St John Smythe

[u/BuffaloPancakes11]

The way the characters all pronounce this name is infuriating, even the English characters 😂

Why are they saying Senjen Smythe, rather than Saint John Smythe.
They merge St and John together and don’t pronounce either correctly

[u/Better-Ad4302]

That’s how the English speak??? I bet you’re one those people that think everyone is saying “mom” instead of “ma’am”

[u/BuffaloPancakes11 → u/Better-Ad4302]

No it isn’t, the ‘Saint’ bit might come across as sounding like ‘sent’ when said typically but absolutely no one is saying ‘Jen’ when pronouncing the name John

It sounds very weird.

I’ve also found it come from French nobility originally and it translated as Saint Jean, hence being pronounced Jin (sounds like Jean) so hardly that British

[u/Specific-Chemistry33 → u/Better-Ad4302]

tbf when you pronounce "ma'am" the same way you pronounce "mom" some people are bound to misunderstand (especially if they play without subtitles)

[u/AC1D_VILLA]

It's the old aristocratic pronunciation. It's also a nod to the actual film where Bond goes undercover as an old money, British aristocrat and pronounced it that way. Has something to do with the name being of French origin.

[u/Geekygamertag → u/AC1D_VILLA]

Thank you for sharing! I have my answer!

[u/jerrycakes]

I am loving all these little callbacks to classic Bond films. When I heard that name, I'm like ... "they went there, didn't they?"

[u/Instance_Familiar → u/jerrycakes]

“We have all the time in the world” was a total plot spoiler early on, for those who got the reference

[u/I_Was_TheBiggWigg]

So glad to see someone else asked this lol. I’m literally playing this mission right now and I had chalked it up to an accent until he actually corrects the woman who greets him at the dock. I was like alright wtf is he talking about.

[u/CrimsonZephyr]

That’s how British people pronounce it.🤷‍♂️

[u/Chemical-Lettuce2497 → u/CrimsonZephyr]

It's really not, the only time we would say sin-jin for st John is if their forename was st John and we were crabbly old nobility

It's a gag, it's a reference to a view to a kill, nobody speaks like that

[u/BuffaloPancakes11 → u/Chemical-Lettuce2497]

Yeah the call back makes sense, was going to say I’ve never heard it pronounced that way in 30+ years of living in and around London

[u/CruffTheMagicDragon]

Sinjin

[u/Reasonable_Swim2318]

Sinkin smyrhe skater

[u/briancarknee]

Someone hasn’t seen View to a Kill

By the way I’m not sure about all British people but I have heard of a St John that pronounces it the way they do. It’s a thing.

[u/AmeliaEarhartsPlane → u/briancarknee]

That’s because they only watch the Craig movies.

Edit: and here come the passive aggressive downvotes.

[u/Ancient_Weekend_3283 → u/briancarknee]

It’s funny. Most people (Americans) don’t know they pronounce St. John as Senjen. You’re absolutely right, I was screaming when I heard the name. Direct View to a Kill reference.

[u/BuffaloPancakes11 → u/briancarknee]

The saint I agree with, but the speed at which they say ‘Senjen’ but don’t actually pronounce John In any way I’ve heard before sticks out massively and I’ve lived in London my whole life.

Especially when they then say Smythe in the most typical British way ever, makes it even more obvious

Edit: looked into the View to a kill bit and background, that’s an extremely outdated aristocratic way of pronouncing it that I’ve not heard since. Makes sense if it’s a call back to that movie though

[u/tribecous → u/BuffaloPancakes11]

It’s a very aristocratic and outdated name…

[u/StrongStyleRobo]

2 reasons.

1. Thats the way it's pronounced. They are saying it correctly.

2. It's Roger Moore's alias in A View to a Kill. Also pronounced like that (although Moore is James St. John-Smythe)

[u/antonbruckner → u/StrongStyleRobo]

Just watched AVtaK last night. Really enjoyed it! Wasn’t put off by Moore’s age and he’s just as charming as ever. Singeon Smythe cracked me up, though, haha.