#GamingBytes: Lara Croft's new game trailer pronounces name wrong
The official Tomb Raider account, on YouTube, has released the Shadow of the Tomb Raider trailer. The game will come out on September 14. The trailer showed several enemies including Trinity soldiers and Mayans with swords. However, the most notable aspect is Lara's name being mispronounced by the American characters in the trailer. Read to find out why fans took offense to this.
What does the trailer tell us?
Shadow of the Tomb Raider is set two months after the events of the last game. Lara travels through South America trying to get a relic to stop a Mayan apocalypse. We see her locking horns with Trinity soldiers and Mayans. Apart from these enemies, this game brings back environmental threats. We see Lara tangling with giant eels, piranha hordes and jaguars!
The reboot series that breathed fresh life into Lara
Lara Croft's character got a new life with the reboot trilogy. Tomb Raider came out in 2013 and re-imagined Lara's origins. She was shown exploring Yamatai off the Japanese coast. Rise of the Tomb Raider saw Lara explore Kitezh in Siberia. The game showed her relationship with her father and how he died. Notably, Lara crossed paths with Trinity for the first time here.
Old wounds hurt the most
Lara's wrong pronunciation has opened an old debate. Fans have complained for the longest time how Americans mostly mispronounce 'Lara'. In interviews and game commentaries, Lara usually becomes Laura. Gamers even took to Steam community threads to express their disapproval. However, in the company's defense, Americans pronounce things differently, like 'schedule' and 'aluminum'. Lara is a Brit which is why her name gets mispronounced.
To err is human, to repeat it is stupid
Lara's name has been botched up so many times that the game's producer had to step up. Morgan Gray, the producer of 'Tomb Raider: Anniversary', the 2007 remake of the 1996 game, set the pronunciation correct in an interview. The best way to pronounce her name is to break it up. Say La-Ra separately. If you truly want to sound British speak Lah-Rah!
