tolkiens legendarium - Is "Smaug" pronounced "Smog"?

Did Tolkien the linguist intend for the name of the dragon Smaug to be pronounced "Smog" [IPA: /smɒɡ/ or /smɔːɡ/]? The trailer for the second installment of The Hobbit trilogy pronounces the word (pronounced 'sma-ow-g' [IPA: /smaʊɡ/]) entirely differently than the way I have been reading it for all these many years.

Answer

"Therefore names such as Sauron or Smaug are pronounced like Sow-ron or sm-ow-g." According to the LOTR Wiki.

Also this references Appendix E – Writing and Spelling: I. Pronunciation of Words and Names.

I had always read it as sm-og until I heard the guys from MST3K / RiffTrax say it this other way. Then I looked it up.

Comments

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