Safehold names

Imaginos1892 wrote:I've found a few in the first 3 books. No attempts to replicate the tortuous Safehold spelling here.

Peter Sellers
Pat (Patrick) Stewart
Patrick McNee
---------------------
Bring out yer dead!

Don't forget Paitryk Hainree!

Actually, the shift in names began in the Terran Federation, unless Nimue's dad's family was simply into weird Welsh names. Her father's name was Daffyd.

BTW RFC has admitted that shifting the spelling of the names while keeping the rest of the language intact was a mistake, and he wouldn't do it if he were beginning the Safehold series today. After all, why should the spelling of names change when the language was locked in by the Writ and the Testimonies?

Accents vary by region regardless of spelling. Prior to radio, it was common for people in different areas of the U.S. to have difficulty understanding each other due to regional differences in pronunciation and grammar. Broadcasters eventually settled on St. Louis as a happy medium that most people could understand, and for a generation or two regional differences actually waned. Now I can't understand my own kids!

McGuiness wrote:

Imaginos1892 wrote:I've found a few in the first 3 books. No attempts to replicate the tortuous Safehold spelling here.

Peter Sellers
Pat (Patrick) Stewart
Patrick McNee
---------------------
Bring out yer dead!

Don't forget Paitryk Hainree!

Actually, the shift in names began in the Terran Federation, unless Nimue's dad's family was simply into weird Welsh names. Her father's name was Daffyd.

BTW RFC has admitted that shifting the spelling of the names while keeping the rest of the language intact was a mistake, and he wouldn't do it if he were beginning the Safehold series today. After all, why should the spelling of names change when the language was locked in by the Writ and the Testimonies?

Accents vary by region regardless of spelling. Prior to radio, it was common for people in different areas of the U.S. to have difficulty understanding each other due to regional differences in pronunciation and grammar. Broadcasters eventually settled on St. Louis as a happy medium that most people could understand, and for a generation or two regional differences actually waned. Now I can't understand my own kids!

You expected to understand your kids? Boy, you really do believe in miracles, don't you? Next thing you know, you will be expecting to understand women.

Keith_w wrote:

McGuiness wrote:Now I can't understand my own kids!

You expected to understand your kids? Boy, you really do believe in miracles, don't you? Next thing you know, you will be expecting to understand women.

You know me all too well! I'm clueless on both counts!

I have simply stopped reading them. The vague shape of the word and the context are sometimes sufficient. When it's not, well, it's not. Don't even try to talk to me about the Army of That Place You Never Knew Where It Was From The Beginning. They are all the Army of Anywhere to me. I can't tell the difference between their officers either anyway.

One Representative Army fighting against itself on a Representative Battlefield under a Representative Commanding Officer using Representative Weapons. That's Safehold.

McGuiness wrote:

Imaginos1892 wrote:I've found a few in the first 3 books. No attempts to replicate the tortuous Safehold spelling here.

Peter Sellers
Pat (Patrick) Stewart
Patrick McNee
---------------------
Bring out yer dead!

Don't forget Paitryk Hainree!

Actually, the shift in names began in the Terran Federation, unless Nimue's dad's family was simply into weird Welsh names. Her father's name was Daffyd.

BTW RFC has admitted that shifting the spelling of the names while keeping the rest of the language intact was a mistake, and he wouldn't do it if he were beginning the Safehold series today. After all, why should the spelling of names change when the language was locked in by the Writ and the Testimonies?

Accents vary by region regardless of spelling. Prior to radio, it was common for people in different areas of the U.S. to have difficulty understanding each other due to regional differences in pronunciation and grammar. Broadcasters eventually settled on St. Louis as a happy medium that most people could understand, and for a generation or two regional differences actually waned. Now I can't understand my own kids!

I lost patience with the names when I tried to tease out the difference between Grand Vicar Erek and Archbishop of Charis Erayk. Like others I then deemed the names as noise and only occasionally found myself spending far too much time in FOOLISHNESS!

Like many of you, I merely note the spelling of most names without trying to sound them out, especially of minor characters who we won't see again, such as during battles when the point of view shifts to a red shirt with a very limited lifespan.

I recognize the names visually if the characters appear again. That means I often miss the puns or real world names that RFC throws in as Easter eggs, but it makes reading the series much easier. I admit I'd have a richer experience if I could pronounce everyone's name, but it's simply not worth the effort. Even RFC agrees, since he wouldn't have the spelling of names drift over time if he could start the series over.

I can't pronounce Nimue the PICA's last name, and I never will. (Yes, I recognize that it's Welsh.) I just recognize it whenever it shows up, and she's a major character. Thank heavens Merlin, Cayleb, and Sharley have easily pronounceable names!

I do prefer to be able to 'vocalise' the names of major characters in novels - rather than it just being another semi-random character set (seemingly like the names of furniture at IKEA).

So for most characters in Safehold, I can work out the Zhan = John, and pronounce them the original English way; but as others have posted, there are some I just can't get. I suspect that means I miss a few RFC in-jokes and Easter Eggs, but hopefully not too many.

Charybdis" quote="McGuiness wrote:

Imaginos1892 wrote:I've found a few in the first 3 books. No attempts to replicate the tortuous Safehold spelling here.

Peter Sellers
Pat (Patrick) Stewart
Patrick McNee
---------------------
Bring out yer dead!

Don't forget Paitryk Hainree!

Actually, the shift in names began in the Terran Federation, unless Nimue's dad's family was simply into weird Welsh names. Her father's name was Daffyd.

BTW RFC has admitted that shifting the spelling of the names while keeping the rest of the language intact was a mistake, and he wouldn't do it if he were beginning the Safehold series today. After all, why should the spelling of names change when the language was locked in by the Writ and the Testimonies?

Accents vary by region regardless of spelling. Prior to radio, it was common for people in different areas of the U.S. to have difficulty understanding each other due to regional differences in pronunciation and grammar. Broadcasters eventually settled on St. Louis as a happy medium that most people could understand, and for a generation or two regional differences actually waned. Now I can't understand my own kids!

I lost patience with the names when I tried to tease out the difference between Grand Vicar Erek and Archbishop of Charis Erayk. Like others I then deemed the names as noise and only occasionally found myself spending far too much time in FOOLISHNESS![/quote]


The difference is in the spelling. What's the difference between Eric and Erick both are correct its just like the difference between Jon and John

Bahzellstudent wrote:I do prefer to be able to 'vocalise' the names of major characters in novels - rather than it just being another semi-random character set (seemingly like the names of furniture at IKEA).

So for most characters in Safehold, I can work out the Zhan = John, and pronounce them the original English way; but as others have posted, there are some I just can't get. I suspect that means I miss a few RFC in-jokes and Easter Eggs, but hopefully not too many.

FYI The product names in IKEA are generally Swedish and Norwegian town and city names...(although there was a little regional upset when they used Danish town names for floor mats....(touch of norske historical politics...)).

McGuiness wrote:Like many of you, I merely note the spelling of most names without trying to sound them out, especially of minor characters who we won't see again, such as during battles when the point of view shifts to a red shirt with a very limited lifespan.

I recognize the names visually if the characters appear again.

I am in awe of your, and other's, random character string differenciation skills. I have no idea how you do it. As for me, I am the very exemple of the reader in Azimov's letter about names.