the german
                language)

Glad to see you guys came to a concensus on this because I've never had much faith in my own interpretation of the pronounciation (I say: "Shee-yer-kh" which is close).

Sheer-keh, it is then.

And hey, it's a lot easier to pronounce then the fantasy character "Drizzt Do'Urden".

And a hell of a lot better than SIL-KE

I guess you didn't search well enough Gobolatula.

Aazealh said:

In Japanese, that's shiｰruke (long vowel on the 'i'). But the name is originally German. In German, I think it would sound like "shi.rke" or something close (our German members are invited to correct me if I'm wrong).

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Leeuwer said:

You're correct. I don't know how to lay it out phonetically, but it sounds somewhat like this : sh - eer - keh. (pronounced more rapidly, of course)
For the record : I'm not German, but I do speak it and live very near the country.

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Walter said:

And a hell of a lot better than SIL-KE.

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That it be, that it be .

Silke would be horrible, that's such a boring and common German name.
In the German version of the Manga she's called Schielke. What's especially bad about this version is that "schielen" is the German word for being crosseyed.

Chiba said:

Silke would be horrible, that's such a boring and common German name.
In the German version of the Manga she's called Schielke. What's especially bad about this version is that "schielen" is the German word for being crosseyed.

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Of course, it's worth noting that 'Schie-l-ke', apart from being an actual surname (Which cannot be said for 'Schierke'), is - according to the German translator - sourced in the German myth-lore. Presuming (As is likely) that said lore served as inspiration for Schie-l-ke/ Schierke, 'Schie-l-ke' would be the correct spelling and pronounciation, the 'r' being the result of the peculiarities of the Japanese language.

This said, I haven't actually been able to verify said translator's claim. But in all honesty - presuming a German origin of the name, 'Schierke' would be remarkably odd. As such, I tend to approve of the German translation there.

Edit: Also, having a worldfilter 'Correct' alternative spelling variants is somewhat silly...

Rezo said:

Of course, it's worth noting that 'Schie-l-ke', apart from being an actual surname (Which cannot be said for 'Schierke')

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Schierke is the name of a relatively well known witch-related town in Germany (it's at the foot of the Brocken, in the Harz). You know of Walpurgis Night, right?

Rezo said:

Presuming (As is likely) that said lore served as inspiration for Schie-l-ke/ Schierke, 'Schie-l-ke' would be the correct spelling and pronounciation, the 'r' being the result of the peculiarities of the Japanese language. This said, I haven't actually been able to verify said translator's claim.

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That's not the case. The correct spelling has long since its introduction been confirmed to be "Schierke" (it's written in roman letters at the beginning of each recent Japanese volume of the manga, among other things). It would be appreciated if you made the effort of informing yourself before posting on a subject that has already been answered. Especially if you can't back up your sources.

Rezo said:

But in all honesty - presuming a German origin of the name, 'Schierke' would be remarkably odd.

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And why is that, considering it's the name of a German town in the first place?

Rezo said:

As such, I tend to approve of the German translation there.

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Wrongly so. By the way, do you approve of "Casca" being translated to "Kjaskar" as well? Just curious.

Rezo said:

Edit: Also, having a worldfilter 'Correct' alternative spelling variants is somewhat silly...

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Not when some people just won't write it correctly. It's not ideal, but the good outweighs the bad (and it can be circumvented when needed).

Hehehe.

I'd been prounouncing it like a female form of Shrek.

Maybe because of some half remembered Care Bears memories from childhood with a girl name Schreckie.

(Sha-Reek-ey)

Take it from me, it's Schierke.

Aazealh said:

Schierke is the name of a relatively well known witch-related town in Germany (it's at the foot of the Brocken, in the Harz). You know of Walpurgis Night, right?

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Yes, I'm aware of the town.

That's not the case. The correct spelling has long since its introduction been confirmed to be "Schierke" (it's written in roman letters at the beginning of each recent Japanese volume of the manga, among other things). It would be appreciated if you made the effort of informing yourself before posting on a subject that has already been answered. Especially if you can't back up your sources.

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That's presuming that the roman letters aren't re-translated from japanese. If they are, the point is invalid.

And why is that, considering it's the name of a German town in the first place?

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Correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand that the little witch is not a town - but a human being. And there's no such thing as a (Fore- or sur) name 'Schierke' (It's dialect for 'Pure Wood', actually. Now, I admit that our 'lil witch tends to be a bit wooden, at times, but...). There is, however, the alternate variant - a fairly common name, and (According to the translator; I admit, this isn't much, but since I can't find a proper source for either spelling, it's at least a draw) rooted in (German) lore. As a witch.

Wrongly so. By the way, do you approve of "Casca" being translated to "Kjaskar" as well? Just curious.

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*Shrugs* You're entitled to your opinion. I happen to disagree.

And incidentally, yes, I do. What with it being pronounced (In the anime) just as it's spelled in the German translation (Also a wordfilter, I guess?). Which kind of blows 'Casca' out of the water.

Well, in the anime that i have, they call her Casca. There is definitely no "j" in it.
I don't like most of the german translations of the Names, as they didn't translate them, but gave them new Names that sound somewhat similar.
Examples:
Femto is called "Femuth" (hate that Name)
Locus is called "Locks"
I don't have the books here atm, but there are more.

[quote author=Rezo]
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand that the little witch is not a town - but a human being.
And there's no such thing as a (Fore- or sur) name 'Schierke'.[/quote]

Yes, there is - it's a surname, but I have to agree it's quite rare.
Edit: quick search (Germany) Schierke: about 100
Schie-l-ke: about 1500 (not really common either)

Naming a witch-character after a well known town associated with witches seems plausible to me.
And naming people after cities is nothing unheard-of.
On the other hand Schie-l-ke is not as rare as Schierke, but what myth - if there is one - is it about and who knows about it anyway?

Schierke is the correct writing and the german translators simply messed up.

Rezo said:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand that the little witch is not a town - but a human being.

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Correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand that the main character is a human being, not a mass of intestines.

Can someone give me a phonetic pronunciation of this town?

Rezo said:

Yes, I'm aware of the town.

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You sure as hell didn't seem to be in your last post.

Rezo said:

That's presuming that the roman letters aren't re-translated from japanese. If they are, the point is invalid.

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There's no presumption going on here. They're not retranslated, and besides they're presented as the official names so they are just that, regardless. I told you, the spelling is known for sure, it's not up to debate.

Rezo said:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand that the little witch is not a town - but a human being. And there's no such thing as a (Fore- or sur) name 'Schierke' (It's dialect for 'Pure Wood', actually. Now, I admit that our 'lil witch tends to be a bit wooden, at times, but...).

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You're wrong, as royoak kindly pointed out. Now I'd like to point out myself that "Guts" isn't an actual name. Nor are "Femto", "Void", "Wyald" or "Zodd". The list is very long, but I think you get the point. It's just not relevant. Especially since the other is a surname and not a first name, it's really not any better than a town's name (the meaning of which seems particularly appropriate to me, by the way) or a purely fictional one.

Rezo said:

According to the translator; I admit, this isn't much, but since I can't find a proper source for either spelling, it's at least a draw)

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No it's not a "draw". On one hand we have the official spelling, confirmed numerous times and actually written at the beginning of the manga, which references a town that's on every map and stands at the foot of the place Goethe basically presents as the center of witchery in Faust. On the other hand, we have a reference no one has been able to confirm so far.

You know, the fact it's the official translation in itself should be enough to quell any such discussion. Only ignorance and/or obstinacy keep you going here.

Rezo said:

*Shrugs* You're entitled to your opinion. I happen to disagree.

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No, I'm just stating facts. This isn't a matter of opinion. Just like the spelling of the main character's name isn't a matter of opinion.

Rezo said:

And incidentally, yes, I do. What with it being pronounced (In the anime) just as it's spelled in the German translation (Also a wordfilter, I guess?). Which kind of blows 'Casca' out of the water.

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Hahaha, how unexpected. I suggest you listen to the animated series more carefully. Maybe you should take a look at how the name's written in Japanese as well. Anyway, the correct spelling is "Casca", it's also been officially confirmed quite a while ago. As royoak justly pointed out, the German translation unfortunately features adaptations of the names and not simple transliterations. Many of them aren't properly spelled.

Gaahl said:

I don't have the books here atm, but there are more.

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Yeah, we've actually talked about it (made fun of) long ago. It's unfortunate, like I said, but no foreign adaptation of the manga is perfect anyway. They all have their bad parts.

royoak said:

On the other hand Schie-l-ke is not as rare as Schierke, but what myth - if there is one - is it about and who knows about it anyway?

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I'm actually really curious about it myself, beyond this argument. I don't even think it's impossible that some obscure character named that way might exist in German folklore. Could any of our German members research it?

willowhugger said:

Can someone give me a phonetic pronunciation of this town?

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People gave phonetic pronunciations of the name earlier in the thread. It's the same name as the town and the same pronunciation. See the quote below:

royoak said:

Sheer-keh (like sheer + kept (without pt obviously)) is the correct one

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