Re: Dymphna
in reply to a message by Vesta
Are these characters in something you'd try to have published? You might want some sort of pronunciation guide, then, because even if you're of a Gaelic area, many readers of your story might not be--and not all of these pronunciations are intuitive.
Ena~ I don't know how to pronunce this. I'd guess EE-nah, because it looks like Eno to me (as in Brian Eno), but I honestly don't know. I'd have to know how to say it before I could give an opinion.
Keelin~ Sounds quite trendy to me, despite its history. The K, the E's, the -lin ending? In my stories, hers would be the faux-Irish, follow-the-crowd namers. ;)
Dymphna~ A name that has always looked utterly dumpy to me. It's too bad; Damhnait looks really nice (if too close to "damn"), and the sound of Devnet is awesome. Plus, the fact that St. Dymphna's the patron of lunatics is awesome. But I don't like it at all.
Dedra~ This spelling takes all the fun from Deirdre for me. The look of the -eir part is gorgeous, and taking it out sucks away whatever fondness I have for it.
Aivlen~ I don't particularly like the sound of it, but I think the "aiv" bit looks nice.
Etain~ Sounds like "eighteen" when I say it. I can't say I find this at all attractive, either.
I can't really give you opinions on whether I think they'd fit the characters, as I haven't the faintest idea what the characters are like. And so I'm doubting my opinions will do you any good, but you can have them anyway. ;)
Array
"Phineas. That's an interesting name."
"Yeah. It's Latin for 'kick me'."
Ena~ I don't know how to pronunce this. I'd guess EE-nah, because it looks like Eno to me (as in Brian Eno), but I honestly don't know. I'd have to know how to say it before I could give an opinion.
Keelin~ Sounds quite trendy to me, despite its history. The K, the E's, the -lin ending? In my stories, hers would be the faux-Irish, follow-the-crowd namers. ;)
Dymphna~ A name that has always looked utterly dumpy to me. It's too bad; Damhnait looks really nice (if too close to "damn"), and the sound of Devnet is awesome. Plus, the fact that St. Dymphna's the patron of lunatics is awesome. But I don't like it at all.
Dedra~ This spelling takes all the fun from Deirdre for me. The look of the -eir part is gorgeous, and taking it out sucks away whatever fondness I have for it.
Aivlen~ I don't particularly like the sound of it, but I think the "aiv" bit looks nice.
Etain~ Sounds like "eighteen" when I say it. I can't say I find this at all attractive, either.
I can't really give you opinions on whether I think they'd fit the characters, as I haven't the faintest idea what the characters are like. And so I'm doubting my opinions will do you any good, but you can have them anyway. ;)
Array
"Phineas. That's an interesting name."
"Yeah. It's Latin for 'kick me'."