How do you pronounce "Skrull"?

[Gareth3]

The Skrulls are alien invaders from Marvel comics, and I've been amused at the variety of ways people pronounce their name. A Scottish podcaster consistently calls them "scrolls", whereas an American on Youtube calls them [skrlz], with a syllabic r and a syllabic l, almost like "squirrel". Linguistically these must be spelling pronounciations, since they've appeared almost entirely in print and the official pronounciation isn't obvious. So how do you, personally pronounce "Skrull", and what's your accent? I use what sounds to me like "skull" with an R, and I have a New Zealand accent.

[mèþru]

I have never talked about them, but I would say [ˈskɹɫ̩.z̩]

I don't think I fit under any major dialect because I talk very weirdly. Everyone around me speaks Philadelphia/New York/General American English.

[Zaarin]

Eclectic General American, I'd probably say [skɹ̠ˁɐɫz]. IMD two syllabic resonants will never be adjacent; the second will usually be syllabic unless the resonance hierarchy dictates otherwise (though I can think of no examples). (Since you brought up squirrels, for me that's [skʷwɹ̩ɹ̠ˁɫ̩z] in careful speech or simply [skʷwɹ̩ɫz] colloquially.)

[bbbosborne]

this is the most painful word i have ever analyzed
[skɹ̩^ʕɫ̩ː^ʕz]

[Travis B.]

I pronounce Skrull as [skʁʌ(ː)ɤ̯] and Skrulls as [skʁʌːɤ̯s] ([skʁʌːɤ̯z] before a vowel or semivowel).

I pronounce squirrel as [skwʁ̩ʷ(ː)ɯ̯] and squirrels as [skwʁ̩ʷːɯ̯s] ([skwʁ̩ʷːɯ̯z] before a vowel or semivowel).

[Gareth3]

Thanks for the answers. I might not be transcribing the American speaker well, here's the video with the first "Skrull" at 1:54.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4GR2NV7Isk

[zompist]

I'd rhyme it with "skull".

[alynnidalar]

I'd rhyme it with "skull".

Same.

[Nortaneous]

I'd rhyme it with "skull".

Same.

^

[Frislander]

[skrut͡ɬ]

Seriously though we need the "How do you Pronounce This" thread back for reals.

[Neon Fox]

I'd rhyme it with "skull".

Same.

^

Adding to the chorus.

[Linguoboy]

I am having the damnedest time determining whether my opposition of /ʊ/ to /ʌ/ is neutralised before [ɫ]. Somebody get me a damn spectrogram.

[Gareth3]

Reading over the answers, either this is simpler than I thought, or the pronunciation of "skull" varies more than I thought. New Zealanders tend to vocalise dark "l"s - people joke about spilling mook on the beach taos - but I don't think I do it.

[Space60]

I am having the damnedest time determining whether my opposition of /ʊ/ to /ʌ/ is neutralised before [ɫ]. Somebody get me a damn spectrogram.

Do you rhyme the words "dull" and "null", with "full" and "pull"? Does "wolf" rhyme with "gulf" for you? For me, the vowels in "dull" and "full" are distinct, however the vowels in "hull" and "hole" are close.

[Linguoboy]

Do you rhyme the words "dull" and "null", with "full" and "pull"?

Sometimes? Since there are no true minimal pairs, there tends to be some drift. I think it's true that dull and null tend to have more centralised and unrounded vowels, but it doesn't sound "wrong" to back and partially round them and it sounds even less "wrong" to centralised and unround the last two.

Does "wolf" rhyme with "gulf" for you?

Wolf lacks /l/ in my speech, so no.

[Space60]

Do you rhyme the words "dull" and "null", with "full" and "pull"?

Sometimes? Since there are no true minimal pairs, there tends to be some drift. I think it's true that dull and null tend to have more centralised and unrounded vowels, but it doesn't sound "wrong" to back and partially round them and it sounds even less "wrong" to centralised and unround the last two.

Does "wolf" rhyme with "gulf" for you?

Wolf lacks /l/ in my speech, so no.

Maybe you are transitionally merged there.

[Space60]

Maybe you are transitionally /Ul/-/Vl/ merged.