It has come to my attention that the pronunciation of some
of the names and places in my novel, Motes, elude many readers. In an attempt to remedy this, I have created
a list of character names, places and other words that might be troublesome.
Most of these words are Darjian in origin. The language of the Mu’ahi is, of
course, nothing like any language found on Earth. The way these words are
expressed in the book are approximations as close as can be done using common
English letters.
I hope this guide is interesting and useful for you and that
it brings you more enjoyment from your reading. It is by no means exhaustive. If there are additional words from the book you would like me to expound upon, drop me a message here or send an e-mail to tilmerwrightjr@gmail.com.
If this post confuses you because you are unfamiliar with my book, you can find a nice review here... http://redcityreview.com/reviews/motes-by-tilmer-wright-jr/
Enough marketing - on with the guide!
Names of
Characters
Zhor Remmin – Daughter of Lah
“Zor” – Rhymes with “Four”
“Remmin” – Rhymes with “Lemon”
Lah Remmin – Father of Zhor
“La”, as in “Fa-la-la-la-la”
Axila Remmin – Mother of Zhor
“Axe” + “I” as in “Kitten” + “La”. Accent is on the middle
syllable. Rhymes roughly with “Godzilla”.
Thom Finch – Son of Hugh
Pronounced like “Tom”. The “H” is silent, as in “Thomas”.
Nar Synna – Commander
“Nar” rhymes with “Car”. “Synna” is pronounced like the
first two syllables of “Cinnamon”.
Kel Transik – Scout
“Kel” rhymes with “Tell”. Last name is pronounced “TRAN-sick”
Coe Bahrn – Scout
“Coe” rhymes with “Snow”. “Bahrn” is pronounced just like “Barn”.
Og Hassit – Scout Team Manager
“Og” rhymes with “Cog”.
“Hassit” is pronounced “HASS-it”
Lum Ihtwal – Keeper of the Holy Scriptures of Ro’ini
“Lum” rhymes with “Gum”.
“Ihtwal is pronounced “IT-wall”
Sku Guytl – Engineer
“Sku” rhymes with “True”. “Guytl” is pronounced “GUY-tull”
with a de-emphasis on the short “u” sound. Run the “T” and “L” together, just
as it looks.
Ghama Ettinor – Linguist
“Ghama” rhymes with “Pajama”. “Ettinor” is pronounced “ETT-in-or”,
pretty much like it looks.
Tya Habb – Linguist
“Tya” is pronounced “TIE-ah”. “Habb” rhymes with “Crab”.
Ymata Kalzor – Navigator
“Ymata” is pronounced “ee-MAH-tah”. “Kalzor” is pronounced “KAL-zor”. The “Zor”
portion is pronounced just like Zhor’s name.
Ahrv Golzhin – Scout Khalana
The “H” is silent in “Ahrv”. The name rhymes with “Carve”. “Golzhin”
is pronounced “GOAL-zin”. The “Zin” portion
rhymes with “Pin”.
Dit Tanno – Scout Khalana
“Dit” rhymes with “Kit”. “Tanno” is pronounced “TAN-no”.
Xix Chronna – Mu’ahi physicist who was the first to propose “bending”
“Xix” rhymes with “Kicks” and begins with a “Z” sound as in “Zoo”
“Chronna” rhymes with the western name, “Donna”
Cuyt Mullek – Early pioneer in bending technology
“Cuyt” is pronounced “COO-eat”
“Mullek” is pronounced “MULL-ick”
Ro’ini – Deity to the Mu’ahi
Pronounced “row-EE-knee”
Lord Feynhardt – a hero of epic proportions
“Feynhardt” is pronounced like “FINE-heart”.
Duke of Ramshead – an evil grabber of things not belonging
to him.
Pronounce the Duke’s place of origin as “Ram’s Head”. Some
have thought this was “Ram Shed”.
The following names are pretty common so their pronunciation
should be obvious.
Hugh Finch – Father of Thom
Barbara Finch – Mother of Thom
Ella Finch – Sister of Thom
Eliot Williams – Thom’s best friend
Jeff Stover – Professor
Max Highsmith – Reverend
Mae Combs – NSA Agent
Roger Bishop – Homeland Security
Edward Davison – Bishop’s partner
Beth Holbrook – FBI Special Agent
Evan Calabrese – Holbrook’s partner
Noah Weatherly – FCC
Maureen Clearwater – Technician
Doyle Winstead - CIA
Princess Elise – One to be rescued
Places
Darj – Home planet of the Mu’ahi
“Dar” alone rhymes with “Car”. Add a “J” sound like at the
beginning of words like “Jealous” and run the two sounds together as one
syllable.
Za’ahana – The Darjian sun
Pronounced “zah-a- HA-na”. All of the “A” sounds are the
same – as found in words like “Car”.
Ammonarsik – Largest city on Darj
Pronounced “am-un-ARE-sick”
Other Words
Mu - A single being from the planet Darj
Pronounced just like the sound a cow makes
Mu'ahi - More than one Mu
Pronounced "MOO-ah-HEE"
Mullek – The largest harvest vessel ever built by the Mu’ahi – named after Cuyt Mullek
Pronounced just like the sound a cow makes
Mu'ahi - More than one Mu
Pronounced "MOO-ah-HEE"
Mullek – The largest harvest vessel ever built by the Mu’ahi – named after Cuyt Mullek
Pronounced “MULL-ick”
Eloni – The harvest ship previous to the Mullek
Pronounced “Eh-LOW-knee”
Khalona – A team leader
Pronounced “Kah-LOW-nah”
Now - go read the book again (or for the first time) and relish in your newfound knowledge!
