How to Pronounce "Smaug"

 According to Tolkien’s description of general pronunciation rules (which you can find in Appendix E of LotR), “au" is pronounced like the vowels in "how" or "loud" (not like in "laud")

So, Smaug should be pronounced “sm ow g.” If it helps, remember that the “au" in Smaug should sound the same as the "au" in Sauron ("s ow ron”)

That being said, I personally grew up pronouncing Smaug so that it rhymed with “smog.” And, in writing this post, I realize that this is probably because the 1977 Rankin/Bass animated Hobbit movie that I grew up watching also pronounced Smaug like “smog.” You’ll probably find a lot of fans (especially, I think, in the US) who pronounce it “Smog” ((EDIT: Also, many non-English translations either write it as “Smog”, or otherwise encourage this pronunciation)), but the correct version is how the Peter Jackson movies are pronouncing it, which is “Smowg”

SOURCES: LOTR Appendix E

Originally posted on askmiddlearth.tumblr.com