How was Princess Leia's name pronounced in ANH? "Lee-uh" vs. "Lay-uh"?

[The Wook]

I know Tarkin pronounced it "Lee-uh", but I'm trying to think if anyone else called her by name or referred to her by name in A New Hope. I'm pretty sure a Rebel commander referred to her when going over the plans to attack the Death Star, but I can't recall for sure how he pronounced it. Throughout that first Star Wars film, she got a lot of "Princess", "Your Highness", and "Your Worshipfullness", etc., but did anyone call her or refer to her as [Princess] "Lay-uh"?

The Wook

 

[jcoffman99]

General Dodonna pronounces it Lee-uh.

 

[Solo4114]

Admiral Dodonna refers to her as "Lee-uh" when he says "An analysis of the plans provided by Princess Lee-uh has demonstrated..."

3PO refers to her as Lay-uh, though, if memory serves.

 

[The Wook]

General Dodonna pronounces it Lee-uh.

I thought so, but wasn't sure. So then, was her name ever pronounced "Lay-uh" in Star Wars 1977?

The Wook

 

[Solo4114]

As I said, I'm pretty sure 3PO calls her that on the Death Star when they find out where she is.

 

[Raphael Argus]

Just ask her. Lando did, and she said Lay-uh.

 

[CelticWarrior]

Lee-uh, 35 years on no one wants to Lay-uh.

 

[PHArchivist]

As I kid, I first "knew" her as Lee-Uh. Probably due to the specific references cited in this thread. I even recall noting (raising my eyebrows?) the different pronunciation in the later films.

Curious question - how did the media refer to her between May of 1977 and 1980? Were there Kenner toy commercials that cited her by name?

 

[Axlotl]

^ Same experience. "Lee-uh" until Empire came out, and then it was "Lay-uh".

 

[The Wook]

As I said, I'm pretty sure 3PO calls her that on the Death Star when they find out where she is.

You are correct, I just watched that scene. And Threepio pronounces her name Princess "Lee-uh".

As I kid, I first "knew" her as Lee-Uh. Probably due to the specific references cited in this thread. I even recall noting (raising my eyebrows?) the different pronunciation in the later films.

Curious question - how did the media refer to her between May of 1977 and 1980? Were there Kenner toy commercials that cited her by name?

Rob, that's a great question.

But if everyone pronounced her name "Lee-uh" in ANH, then why did the pronunciation change to "Lay-uh" in ESB? And did anyone ever pronounce it "Lee-uh" after ANH? How does Lando pronounce it? We know he had an odd pronunciation for Chewbacca, calling him "Chew-back-ah", same as OB1 called him in the Cantina when he introduced Chewie to Luke.

The Wook

 

[Solo4114]

You are correct, I just watched that scene. And Threepio pronounces her name Princess "Lee-uh".




Rob, that's a great question.

But if everyone pronounced her name "Lee-uh" in ANH, then why did the pronunciation change to "Lay-uh" in ESB? And did anyone ever pronounce it "Lee-uh" after ANH? How does Lando pronounce it? We know he had an odd pronunciation for Chewbacca, calling him "Chew-back-ah", same as OB1 called him in the Cantina when he introduced Chewie to Luke.

The Wook

Wait, really? 3PO calls her "Lee-uh"? Weird. In my memory, it's "Lay-uh." I'll have to watch that scene later.


This also reminds me of how I found Lando's pronunciation of "Han" to be kind of annoying. Instead of "Han" like "Don" it was more "Han" like "Dan."

 

[The Wook]

Wait, really? 3PO calls her "Lee-uh"? Weird. In my memory, it's "Lay-uh." I'll have to watch that scene later.

Unless George changed it for the Special Edition? (That was the disc I popped in this morning after I read your post.)

Did he change the pronunciation for the SE, to jibe with the way Tarkin and Dodonna pronounce it?!

The Wook

 

[Betamin]

It's "Lee EYE uh".

 

[Solo4114]

Unless George changed it for the Special Edition? (That was the disc I popped in this morning after I read your post.)

Did he change the pronunciation for the SE, to jibe with the way Tarkin and Dodonna pronounce it?!

The Wook

At this point, who the hell knows. I "imprinted" on a version of the film that was recorded from a showing on the old PRISM movie network, so I have no idea. Maybe it was a different audio mix, or maybe I'm just misremembering.

 

[JLeezy23]

I always thought Tarkin either didn't know how to pronounce words, or he made his sentences a bit dramatic/theatric. He says "All-da-Ran" instead of "All-de-Ron" and he rolls his tongue when saying "rrrreasonable." Plus 3PO knows millions of forms of communication, if it concerns words, I'd bet he'd know what's right or not.

 

[Jaitea]

She isn't called Lay-uh until ESB

....although...

3PO still calls her Lee-Uh when he reports to Han that Luke hasn't checked in

J

 

[The Wook]

She isn't called Lay-uh until ESB

....although...

3PO still calls her Lee-Uh when he reports to Han that Luke hasn't checked in

J

Hmmm. So then who is the first character to pronounce it "Lay-uh"?

The Wook

 

[Jaitea]

"Hey your worship,...I'm only tryin' to help"

"Would you stop calling me that"

"sure Lay-uh"

51:02 ESB

J

 

[The Wook]

"Hey your worship,...I'm only tryin' to help"

"Would you stop calling me that"

"sure Lay-uh"

51:02 ESB

J

Han Solo. I did not know. That's a great Star Wars trivia question: who first pronounced her name "Lay-uh", and when? I bet many diehard fans would get that wrong.

I wonder why they changed it? Did Harrison do it on purpose? Was he told to do it by George for some reason? Is he just continuing to be a smart-ass by purposely mis-pronouncing her name? If so, she didn't correct him or look pissed. And, AFAIK, her name was pronounced "Lay-uh" by everyone from that point forward. What an odd thing to do, to change a major character's name pronunciation in the sequel film! Very bizarre.

Thoughts?

The Wook

 

[Axlotl]

Found this:

The first video calls her "Princess LAY-uh".