Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Teresa Edgerton The name that most people have the most trouble with -- Éireamhóine -- is not even one I invented . . . |
When I read a book with complicated names, I don't worry about how to pronounce the names (unless one character explains to another how a name should be pronounced). I don't even try to guess, and I usually ignore any accompanying pronunciation guide. I just boil the name down to whatever seems easiest for me to remember, even though I know I'm probably wrong. For example, the name Teresa mentions -- Éireamhóine -- turns into something like EAR-reem-hoyn in my head, which isn't even close to the correct pronunciation (AIR-ah-vhoyn).
I figure, what the heck. Unless I'm going to have a verbal conversation about the book (as opposed to a conversation online), no one's going to complain or test me on it. And, to be honest, I often forget characters' names when I'm done reading, even if they are easy names, so my verbal conversations tend to refer to characters (even Tolkien characters!) elliptically: "the A-woman I wish had married Aragorn, not the A-elf who did". (OK, I feel stupid doing that, but it's what I do.)
What DOES give me difficulty when I'm reading are books in which there are one or more names that look much the same on the page, especially if there are several complex names that all start with the same capital letter. To pick an example from
The Hidden Stars, because we're in Madeline's thread: "Rionnagh" and "Réodan" made me stumble, mainly because I'd reduced them both to "Ree-and-two-more-syllables" in my head.
But if it takes complicated names to get the book written, so be it.
