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ArchivesRe: Zyal/Cyal
in reply to a message by Sarah
The name of the character on Deep Space Nine was officially spelled Ziyal:
http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Tora_Ziyal
The writers on Deep Space Nine do seem to have had a pattern of using obscure non-English names but giving them a new pronunciation. The most obviously examples are the two main characters of Jadzia and Nerys: Jadzia is a Polish name pronounced "Yah-jah", but the character on DS9 was "jad-ZEE-uh", and Nerys is a Welsh name rhyming with "Ferris", but pronounced as "neh-REESE" on DS9.
Ziyal seems to be a Turkish surname, most prominently the name of a foreign minister of Turkey:
http://gbulten.ssm.gov.tr/arsiv/2002/01/23/01_2.htm
Ziyal would probably be pronounced something like "Zee-yal" in Turkey. I am not enough of a DS9 fan to remember how Ziyal was pronounced on the show.
It's possible the DS9 writers took the the name from the Turkish surname. However, that would be a bit more obscure as a source than the female given names used for Jadzia and Nerys, so it may also be just a coincidence, with Ziyal just being a name completely created for the character, with its resemblance to the Turkish surname being an accident. You would have to contact the writers on DS9 who invented the character to find out for sure. :)
http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Tora_Ziyal
The writers on Deep Space Nine do seem to have had a pattern of using obscure non-English names but giving them a new pronunciation. The most obviously examples are the two main characters of Jadzia and Nerys: Jadzia is a Polish name pronounced "Yah-jah", but the character on DS9 was "jad-ZEE-uh", and Nerys is a Welsh name rhyming with "Ferris", but pronounced as "neh-REESE" on DS9.
Ziyal seems to be a Turkish surname, most prominently the name of a foreign minister of Turkey:
http://gbulten.ssm.gov.tr/arsiv/2002/01/23/01_2.htm
Ziyal would probably be pronounced something like "Zee-yal" in Turkey. I am not enough of a DS9 fan to remember how Ziyal was pronounced on the show.
It's possible the DS9 writers took the the name from the Turkish surname. However, that would be a bit more obscure as a source than the female given names used for Jadzia and Nerys, so it may also be just a coincidence, with Ziyal just being a name completely created for the character, with its resemblance to the Turkish surname being an accident. You would have to contact the writers on DS9 who invented the character to find out for sure. :)
This message was edited 8/30/2008, 7:29 AM
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