Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Tuesday Talks | Hard to Pronounce Names


Welcome to another Tuesday Talks, a Goodreads group hosted by Janie and Janelle! Today we'll be talking about hard to pronounce names in books. There is not one of us that hasn't stumbled on a name, whether it be as complicated as Raskolnikov or as simple as Tobias, odds are you've stumbled upon it.

When I come across these types of names, usually one of two things will happen.

1. I completely butcher the name and continue to pronounce it like that in my head.

For example, when I read Divergent, I continually read Tobias as TO-BEE-US rather than TO-BY-US. I only realized I was wrong when I listened to the audiobook and then asked around how to pronounce the name in disbelief.

2. I give the character a shortened nickname and continue through the book.

When I read Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov was too long of a name to continually say in my head over and over again. So, I nicknamed him Ras and just called him that every time his name came across in the book.

Basically, rather than waste time stumbling through the name, I'll avoid the problem by nicknaming the character or just pronoune it wrong.

Are you guys the same way? Or do you have to get the name right, either by googling it or asking others? Let me know in the comments below! 

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