i have a great idea for a story and i am working out all the kinks. what are some rules for naming alien societies?
Posted by Spaceman (Member # 9240) on :
It's your universe. You get to indulge yourself.
Posted by Jeraliey (Member # 2147) on :
Make them easily pronounceable. Names like Xfx'tsal, Thz'pla'vxc and suchlike just aren't fair to your readers.
Posted by wbriggs (Member # 2267) on :
If they're truly alien, they may have different sounds they can make. And of course they won't call themselves things based on Earth languages, at least before they meet us.
You can also translate their term for themselves.
Posted by tchernabyelo (Member # 2651) on :
Best tip for alien names - give them a consistency of feel that will allow a reader to get to grips with the strangeness a little more easily. For example, for placenames or even personal names, have repeated elements (this is very common in just about every Earth language I know; geographical features often appear in placenames, and patronymics in family names). If you want to be particularly keen, work out your actual alphabet for them (this can be fun, if distracting), so that you know what sounds will and won't work together, and what they can't pronounce if they try and talk someone else's langauge (they might not be able to pronounce p and b, for instance, like a bad ventriloquist).
But yes, as noted, make it reasonably phonetic. Azkwotl may not be easily pronounceable but at least it's pretty clear how it would be pronounced. Askpheiraubongi starts to give questions - is the ph actually an f or separate? Is that ng pronounced as in sing or singe? How are the diphthongs pronounced?
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
Actually, the questions it raised for me were "what is a bongi?" and "why should I ask for it?" Posted by tchernabyelo (Member # 2651) on :
And therein lies the problem!
Your questions should have been "what is a ubongi" It was a trick! The "au" wasn't a diphthong at all, but a disyllabic!!!
