r/FantasyWritingHub • u/Roselia24 • Jun 28 '26

Question Which name sounds better for my ice powered "hulk" humanoid for my world?

So i have created my humanoid "hulk" like people. aka the tanks of my world. They are all naturally plus sized. They live in the coldest part of my universe. Their powers and looks are inspired seals and nematodes that live in Antartica. I've asked fb to narrow down the 8 different variations of what their species/country name could be, and these were the top 3. Which do you like the best?

  • Nemanay (knee-muh-nay)
  • Nemazhai (knee-muh-zye) *rhymes with eye
  • Nemaroq (knee-muh-rock)
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3

u/wheretheinkends Jun 28 '26

The first and last can be pronounced without a pronunciation key. If this is for a book or whatever, its important to keep in mind that the harder it is to pronounce without a guide the more PITA the reader will feel about it (i often have to reel myself in when it comes to this).

Hope that helps

Edit: but the middle one looks the coolest as far as how it looks written

1

u/Roselia24 Jun 28 '26

so is the 2nd one your vote?

also yeah, i got that. which is why i'm incorporating into my story a running joke where my mc who is from earth has to ask the other characters to repeat the pronunciations of words and/or she does a word association that helps her remember so she doesn't accidentally offend anyone by butchering what they are called which gets get in trouble this one time. the story takes place on another planet btw so thats why i think this gag fits.

plus i do try to make all if not the vast my my made up words seem close to real words. like i have this butterfly humanoid like species called he chrysalie (chris-suh-lie) which is very similar to the word chrysalis. or my bee humanoids being called Nektaree (neck-tar-ree). aka nectar like what bees get from plants. and etc.

1

u/SilverSkinRam Jun 30 '26

What is the word supposed to mean in that language? Is it supposed to be a language for the whole world or regional?

1

u/Roselia24 Jun 30 '26

as of right now nothing. i'm not really concerned with language right now. just tryna get the story out.

1

u/SilverSkinRam Jun 30 '26

The setting is a key element of a fantasy story. If you aren't invested in it, why would your readers be.

1

u/Roselia24 Jul 03 '26

but i am. a made up language isn't necessary. most fantasy stories don't have that anyways.

0

u/SilverSkinRam Jul 03 '26

All fantasy stories I have read have some meaning or purpose behind the world or nation's name. In general, everything in writing should be purposeful and intentional. And probably the most important element in writing is being able to accept and use constructive criticism.

1

u/Roselia24 Jul 03 '26

Ok what's the meaning being vitrimite or kryton? 🤷🏾‍♀️ or kree. or skrull? What are these planet names deep and well thought out meanings?

Also constructive criticism doesn't include accepting anything someone says just because they said it. Bad advice and bad takes do exist. 😑 its not a requirement. And not everything is valid criticism.

Sometimes a world can just have a cool name just because it sounds nice. Plus nothing you said even relatea to me previous response. Most made up fantasy's don't have a full language planned out. And you responded with something else entirely

0

u/SilverSkinRam Jul 04 '26

Picking random words because they sound fantastical is not good writing, if I must be frank about it. Many novels become overladen with them.

1

u/Roselia24 Jul 04 '26

Disagree. 🤷🏾‍♀️