Today's topic: Character Names in Books that I Can’t Pronounce. I usually come up with my own pronunciation when I read books with character names that are unfamiliar to me. But in books that I write, I try to give the reader a sense of how it should be pronounced.
The heroine of my werewolf saga, Saoirse McColl, has a hard-to-pronounce name indeed. When I first read the name in a movie review, I was intrigued. The reviewer said it was pronounced SIR-shah. Of course that's not how it looks, but then I have a bestie who named her daughter Siobhan, and it's pronounced She-VAWN. The first time I subbed for a student who had the same name, she was quite surprised that I knew how to say her name correctly. I said, "We Gaelic folks have to stick together." Remember Sinead, the bald Irish singer? Her name was pronounced She-NADE.
So since my heroine is first-generation American of Irish descent, I thought it was a good choice for her name. Since her middle name is Ann, some of her friends call her SAM. It's hard to make a nickname out of her real name!
So since my heroine is first-generation American of Irish descent, I thought it was a good choice for her name. Since her middle name is Ann, some of her friends call her SAM. It's hard to make a nickname out of her real name!
The primary heroine of my vampire saga, Keesha, has a name that's not too difficult to pronounce. But the secondary heroine is Chinese, and her name is Niu Ying. Here is the note I supply for readers:
Readers please note: In this part of the story, a female is introduced as Niu Ying. In the Chinese tradition, her family name is Niu, which is pronounced "Ne-ow." Her given name is Ying, pronounced "Yeeng."
But there are very old vampires in the story, and their names may be daunting. Apolinar and Casimiro have been lovers for centuries. Their names are pretty straightforward. But the Mayan names for their gods are problematic, since no one has spoken Mayan for many years. Xaman-Ek is the name of the ancient Mayan vampire who resembles a mummy due to his age. Ixtab is the name of a Mayan goddess. I guess any reader's idea of how to pronounce their names would be as good as mine.
To read what other authors have to say on this interesting subject, head to the sign up page and check them out: /www.longandshortreviews.com/miscellaneous-musings/wednesday-weekly-blogging-challenge-for-july-22-2020/
Readers please note: In this part of the story, a female is introduced as Niu Ying. In the Chinese tradition, her family name is Niu, which is pronounced "Ne-ow." Her given name is Ying, pronounced "Yeeng."
But there are very old vampires in the story, and their names may be daunting. Apolinar and Casimiro have been lovers for centuries. Their names are pretty straightforward. But the Mayan names for their gods are problematic, since no one has spoken Mayan for many years. Xaman-Ek is the name of the ancient Mayan vampire who resembles a mummy due to his age. Ixtab is the name of a Mayan goddess. I guess any reader's idea of how to pronounce their names would be as good as mine.
To read what other authors have to say on this interesting subject, head to the sign up page and check them out: /www.longandshortreviews.com/miscellaneous-musings/wednesday-weekly-blogging-challenge-for-july-22-2020/
