: Re: Constructed Language - spelled like it sounds? Note: This may be more suited to Worldbuilding SE. I believe it belongs here, because it is about how to write a conlang, but if not, please

@Annie587

Vote Up Vote Down

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.

(0)

Login to post a comment!