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Safehold names

This fascinating series is a combination of historical seafaring, swashbuckling adventure, and high technological science-fiction. Join us in a discussion!
Re: Safehold names
Post by McGuiness   » Thu Apr 30, 2015 1:40 pm

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niethil wrote:
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.
Safehold certainly isn't the first series I've read with weird names. Tolkien had a few in his more obscure works, and some of the fantasy writers I've read come up with some pretty wild names - so unreadable and difficult to pronounce that merely recognizing the sequence of letters that make up the name is easier, and I'm a lazy reader in some respects.

So I suspect I'm far from the only person who reads this way, and recognizes character names that are difficult to pronounce by their spelling (as a group of letters) and not by how that combination of letters is pronounced.

It's sort of the same phenomenon of learning a new word, then encountering it several times in the next few days while you read, which has happened to me dozens of times. That indicates that I was automatically skipping that word and assigning it meaning based on the context in which it was used. For example, I see the word "sardonic" all the time now that I finally looked up what it means, although I subsequently seem to have forgotten its definition, so I'm back to gauging its meaning based on context although I realize now why I keep noticing the word.

I really ought to look it up in the dictionary again! :lol:

"Oh bother", said Pooh as he glanced through the airlock window at the helmet he'd forgotten to wear.
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Re: Safehold names
Post by SWM   » Thu Apr 30, 2015 3:49 pm

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McGuiness wrote:So I suspect I'm far from the only person who reads this way, and recognizes character names that are difficult to pronounce by their spelling (as a group of letters) and not by how that combination of letters is pronounced.

I read that way, too. When I'm reading at speed, I don't even try to "hear" the words in my head. If I slow down, or try to analyze a text, I do "hear" the words. But when I come across a name whose pronunciation I don't know, I automatically make an instantaneous guess and continue on. I usually don't give it a second thought, unless something causes me to rethink it. It does cause some mental jarring when I realize, "Oh, that was just a funny way of spelling XXX". :)

It reminds me of when I was seven or eight. I was asked to read our current reading book out loud for the class. The book had a pretty advanced vocabulary with colloquial spellings, but I just plowed through it, pronouncing it as best I could. One new word kept popping up every other sentence, so I just pronounced "dammen" and continued on. After several minutes, the teacher corrected my pronunciation. Embarressed, I told the teacher I wasn't supposed to use words like that and handed the The Devil and Dan'l Webster back to the teacher. :oops:
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Re: Safehold names
Post by Imaginos1892   » Tue May 12, 2015 7:48 pm

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Maybe the wierd names were a really nasty joke by one of the crew?
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Re: Safehold names
Post by evilauthor   » Thu May 14, 2015 12:45 am

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Honestly, the names get pronounced in my head phonetically as spelled. So when I read "Nahrmahn", my head says "nar min" and not "Norman", and "Kynt" gets pronounced as "kint" and not "Kent".

I have worked out most of the origins for the various names, but they don't affect how I actually read the names.

Really, this is a clever way to get foreign sounding names without actually using foreign names or defaulting to the "Standard Book of Exotic Names". And if it weren't for the "archangel" mandated culture lock, it would make perfect sense to use them.
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Re: Safehold names
Post by Dalin   » Tue Jan 12, 2016 12:25 pm

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I am rereading tho whole series and it struck me.
Archbishop of Chisholm in OAR was Vyncyt Zherohm which could be the same as Wencit of Rum. :lol:
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Re: Safehold names
Post by JeffEngel   » Tue Jan 12, 2016 8:04 pm

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Dalin wrote:I am rereading tho whole series and it struck me.
Archbishop of Chisholm in OAR was Vyncyt Zherohm which could be the same as Wencit of Rum. :lol:

Weeeeell... Wencit is certainly exotic, but simultaneously living in a different universe may be a bit busy for even him. Also, if that's the case, Archbishop Zherohm could be doing a bit more than he apparently has. :P
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Re: Safehold names
Post by n7axw   » Wed Jan 13, 2016 1:27 am

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Keith_w wrote:
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. :D


No male, especially a mere husband, will ever understand women. After all, we are one chromosone short of a full load.

Don

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When any group seeks political power in God's name, both religion and politics are instantly corrupted.
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Re: Safehold names
Post by saber964   » Thu Jan 14, 2016 8:17 pm

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n7axw wrote:
Keith_w wrote:
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. :D


No male, especially a mere husband, will ever understand women. After all, we are one chromosone short of a full load.

Don

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There are several rules when trying to understand women.

First is that there are no rules.
Expect the unexpected.
They are always right and you are always wrong even if you are right. If you find yourself in the right apologize profusely for being right.(groveling is strongly recommended)
If any man says that he has figured out women he shall be deemed insane and committed to protect himself from society.
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