Native American Heritage Month
Daniel Tripp asked this question about Ancillary Justice (Imperial Radch, #1):
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.
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 s…moreIt 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?(less)
flag
More questions about Ancillary Justice…
Image for Ancillary Justice
Ancillary Justice
by Ann Leckie (Goodreads Author)
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars

About Goodreads Q&A

Ask and answer questions about books!

You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.

See Featured Authors Answering Questions

Learn more