What is the correct pronunciation of Eorl the Young's name?

Question

In my mind I had always pronounced Eorl like a cognate of earl, but upon reflection I think that can't be right.

Many of the Rohan royalty have the letters E and O successively in their names, pronounced Ee-oh. Eorl's father was Léod. We meet Théoden, Éomer, Éowyn, and hear of Théodred. All are Ee-oh, but all with an acute accent over the "E." Eorl has no special marking over the first letter of his name, but it can't be because of its position in the word. See, for example, Éowyn and Éomer, both of whom do have initial diacriticals.

Is the correct pronunciation Ee-oh-rl?

Have I been hearing in my mind's ear the pronunciation of Eorl incorrectly all this time?

Answer 1

It's an Old English diphthong that did not survive in Modern English.

Eorl is an Old English word, the origin of our word earl. Tolkien represented nearly all instances of Rohirric as Old English.

One feature of Old English phonetics are a few dipthong sounds: aea, iu, and eo.

"Eo" is pronounced [eƏ] sort of like a very fast "aeyo". Long "a" glides into long "o".

Long vowels in Old English, unlike Modern English, are just lengthened versions of short vowels. They're usually transcribed with a macron, but an accent is often used, and I think this is how Tolkien came up with "Éo".

(Wait a minute! "Most Old English diphthongs consist of a front vowel followed by a back offglide". Now that I think of it, the Mid-Atlantic accent that I speak has this sound as its most distinctive, replacing most long "o" sounds! Geo reoll up the héose, Hon.)

Answer 2

There is an audio recording of Tolkien himself saying "Eorl"

One of the longer audio recordings that we have of Tolkien is of him reading a large section from The Lord of the Rings, Book V Chapter 5 "The Ride of the Rohirrim".

This recording includes Tolkien saying the word Eorl.

‘Now is the hour come, Riders of the Mark, sons of Eorl! Foes and fire are before you, and your homes far behind.

It can be clearly heard at 2:55 in the below video.

This was recorded in August 1952, and was first released to the public in 1975 by Caedmon Records as J.R.R. Tolkien Reads and Sings His The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers/The Return of the King.

Additionally, several further examples of "eo" words can be heard in this recording.

• Éomer - 0:03, 0:28, 1:08, 3:16, 7:49

• Théoden - 0:59, 2:46, 3:18, 5:34, 6:12, 7:07, 7:56

• éored - 1:44, 2:53, 3:19, 4:29, 7:54