I wish to use pronouncers in a story. The question is how best to use them. In parentheses?
For example:
"Her last name is Xiques." (pronounced Hick-ees)
"The skunk looked like a striped kitty." (He pronounced striped with two syllables - Stry-pid).
"I'm Talliferro." (pronounced Tolliver).
"We'll go directly." (He pronounced it drek-le).
"I spell my name L-o-u-i-s-a, and I pronounce it Lu-I-za"
Most tend to put a pronunciation guide at the start, or end.
Myself, I never really care. Is not like there is a standard pronunciation for Mxyzptlk.
Mxyzptlk.
Mixy ze potlick. I think there were languages where you could put in any vowels you wanted, what was written was just the consonants.
Mixy ze potlick. I think there were languages where you could put in any vowels you wanted, what was written was just the consonants.
Well, it has been pronounced several ways.
miks-yez-PIT-ษl-ik, Miks-ILL-plik, MICK-sill-plick, Miks-yez-pittle-ik, the list just goes on and on. Not even DC can decide how a character they created has his name pronounced.
And are there vowels in a language from the Fifth Dimension?
And are there vowels in a language from the Fifth Dimension?
You do not want to go anywhere near the Fifth Dimension vowel movement. :)
You do not want to go anywhere near the Fifth Dimension vowel movement.
Is the vowel movement like a bowel movement?
Is the vowel movement like a bowel movement?
Yes, it's very messy and it smells bad.
Mixy ze potlick. I think there were languages where you could put in any vowels you wanted, what was written was just the consonants.
In written Arabic and Hebrew you can leave out the vowels if you wish.
In written Arabic and Hebrew you can leave out the vowels if you wish.
ISTR ancient Greek omitted vowels and spaces. Add in that it was all one case...
In written Arabic and Hebrew you can leave out the vowels if you wish.
If I remember from Hebrew school, Hebrew has vowels but Yiddish does not.
Unless it is critical to the story line, I won't even bother.
The last example works, if it can be in the dialog but, other than that, it becomes pretty awkward unless your are writing as the narrator.
I knew him well and his announcement of "I'm Talliferro," was a deliberate affectation designed to cause issues later. Since he pronounced it 'Tolliver' but spelled it like pretentious Eurotrash, he would be sure to take offense if anyone pronounced it as it was spelled. Smith, Smythe, Bite-me.
I can tell you how David Baldacci and his publisher did it in the novel I just finished.
He would explain it within commas after the word (or abbreviation if he was explaining what the abbreviation stood for). But I'm not sure I remember that happening in dialogue.
I've kind of gone back and forth on this (with a few books about another culture full of aliens, all speaking telepathically but with their own unique names. But, in the end, the most graceful way is to do it via dialogue.
This depends on context, but typically, if someone is introduced with an unusual name, the person will clarify the pronunciation. While that's a no-brainer for names (with common Earthly references to invoke) it's still the most graceful approach.
The parentheses works, except when it doesn't, which is the majority of the time. Since few readers will even read back matter (aka. glossaries), and parentheses are predominately used in non-fiction (fiction typically uses em-dashes for asides, at least in literary fiction), they'll stand out as a back-assword approach to a common problem.
In my next book on SOL (which begins publishing next week) the characters discuss a acronym with an unusual pronunciation (in order to discuss the name in public), but here, the key is again a common reference (ex: "It's similar to 'Alfred'".)
few readers will even read back matter (aka. glossaries)
Really, the only people who really care about pronunciation are going to be the writer and those who check to find the answer. Anyone who doesn't will simply assume some pronunciation that may or may not be correct, and who cares?
I recall several fantasy novels (which included usage of words/phrases from fictional languages, in addition to numerous unique names) end notes explaining either meanings or identities, as well as providing pronunciations.
In general, you don't need to provide a reader with how a name or word is pronounced. However, there's a few times where I've found it useful to do to help make a point. In Odd Man in College I have a scene where I show a difference in how a name is said and written to make a point about localised accents:
They shake hands and the man says, "I'm Daniel Reeshard and this is Angelica Dubois." Lyn notices the paperwork in his lap says Daniel Richard, so he figures it must be a local pronunciation thing.
I find having someone say it with the phonetic variant is the best way to provide such information. However, way in the past I did use the following method:
The Amir (pronounced a-mear) Clan has ruled Berant since the sixth century AD / CE. For over a thousand years they're the premier clan in the Amiri tribe (pronounced a-mear-e) and the largest clan in the country. The crown goes to the eldest male of the senior Amir line, usually the King's eldest son, unless an Amir Clan Council rules that person ineligible, which is a very rare event.
Born Gerald Herbert Mannheim on 1st March, 1942, the son of a US construction engineer working for a French company in Berana and a Berant woman of the Ber Clan (pronounced bear).
The Kotar Plain stretches from the Amir Mountains in the north to the Darunch Mountains (pronounced da-roonch) in the south. Both mountain ranges run from the coast to the Burran Mountains in the west. Both the Darunch and Amir Mountains are slightly curved with a southern bulge in the centre. All of the ranges have heavy forests at their bases with tropical jungle covering the top third of them. They all have steep slopes and sheer cliffs abound throughout the mountains.
Historically two tribes fought over control of the Kotar Plain for centuries. Such good grain growing lands are rare because the mountainous tropical forests are the norm. The Amira, originally a sub-tribe of the Amiri, had settled the northern half of the plain by spreading out from the Amir Mountains. The Darunchi (pronounced da-roonch-ee) who settled the Darunch Mountains didn't settle the plain at all as they lived only in the mountains. Eventually the Amira crossed the river and spread out across the southern half of the plain. They lived on the plain for several generations before coming into contact with the Darunchi.
You could have a character mispronounce it and have the character correct.
"Hey, I know this is your first day Louisa but do you want to go to Studs and Clubs with us? It's a male strip bar."
"It's Lu-I-za and I would love too."
