Saturday, February 18, 2012

WHY (11)


This week the question I have been thinking about is, why don't more books have pronunciation guides?

     Authors create amazing worlds and characters but sometimes I find it difficult to pronounce some of the words that they create. Have you ever been reading and all of the sudden you stumble upon a word you have never seen before? Sounding it out is kind of useless since most of the time these names, places, creatures, are derived from languages I don't speak or at other times they are made up. For example when reading the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead I came across words I had no clue how to say such as strigoi, moroi, or dhampire.  I still don't know how to say them. I can make an educated guess but most of the time my pronunciation and the correct pronunciations aren't even close. I hate when I have to trip over these words as I am reading. Try explaining a book to someone and you have to work around these words since saying them out loud is not even possible. When I did talk about the book I had to use words like bad vampires(strigoi), good vampires(moroi), mix between humans and good vampires(dhampire). No I didn't sound weird. Okay, maybe I did. I just think it would make reading and explaining these books a little easier if books with new or different words had some type of pronunciation guide. 

     So imagine my surprise when I picked up Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout and what did I find, a pronunciation guide. It made reading words like hematoi, apollyon, Agapi Mou, really easy. I didn't have to try and figure out how to say these words. When I gushed about this book I found it so much easier to explain things since I was able to use the proper terms without sounding like I was making up my own language. This is the only book that I have come across or remember reading that has a pronunciation guide. 


Have you ever come across books that you wish had some type of pronunciation guide? Or have you read books that have a guide? If so let me know.



6 comments:

  1. I've read books with glossaries a couple of times, some of them also included pronounciation guides. However, I didn't find them necessary. Maybe it's because I've learned a couple of different languages and make up a clear-sounding pronounciation just from the arrangement of the letters. But yes, I find some terms still quite difficult to read, but even more difficult to keep in mind. I really don't know if I could hold on to the fact that moroi are good vampires, I'd probably have to wirte that down and place the sheet in the book so I can look things up (yay for glossaries!) BUT I've talked about certain books with people who do not have so much experience with languages than myself, and they told me the same thing as you. And sometimes they use a word from a book I should know, but they pronounce it so wrong-sounding to my ears that I either don't even get what they're saying, or laugh my ass off. :P

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    1. I find it funny that two people can read the same book yet pronounce the words so differently. And the way the other person says it always sounds wrong to me since I've gotten used to that way I say it.

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  2. I've seen a several books with guides, even if I can't really recall the titles off the top of my head. Mainly because I just skimmed that part and never paid it any attention...

    When I encounter a word made up, I just read it "as it sounds". I understand that this might produce wild results, but it's the only comfortable thing for me. And, taking into account that usually odd words are never read properly anyway (I mean, have you heard fragments of latin in an English audiobook? Ewww... Butchered language, I tell you) I figure it doesn't matter.

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    1. I guess as long as the reader is comfortable with how they pronounce or think the word it doesn't really matter as long as I don't have to talk publicly about it I'll be fine.
      My family and friends already think I'm crazy so if I say weird words they don't mind.

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    2. LOL really? That's cute. I don't talk about books with my family that much, totally different interests. But I think it'd be funny to have them tell you "What the heck are you talking about now??". ^^

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    3. Luckily for me I have a few readers in my family with the same book tastes as I have. In fact my sister is a crazy reader so we can gush about the books together.

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