There are a lot of unit names in Blood & Plunder that are in languages other than English, and a lot of anglophone players. I’ve got just enough French and Dutch to be dangerous, and can pontificate a bit on historical Spanish.
Be forewarned that these are approximations for an English speaker. Vowels in particular can be hard: French and Dutch have a lot of vowels that English just doesn’t have, so even approximation becomes tricky. And every language has regional variation. And your opponent may roll their eyes at you if you use any of these pronunciations.
That said, let’s do this.
# Spanish units
Spanish changed a lot during the period of this game, and was especially distinct (and became ever more so) between European and American varieties. I’ve provided both a modern Castillian (European) and Latin American pronunciation where they differ.
Note: in the transcriptions below, “th” is as in “thin” and “dh” is as in the “th” in “the”.
- Caballeria:
- “ka-va-lyeh-REE-ah” or
- “ka-va-yeh-REE-ah”
- (Spelled “caballería” in modern standard spelling. It means “cavalry” and is just the Spanish rendition of the same word, in case that helps you to remember it!)
- Caballeria Lancero:
- “ka-va-lyeh-REE-ah lan-THEH-ro” or
- “ka-va-yeh-REE-ah lan-SEH-ro”
- (Spelled “caballería lancero” in modern standard spelling.)
- Corsarios:
- “kor-SA-ree-yos”
- Granaderos:
- “gra-na-DHE-ros”
- Hostigadores:
- “os-tee-ga-DHO-res”
- Lanceros:
- “lan-THEH-ros” or “lan-SEH-ros”
- Marineros:
- “ma-ree-NEH-ros”
- Marineros Piqueros:
- “ma-ree-NEH-ros pee-KEH-ros”
- Milicianos:
- “mee-lee-thee-YA-nos” or
- “mee-lee-see-YA-nos”
- Milicianos Artilleros:
- “mee-lee-thee-YA-nos ar-tee-LYEH-ros” or
- “mee-lee-see-YA-nos ar-tee-YEH-ros”
- Milicianos Indios:
- “mee-lee-thee-YA-nos IN-dyos” or
- “mee-lee-see-YA-nos IN-dyos”
- Milicianos Indios de la Florida:
- “mee-lee-thee-YA-nos IN-dyos de la FLO-ree-dha” or
- “mee-lee-see-YA-nos IN-dyos de la FLO-ree-dha”
- Milicianos Negros:
- “mee-lee-thee-YA-nos NEHG-ros” or
- “mee-lee-see-YA-nos NEHG-ros”
- Milicianos Piqueros:
- “mee-lee-thee-YA-nos pee-KEH-ros” or
- “mee-lee-see-YA-nos pee-KEH-ros”
- Milicianos Reformados:
- “mee-lee-thee-YA-nos reh-for-MA-dhos” or
- “mee-lee-see-YA-nos reh-for-MA-dhos”
- Soldados:
- “sol-da-dhos”
- Soldados de Avanzada:
- “sol-da-dhos de a-van-THA-dha” or
- “sol-da-dhos de a-van-ZA-dha”
- Soldados Reformados:
- “sol-da-dhos reh-for-MA-dhos”
- Vizcainos:
- “beeth-ka-EE-nos” or
- “bees-ka-EE-nos”
- (Spelled “vizcaínos” in modern standard spelling.)
# French units
French is notable for having nasalized vowels; I have made no effort to distinguish them here, but it’s the sort of thing that English can sometimes accept, so a rule of thumb that will serve you well is that every “n” in the end of a syllable except those in “marine” and “canadienne”, or before a “y” sound, are actually just a nasalized vowel.
French vowels are also just a minefield for an English speaker. We’re doin’ our best here.
- Boucanière:
- “boo-kan-YEHR”
- Boucaniers:
- “boo-kan-YAY”
- Compagnies Franches de la Marine:
- “kom-pa-nyee fransh duh la ma-REEN”
- Coureur des Bois:
- “koo-ruhr day BWAH”
- Engagés:
- “ang-gah-ZHAY”
- Flibustiers:
- “flee-boost-YAY”
- Fusiliers:
- “foo-zee-LYAY”
- Infanterie:
- “an-fan-tuh-REE”
- Les Enfants Perdus:
- “layz an-fan pehr-DYU”
- Marins:
- “ma-RAN”
- Marins Basque:
- “ma-ran BASK”
- Milice à Cheval:
- “mee-lees ah sheh-VAL”
- Milice Canadienne:
- “mee-lees ka-na-DYEHN”
- Milice des Caraïbes:
- “mee-lees day ka-ra-EEB”
- Miliciens:
- “mee-lee-SYEHN”
- Miliciens Artilleurs:
- “mee-lee-syehnz ar-tee-YUHR”
- Piquiers Miliciens:
- “pee-kyay mee-lee-SYEHN”
# Dutch units
Note that often the “s”, especially at the start of a syllable, is more like “sh”, depending on where you’re from, and similarly “z” at the start of a syllable is more like “zh”.
What I transcribe here as “kh” is similar to the Scottish “loch” sound.
- Boslopers:
- “BOHS-low-purs”
- Enter Ploeg:
- “EN-ter PLOOKH”
- Grenadier Soldaten:
- “khreh-nah-DEER “sohl-DAH-tun”
- Kapers:
- “KAH-pers”
- Latere Soldaten:
- “LAH-teh-ruh sohl-DAH-tun”
- Militie:
- “mee-LEE-chee”
- Militie Artillerie:
- “mee-LEE-chee ar-tih-luh-REE“
- Militie Cavalerie:
- “mee-LEE-chee ka-va-luh-REE“
- Militie Piekeniers:
- “mee-LEE-chee pee-kuh-NEERS”
- Soldaten:
- “sohl-DAH-tun”
- Vrij Compagnieen:
- “vray kom-puh-NYEE-un”
- (Spelled “vrij compagnieën” in modern standard spelling.)
- Zeelieden:
- “ZAY-lee-dun”
- Zvarte Militie:
- “ZVAR-tuh mee-LEE-chee”
- (Spelled “zwarte militie” in modern standard spelling.)
# Native and Unaligned units
- Pnieses:
- “NEES-ihz” or
- “puh-NEES-ihz”
- (Both pronunciations are current.)
- Coromantee Warriors:
- “ko-ro-MAN-tee”
- (Well, that’s pretty much how it’s written… it’s from an English mangling of “Kormantse”, in modern-day Ghana.)
- Renegadoes:
- “reh-neh-GA-doz” or
- “reh-neh-GAY-doz”
- (This is already an English word in this period, though admittedly borrowed from Spanish.)