The God Learners Episode 17: People of Glorantha: The Hsunchen

[Lordabdul]

Episode 17 it out! We welcome Brian Duguid, author of the Children of Hykim and all-around expert on the Hsunchen. We chat about these stone age people of Glorantha, their totem animals, their culture and magic, how to include them in your games, and more!

[OrlanthRex]

Another terrific podcast. Plan on picking up the Children of Hykim when it’s available print on demand. BTW, I have gone 3 decades never realizing the “H” was silent in pronouncing Hsunchen. 

[Brian Duguid]

I think @Lordabdul was pronouncing it like the "hs" in Chinese more usually written "x" in pinyin, roughly as per https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/pronunciation/The_"j"_"q"_and_"x"_sounds.

I pronounce it as it's written: h-sun-chen. But allowing the initial "h" to be partially or fully elided.

Further options (there are many!):

 

[Brian Duguid]

1 minute ago, Brian Duguid said:

I pronounce it as it's written: h-sun-chen. But allowing the initial "h" to be partially or fully elided.

Essentially: I form my mouth into the shape for "h", but the audio may not always pick that up because it sounds much like a soft breathing sound when followed by the "s" sound (or any non-vowel sound).