Alien names, second try

[beccaelizabeth]

Nobody thinks Darwin sounds like an alien. Fair enough.

Poll #9352 Name for an offworlder

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 5

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Do these names sound like an offworlder

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Yorath
4 (100.0%)

Yash
3 (75.0%)

Yale
1 (25.0%)

Which do you like best for our biologist

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Yorath
3 (60.0%)

Yash
2 (40.0%)

Yale
0 (0.0%)

Comments

[beccaelizabeth]

these are good points for proper aliens.
I forgot to write in this post I mean offworld humans, like in Stargate. and they have Babelfish that rewire your brain to talk their language, if you want. Mostly they rewire themselves to talk English too though.
but their language could still be clicky and tonal and sounds that English doesn't use, and then their names would be, and then they could have nicknames. That would work.
and yes, lots of colonial renaming happened. or still happens, some.

I'd still need to invent a clicky name once, but he could be Darwin after that.

[baronjanus]

could have nicknames. That would work

Glad if I could help :)

[ceruleancat]

a. Whether clicky or with other phonetic features, it would need to fit in with the sound and word pattern of the source language. I'm thinking on the one hand of all the linguistic variations for old popular names like David or Mary or Elizabeth, and also on Tolkien's appendix on names in LotR. Of course he was a linguist and spent a lot of time on constructing those languages and distinguishing them. No doubt enjoyed it too.
b. That Babelfish translates the content communicated or the language or whatever, but would it translate a name? Would it identify a name? [Sorry, that's the linguist in my wondering about the practicality of this. ]

[beccaelizabeth]

The practical details of a fish that wires your brain for a new language are all writer side: we can has English! Onwards to the plot!

They plug in to one brain, learn the way that speaker knows a language, and then plug into another and give them the language they just learned. Details depend on what I want to do to be funny or create complications. Like, they learned English from a science fiction fan, now all the aliens know words like frell and grok and goa'uld, but not all the English speakers do. Once there has been time for all the offworlders to have a go with the fish then all the audience hears is English, plus funny sounds where something doesn't translate, like a word or a name or a title.

Since it's a cheat, I've not thought it through very hard.

[ceruleancat]

I know it's a cheat. LOL. That's why I apologised for the linguist in me still wanting to figure out practicalities.
However I did not know it was suck a creepy sounding cheat. *making abortive moves to scratch ear*