We're back on our regular update schedule, barring any major disasters. This will be the last Kernel of Insight for a bit, but more on that at the end. For now, enjoy this look into mispronunciation.
Kernel of Insight: Mispronunciation
This Kernel
of Insight is where we talk about something that all writers, entrepreneurs,
and indeed anyone with a creative flair needs to actually understand. A name is worth a great deal of
power...however, that name loses something when it is mispronounced or when it
is misunderstood. The best example given
to me was during a game design course where there was a horror story of someone
who made a company as an entrepreneur that was named in a rather complex
manner. Ninajeering. A pun on ninja and engineering. It was difficult to pronounce and checks as
well as publicity was very skewed against them due to miscommunication of the
name.
Now, let's
fast forward to the present. I'm writing
my story and anyone with half a brain, except me of course, has noticed that
Daryl, who is a girl, sounds like a boys name.
I did this because of a character in Final Fantasy 6 named Darril, who
was a woman, however my memory must have skewed the spelling. Right there, that is going to need to be
either changed or corrected because if no one knows how to say the name,
something is lost. Look at the other
names of characters. Mina, Celine, Kano, Aeon, Vincent,
these names are either short and very easy to pronounce phonetically or
familiar enough in the popular culture that the pronunciation is a given. Something like Demino, Goetia, or Weiss risks
a slight amount of alienation due to the name being a bit more complex or
difficult to pronounce due to cultural differences, but it is sometimes worth
the risk to make an impression or to make a reference to real world objects
that will give the story some added depth.
However, it is important not to create a name that will turn people off unless that is the specific intention. Duke Nukem is a name that is a massive pun, but the game and character were originally conceived as a parody/deconstruction/tribute of first person shooters so it was meant to be ironic. The name naturally turned off some people, but kept the audience the game was looking for. By that same merit, naming a girl a Mary Sue name, like Atlantiana, which is both difficult to pronounce and smacks of "this character is meant to be important" foreshadowing will likely turn off people because rather than being ironic or what have you, you are trying to make your character a special fucking snowflake, pardon my French. The only way to counter this is to have characters with similarly outlandish names, which also risks mispronunciation and lack of impact.
Naming conventions are a difficult thing at the best of times, so this is kind of a big deal for writers. Characters are meant to be reflections of their experiences, desires, dreams, etc. given a life of their own, so if they cannot even have a name of their own, then...we have a bit of a problem. Putting all that aside, however, this is also why writers need someone to read their work cold, to get the barest impressions of it, and to hear back from them. Because if a writer tells you how a name is pronounced, even if your brain says otherwise, you'll likely go to what you've heard is accurate. However, if you haven't heard anything from the writer, then your brain will go to the next most accurate scenario, which will give more helpful feedback on naming conventions, as well as a general feel for the piece.
I had no one really to read my work and help me with this, so it was only later that I realized the mispronunciation with Daryl's name. This is why I either try and give character relatively short names or names that are phonetically quite easy to pronounce. Going back to Deminos, it isn't a common name, however it rolls off the tongue phonetically. De-mi-nos. It's pretty easy to say. This is something that some writers don't think about, but really need to. If a character's name isn't something they wanna say or think about because of how byzantine is it, then they will just remember them as "that guy" or "That girl."
However, it is important not to create a name that will turn people off unless that is the specific intention. Duke Nukem is a name that is a massive pun, but the game and character were originally conceived as a parody/deconstruction/tribute of first person shooters so it was meant to be ironic. The name naturally turned off some people, but kept the audience the game was looking for. By that same merit, naming a girl a Mary Sue name, like Atlantiana, which is both difficult to pronounce and smacks of "this character is meant to be important" foreshadowing will likely turn off people because rather than being ironic or what have you, you are trying to make your character a special fucking snowflake, pardon my French. The only way to counter this is to have characters with similarly outlandish names, which also risks mispronunciation and lack of impact.
Naming conventions are a difficult thing at the best of times, so this is kind of a big deal for writers. Characters are meant to be reflections of their experiences, desires, dreams, etc. given a life of their own, so if they cannot even have a name of their own, then...we have a bit of a problem. Putting all that aside, however, this is also why writers need someone to read their work cold, to get the barest impressions of it, and to hear back from them. Because if a writer tells you how a name is pronounced, even if your brain says otherwise, you'll likely go to what you've heard is accurate. However, if you haven't heard anything from the writer, then your brain will go to the next most accurate scenario, which will give more helpful feedback on naming conventions, as well as a general feel for the piece.
I had no one really to read my work and help me with this, so it was only later that I realized the mispronunciation with Daryl's name. This is why I either try and give character relatively short names or names that are phonetically quite easy to pronounce. Going back to Deminos, it isn't a common name, however it rolls off the tongue phonetically. De-mi-nos. It's pretty easy to say. This is something that some writers don't think about, but really need to. If a character's name isn't something they wanna say or think about because of how byzantine is it, then they will just remember them as "that guy" or "That girl."
I'm still
trying to get out of bad habits as I write, however the more you write, the
more experience you get in life, the more you do anything, the clearer your
picture of the whole story and its flaws will be. I've only recently come to understand
mispronunciation and how damaging to a reputation it can be, but it follows the
same principal.
I'd like to take a moment to step back and also add that I am going to be taking a short break from Kernel of Insight for a while, due to the fact that I need to stock up on topics to discuss. So, I'll also introduce a new weekly update system. I'm going to try and keep having one update a week on the blog, however if it cannot be a chapter, then it should be something related.
As such, next week, unless the chapter is finished, we will be starting Character Spotlights, where we discuss the inspirations for characters, their evolutions over time, and what I may have learned from them.
I'd like to take a moment to step back and also add that I am going to be taking a short break from Kernel of Insight for a while, due to the fact that I need to stock up on topics to discuss. So, I'll also introduce a new weekly update system. I'm going to try and keep having one update a week on the blog, however if it cannot be a chapter, then it should be something related.
As such, next week, unless the chapter is finished, we will be starting Character Spotlights, where we discuss the inspirations for characters, their evolutions over time, and what I may have learned from them.
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