Well, this is a hang-up I've never had before

[luzula]

Am checking out the fic on the AO3 for C J Cherryh's Foreigner series, and was disconcerted by it for a weird reason. I've been listening to the books as audiobooks (the reader is awesome!), which means that I have no idea how all the alien names and words are spelled. It turns out that they are not spelled at all the way they were spelled in my head, and this interferes with my enjoyment of the fic, because I have to mentally edit the names in the text. It's like everyone has suddenly been re-named. Huh.

Comments

[jesse_the_k]

I've had this same disconcertion (?). I particularly seek audio books for works set in novel lands or languages

[luzula]

The funny thing is, even if I do spell it my way in my head, it's like the canonical versions of the words/names have become the spoken forms, and it looks weird written down at all. Ah well. I've now read all the fic there is, anyway (there was very little).

[andeincascade]

I can see how that would be really disconcerting.

[luzula]

*nods* You wouldn't think there's such a big difference between Tano and Dano, but apparently there's enough to bug me.

[brigantine]

I think I get that. Names as they're written have a certain sound in one's brain, so if the written name doesn't sound right the way your brain interprets it, compared to the way your ear's been hearing it, then it seems wrong. Or something. :)

[luzula]

Yeah. Anyway, I've read all the fic there is now, and it didn't take long, so I'll just go back to the audiobooks and never worry about it again.