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You are producing a written work. The look of it matters, as a written document. And a c looks different to a k, and sets off different associations in the mind. Notably, Latin has no k (it has a ...
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#4: Attribution notice removed
by
System
·
2020-02-03T13:22:41Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/17478 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added
by
System
·
2019-12-08T04:17:46Z (about 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/17478 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision
You are producing a _written work_. The look of it matters, as a written document. And a _c_ looks different to a _k_, and sets off different associations in the mind. Notably, Latin has no _k_ (it has a hard _c_, as you are proposing), and very few high-register words in English have a _k_. It is for this reason that Tolkien, master philologist, chose to represent the _k_ sound in Adûnaic and Khuzdul with a _k_, but the same sound in Quenya and Sindarin with a _c_. In other words, I think your idea is a good one. You are writing for the eye as much as, or more than, the ear. _K_ is harsh to the English eye; _c_ is refined. _K_ is Germanic and low register; _c_ is Latinate and high register. A short and simple pronunciation note will do the trick: these are hardly unusual in fantasy novels. Some readers will skip it, but this is not a problem: if some readers’ internal voice pronounce some names incorrectly, so be it.
#1: Imported from external source
by
System
·
2015-05-28T16:13:41Z (over 9 years ago)
Original score: 4