InterGalactic Phonetic Alphabet
Since we're dealing with foreign cultures here, I thought I'd start a discussion regarding the pronounciation and spelling of the various names and terms that crop up in the story.
Let me begin by saying that every name I put in this story is carefully chosen and evaluated. I do know how I pronounce them, and I realize how difficult they are. This I did on purpose, but that purpose is not to frustrate anyone.
One of the themes in my writing is cultural differences. I love diversity and am constantly fascinated by how differently societies work towards similiar ends. Another of my fascinations is with languages. Languages are some of the most beautiful and retarded things in the universe.
I am bilunigual and grew up in a multi-national setting. Pronouncing foreign words is easier for me than many of my countrymen because of this and my respect for other methods of communication. I've noticed that many people (myself included) can have a difficult time saying sounds not including in their native lexicon.
For example, many native Cantonese-speakers have difficulty with the "L" sound. It's not in their language, so it's hard for them to learn it. If you've never learned German, saying "Nacht" correctly can be hard for you. Russian will hurt your throat when you first begin practicing it. None of these is wrong, bad, or deficient in any way; they are merely different.
For these stories, we up the ante by adding in different species. The physical attributes of these Races enables them to produce sounds that other Races may not be able to replicate. In the case of the Yerbran people, they produce sound, vocalize, by means of the aural chambers in their heads. I don't know of any humans who have chambers in their heads whose primary function is vocalization. The sinuses are part of our sound production, but the bulk of it comes from our vocal chords and related anatomy. Ergo, Yerbran sounds are not possible for us to reproduce without significant enhancement.
That doesn't keep me from trying, and I hope it won't keep you from making your own attempts. In fact, that is what this Forum topic is for!
How do YOU think these names should be pronounced? Do you think they should have extra sound effects added to them? For example, do Uffniorns sound kind of gloppy when they speak, since they're like slugs? Or do they bark like dogs? Do Engrads have a lilt in their tone? How many octaves does normal Yerbran speech span?
You can help me create the InterGalactic Phonetic Alphabet for the Mutuality. Have at it!
Dream the impossible. Happen to life.
@}----'--,--------- @}-----'--,---------
Allright, I'll kick things
Allright, I'll kick things off and give this a try. For Jregli, I always had a mental pronunciation where I assumed the "J" was silent and the "li" on the end was stretched. So I guess the pronunciation made it sound like Reg-lee. Probably wrong, but hey I took a shot.
Well, for me Jregli sounds
Well, for me Jregli sounds like ee-reg-lee (being German, I pronounce it like a German word)
mjkj
Well, you two; there are
Well, you two; there are several new words to consider! What's your take on the most recent additions?
It can be pronounced as it's
It can be pronounced as it's written in English. Jreg-li, where the 'e' is the same as in "egg" and the 'i' is long as in "lee". I pronounce "J" as the normal English 'dzh', rather than a Latin-style 'j / y / i / h' conglomerate (e.g. Jesus as Latin Iesus or Spanish /h/-esus). So I can say it as Jregli, or if I'm speaking a bit sloppily, it might sound sorta like Dzregli. An 'r' can work as a consonant or a vowel, so a consonant-plus-'r' combination isn't that difficult for humans.
No idea if that's what you want for a Yerban, name, but that's how it reads IMO. All those aural chambers - wouldn't their language have a lot of hooting/echoing/resonant elements to it? It could easily include multiple pitches at once, anyway. They could talk or sing a whole chord or even all the tones in a scale simultaneously, it sounds like. Depends on how much distinct control there is over the various aural membranes that were mentioned. If Jregli lacked that ability because of the damage, it would make her voice rather flat in comparison to a regular Yerbans'.
M, that's beautiful. Just
M, that's beautiful. Just beautiful. *sniff* I'm glad that someone else, even if it's just one person in the whole wide world, took a minute to think about how to pronounce the unpronouncable. Yes, I am a nerd.
You've hit several points exactly here. Yerbran speech does indeed have a lot more to it than ours does, such as hooting/echoing sounds that are as important to their language as differences in pronouncing letters are to each of ours. The best example I can think of to direct you guys to is Ambassador Kash from Babylon 5; his kind of echoing speech is the closest to what I've always "heard" Yerbran speech to be. Theirs isn't quite as "ethereal" as Kash's, but it's a starting point.
If you look back to the first time Shdr'edno appears, you see an example of him singing; there's mention of how he manipulates his chambers and uses his throat to add polyphony. Thier normal speech is what we would call musical, and to our ears, it's very rich. Our aural range isn't great enough to hear all of the sounds they can produce, although we can be aware of them sub-conciously. A sub-sonic pitch can either agitate or calm us, depending on the frequency. Same for a super-sonic pitch.
Yerbran singing, as you will learn in soon-to-come pages, is quite incredible. I won't spoil it now, tho.
At least, I think it's incredible, but that's because I'm a hopeless case.
As alluded to in the medical evaluation of pages 33-35, there are several major bones in the aural chamber and multiple membranes that a Yerbran has direct control over; this is how they create sound. Pretty much the same way we manipulate our vocal chords, actually. There's just more for them to work with.
Wow; this reply is forever long. I'm going to stop typing now. For now.
Urbii, Mahl... ...Urbii, as
Urbii, Mahl...
together also Oorbee
mjkj
Commander Neim, Trogvan,
Commander Neim, Trogvan, Drifn
- I pronounce Commander Neim as I do aim. So N-aim or Name
- as for Trogvan, I pronounce him with a short o like in bot or robot and an open a like in but or butter, the v I pronounce like in Obi Wan
- Drifn I pronounce like driving where I replace the first i-sound with the second one and drop the g or Dri like dripping and then just add the fn (like in fnord)
mjkj
Ah, long time no update
Ah, long time no update here...
Jrge'lla - I think is pronounced like tshrdshe-yia with the ll like the spanish ll - but I for myself will pronounce her now as Yrgella with the y like ee and the g like g in egg and the ll like a short L...
mjkj
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