Daniel Tripp
asked:
One thing that almost always turns me off any sci fi, or fantasy, is silly (IMHO) apostrophes in names of things, or people, or places - and it started in this book around page 8. This is a "trope" that I REALLY REALLY hate in Sci Fi and Fantasy... Shis'urna? What is being abbreviated? What vowel is being omitted? Why not just "Shisurna" or "Shis Urna"? This bugs me so much I don't think I can get past it.
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Ancillary Justice,
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Julia
It sounds like you're assuming that the only reason for an apostrophe to exist, even in a made-up science fiction universe, is to align with English spelling and grammar rules.
Linguistically, and across various languages, apostrophes have other functions as well. For example, consider the official spelling of Hawai'i, in which the apostrophe indicates a glottal stop in the pronunciation of the word. Who is to say what other pronunciation rules exist in Leckie's universe?
Linguistically, and across various languages, apostrophes have other functions as well. For example, consider the official spelling of Hawai'i, in which the apostrophe indicates a glottal stop in the pronunciation of the word. Who is to say what other pronunciation rules exist in Leckie's universe?
Pep
I agree. It's just annoying pretentiousness that makes it more difficult to read the book. I avoid Russian stories for similar reasons, as all the characters have three or four names and I really can't be bothered to keep track of them all.
Ellen
it's funny that you mentioned it as I simply ignored it. After reading all the Culture books i became very accustomed to idiosyncratic naming conventions. Normally you would see an apostrophe as a pronunciation guide!
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