The Sword and Laser discussion

For those of you who listened to the audiobook (as I did) and wondered how words were spelled, I spent some time hunting them down. For those who read the book, I will try to convey the pronunciation of the narrator as best I can. They are listed in order of appearance in the book.

Arameri: [Air-uh-MAIR-ee] Sounds like "Air America" minus the C-A.
Yeine: [YAY-nuh] Rhymes with Jaina.
Kinneth: [kih-NETH] Emphasis on second syllable. Sounds like it's spelled K'neth.
Darre: [darr-AY] Rhymes with parlay.
Amn: [ah-mun] Think almond minus the L and D.
Dekarta: [da-KAR-tuh] Rhymes with Jakarta (Indonesia).
Senm: [sen-um] Rhymes with denim.
Itempas: [e-tem-pus] Sounds like a website for part-time workers.
Viraine: [vuh-RAIN] Rhymes with terrain.
Scimina: [seh-MEE-nuh] Rhymes with subpoena, patina, and arena.
Relad: [ruh-LODD] Rhymes with facade and jihad.
Arrebaia: [are-uh-buy-uh] No particular emphasis.
T'vril: [tuh-VRILL] Rhymes with Brazil.
Ygreth: [E-greth] Rhymes with pea breath.
Enefadeh: [en-uh-fod-uh] Rhymes with intifada and enchilada.
Nahadoth: [NAH-ha-doath] Rhymes with Baja (California) both.
Seih: [sea-uh] Like see ya later.
Zhakka: [jah-kuh] This one sounds like a combo of the french Jacques and the zulu Shaka. The full name Zhakkarn, second syllable gets the emphasis.
Shahar: [shuh-HARR] Rhymes with bazaar.
Enefa: [EH-nuh-fuh] Rhymes with enema.
Kurue: [koo-roo-AY] This one is tough to convey. Not a full roll, as in revolución, the narrator rolls the R in such a way that it sounds almost like a D. It reminds me of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnFT5n... Rhymes with Booty Bay.
Wohi Ubm: [WOE-hee OO-bum]
Rue: [roo-AY] Like the second and third syllables of Kurue.
Ras Onchi: [ROZ OWN-chee]
Sar-enna-nem: This one sounded like the narrator was saying "Sar N.N.M." quickly.
Beba: [BAY-buh]
Gemd: [GEH-mid]
Menchey: [men-chay]

That's nearly all the important stuff. I'm re-listening for anything I might've missed.

For the author's pronunciations (I found this later):
http://nkjemisin.com/2010/02/a-name-p...

Cheers dude! :)

Well, this is definitely going into tonights show...

Veronica wrote: "Well, this is definitely going into tonights show..."

Yes, 20 minutes of tonight's show will be me slowly reading the pronunciations and Veronica repeating them.

Tom: K00-roo-ay
Veronica: Koo-roo-ay?
Tom: Yes
Veronica; Got it
Tom Next, WOO-hee OO-bum
Veronica: WOH-hee OO-bum?
Tom: Almost WOO not WOH
Veronica: WOO-hee OO-bum
Tom: Right, next...

Tom wrote: "Yes, 20 minutes of tonight's show will be me slowly reading the pronunciations and Veronica repeating them."

Awesome.

Anyway, thanks for the pronounciation guide. That really cleared a few things up. It also makes me wonder, we all have a way of pronouncing things in our head when we read (or at least I do), so I'm not sure if it's always such a good idea to make up names for people and places and things for which it's not necessarily clear on how to pronounce them. In the case of AHTK it maybe added a bit to the strange detachment I felt from the story that I never really knew how to pronounce the character's names.

Anne wrote: "Awesome.

Anyway, thanks for the pronounciation guide. That really cleared a few things up. It also makes me wonder, we all have a way of pronouncing things in our head when we read (or at least I do), so I'm not sure if it's always such a good idea to make up names for people and places and things for which it's not necessarily clear on how to pronounce them ..."

To be fair, Jemisin writes: "The truth is, I don’t care how you pronounce them; it’s fiction, it’s not like any real people will be offended."

But I understand what you mean Anne. Whenever I read an unfamiliar name (or word for that matter), the pronunciation may bounce around in my head without ever settling one way or another. I can just imagine a live book club where one person calls her YEEN, another YAY-nee, and another ye-INE and so on. Hard to talk about the plot when everybody's arguing about the names. It's hard enough with semi-familiar names.

I have a friend who seems to pick the oddest pronunciations for characters. Even a simple name like Nicci, which I read as Nicky, he will pronounce Neesy. Usually the author is the arbiter of such disputes (via interviews and blogs). I wish all Sci-Fi/ Fantasy books with novel names and terms would include a pronunciation guide at the back and a glossary a la Dune.

You say tomayto, I say tomahto...

I tend to read fast, so I tend to take in the shapes of names rather than the exact order all the time. Especially with authors that go for genre-tropey names (5 consonants in a row, apostrophes, 27 character long names, you know the type.) As a result the names I come up with can be way off of the accepted pronunciations.

This ties back to the "how do you imagine characters when you read a novel" thread for me. I don't create an image of a character any more than I usually get a non-standard name, but I do attach a rough draft image of the character to the shape of the character's name. That image may get clearer as I progress through the book, but it never usually resolves itself to one image. Names are the same for me, I may realize my mind's pronunciation puts things out of place, but unless I need to talk to someone about it in person about it I rarely try to get a pronunciation down.

Of course once I need to pronounce a name, I will get it as right as I can.

Tom wrote: "Veronica wrote: "Well, this is definitely going into tonights show..."

Yes, 20 minutes of tonight's show will be me slowly reading the pronunciations and Veronica repeating them.

Tom: K00-roo-ay
..."

I love that this is exactly what happened, even after we joked about it.