Nathan Bransford - The Forums

I don't know if it'll work for your story but here's what I did in mine -

The boy is given a Spanish name as it was customary to Christianize them by requiring they no longer use their native language and change to Spanish. He was named for Saints James and Ignacius = Jaimenacho. The first time it came up, I used high-may-nah-cho so the reader would become used to the name Jaime throughout the novel.

In the same general area, I also pointed out repeatedly how the friars struggled to learn and understand the native tongues so they could be clearer when trying to teach their customs and beliefs. Some, like Father Serra, became quite adept and even compiled dictionaries. (such a shame that very few are available today).

Hmm, all the advice is quite diverse isn't it. I can see why it's challenging to decide what to do.

I personally wouldn't worry about a pronunciation guide. I always enjoy hearing the name my own way (in my head) and, like polymath, if I'm interested in it I can go look it up. But, and I'm probably a bit strange, I tend to make an emotional connection with a name through my own subconscious assocations with sound.

Having said that, I do think there's something to be said for taking the phoenetic approach. That is quite a useful thing to do. It's helpful without being intrusive on the reader's experience.

Good luck whichever path you choose!

I haven't read all of the responses. This goes with my response.

If I had a pronounciation guide, I wouldn't read it. I can't figure them out much usually anyway. I even mispronounce some of my angels to the point that I have given them pet names.

Case in point, Rehael.

I say it Ree-Hail.

It's actually supposed to be, Re-Ha-Ale, according to a book I read. Or...another says, Ree-Ha-El. With empahsis on certain parts.

I call him Ree-ree. Because DAMNIT. I call him what I want because whoever reads it is going to call him what they want, too. And if they get to a pronouncation guide, loving him to bits, and see, "Oh...oh...my God...I've been saying his name wrong the whole time..."

Every time after that they see his name, they might feel like the stupidest person on the planet. And I'm not going to let them feel like that. Because hey, I'm the writer. And if you're stupid, I'm stupid, too. XD

Yeah. We're all different. We're all going to say things differently and maybe wrong, but you know what? I used to be called Mushroom. I know who you're talking about. :D