Golems Are Not Gollum

Doesn't phase me when some dude I'm hanging with says it, but ever since the LOTR movies have come out I've been noticing video game journalists from channels like G4, Gamespot and IGN pronouncing the word "Golem" like "Gollum" from Lord Of The Rings. Probably because the word Golem was not often said out loud in pop culture until, for some reason, around the time of the LOTR films, the concept of Golems began being featured more often in entertainment.

For some probably irrational reason it just rubs me the wrong way.

So for the record, according to the 1992 edition of Random House Webster's College Dictionary, Golem is pronounced "Goal 'em". (I think they say that in soccer, right? When they want to encourage team members to score a goal against the other team?)



Alright, lunch break is over. Back to work!

I must confess, I do this every now and then.

I always wondered why Tolkien named one of his characters after a Hebrew animated pile of mud, but maybe that is just me.
If I mispronounce one of them, it is going to be Gollum.

mikel.withers wrote:I always wondered why Tolkien named one of his characters after a Hebrew animated pile of mud, but maybe that is just me.

Maybe he did!

Seriously, I wondered while watching the movie if Tolkien was intending something there. So speak up, Tolkien fans! Do you think the character of Gollum has something symbolically in common with a Golem? Was Tolkien drawing from that concept in some way?