Thanks for all the replies.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ursa major  But does it really matter how a reader pronounces a name in their head? |
Well, I have no rational argument for this, but it annoys me to no end when people pronounce my names wrong.
Another way to help with this problem might be to have a footnote with the pronunciation rules whenever a name is used for the first time. What do you think about that? (This would be in addition to a central pronunciation guide, of course, not replacing it.)
One of the reasons I feel I need the glossary is to avoid "state breaks" inside the story. For instance, I have the Scathae (singular: Scatha), a race of reptillian humanoids. They are just as widespread as Humans and everyone knows who they are. So, the first time a Scatha is encountered in the story, it would feel unnatural to have an explanation of what a Scatha looks like. I want to be able to say:
"Ilcas Northstar was tall, with scales of cobalt blue. He pronounced ridges above both eyes, but the right one was chipped - evidently a scar from a past batle."
This describes Ilcas Northstar as an individual. I do not want to have to say:
"The Scatha had a long snout, a body covered in hard scales and a yard-long tail."
This information is an unnatural "state break", because there is no reason why a character would remark on this, since everyone in the story has seen a Scatha before and knows how they look.
Similarly, a "dax" and a "sphyle" is a male and a female Scatha, respectively. But since everyone in the story knows this, I want just use the words without introduction and let the reader look them up.
I could also use the glossary to describe the appearance of the main characters. This could spare me the trouble of having to covertly work it into the narrative. But that's less essential to the understanding of the story.