D'ni
From MYSTlore
The term D'ni (D'nE[?], "new beginning") can refer to a number of different items pertaining to the branch of a Ronay people:
- D'ni (race): The people and civilisation of the Ronay who came to Earth
- D'ni age: The age which they inhabited, also known as Earth
- D'ni city: The underground city where they lived
- D'ni language: The language they spoke
When with article, "the D'ni" refers to the people or the race in general. Note that D'ni can also be an adjective (as in "D'ni technology"), although fans occasionally use the term "D'nian".
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[edit] Background
[edit] Spelling
In the original game Myst, Atrus mentions (and written in the credits and some of the filenames) the place "Dunny" (based on the original "Dunny Hut" story).
The spelling was changed to "D'ni" for Riven and the Book of Atrus and this spelling was used in all subsequent products. The change was to be more authentic to the original D'ni spelling, although the real reason was because "Dunny" is Australian slang for "toilet".
[edit] Pronunciation
The pronunciation of the word is not consistent in sources, across characters and game actors, which led even to a IC dispute.
- The original spelling "Dunny" represents how the word was pronounced in Myst by Atrus, would have been were it an English word (/ˈdʌ.ni/. rhymes with funny). In Riven, Myst III: Exile and Myst IV: Revelation the actors pronounce it the same way Atrus pronounced "Dunny" in the original Myst game. Atrus/Rand Miller still continue to pronounce it the "old" way.
- In Uru: Ages Beyond Myst, Yeesha and Dr. Watson pronounce it as "/də.ˈn̩i/" (d'NEE).
- In Myst V: End of Ages, Esher (who is an original D'ni who lived in the Cavern before the fall) pronounces it with a strong accent as /dəx.ˈni/ (duch'nee, where ch is pronounced as in Chanukkah or in the Scottish loch), but this pronunciation does not reflect the pronunciation described by RAWA. RAWA considers this to be a speech defect of Esher, however the defect affects only the word D'ni.
[edit] Other uses
- D'ni (wiki) is a Myst universe-related wiki
- .dni is also a file extension of some realMyst files
