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Q&A Do hard to pronounce names break immersion?

I don't think strange names break immersion; I think names that cannot be sounded out (correctly or not) break immersion. "Hermione" can be sounded out. "J'xyx'brtl" is too hard to sound out, and ...

posted 6y ago by Amadeus‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-19T22:13:39Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/41760
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T10:45:06Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/41760
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T10:45:06Z (almost 5 years ago)
I don't think _strange_ names break immersion; I think names that cannot be _sounded out_ (correctly or not) break immersion.

"Hermione" can be sounded out. "J'xyx'brtl" is too hard to sound out, and for me would be likely to break immersion every time I see it, because my reading system stumbles over it.

But whether readers get "HER-My-Own" or "HER-Me-Un" or "Her-MY-Oh-Nee" doesn't make a difference, their eyes can glide over "Hermione" without a stumble.

For "Jiolluav" I would probably read "JOLE-Uf", similar to "JO-seph". I wouldn't have a "Zh" sound. In my fiction, names are one, two or three syllables if common (like "Christina"), mostly two syllables. If they need to be longer, I may give them a nickname as well, for dialogue.

Making reading difficult; by using hard to read names or foreign or alien words, by twisting grammar, are ways the text itself can break immersion. Making a reader read a passage more than once just to understand it is (IMO) bad writing.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2019-01-30T11:36:47Z (almost 6 years ago)
Original score: 9