I'm debating whether or not to change my MC's name. Feedback that I've gotten from an editor, betas, and friends have suggested changing the name since it has a different pronunciation than what is written. Another friend suggested I keep it. I'm straddling the fence here... Its not a name that I made up. A Nigerian-American model has the name and when I heard it years ago, I wanted to use the name somehow in my writing. The name is "Aminat." The model pronounces her name like "Ah-MEE-nah" (the 'T' is silent like in "Margot") where as, the Arabic "Amina" is pronounced "Ah-min-ah." Those who have read my characters name pronounce it "Ah-min-aht." I thought to make it simple and just drop the 't' from the end but I don't like the pronunciation (sorry to those named "Amina".... nothing personal ). And I also understand that an author cant help the way readers pronounce their character names (ex. I had no idea how to pronounce Hermione before the HP movies and just made up some name as a replacement). But i've been second guessing myself about a lot lately and this is one of them.
I think the name you've got is fine. I've used names that I'm sure people might not pronounce right for characters. But people will be reading your work so it doesn't matter too much how they pronounce it in their head when they are reading. I actually like the name. I suggest keeping it, especially if you like it and think it fits your character.
You could have her explain to somebody how it's pronouced, or maybe twist it, have them ask how it's spelled "Because it's pronounced like... ". Either way you could work in the pronunuciation. I imagine people with strangely spelled or pronounced names get a lot of that, and in some cases might even have a standard answer worked out because they have to keep explaining it.
I think with uncommon names, especially in fantasy, you almost have to spell things phonetically if you care how it's pronounced. I'm not sure I see the problem with the spelling Amina. I've only ever heard that pronounced ah-MEE-nah, with the emphasis on the second syllable, which I think is what you're looking for, right? Some dude explaining how to pronounce Amina:
If betas and an editor all flagged it, there's a good chance the majority of readers will as well. Not that that's the end of the world or anything. They'll just pronounce it differently in their heads. But if that somehow disproportionately inhibits the reading of the story, then definitely switch the spelling around. Definitely not the hill to die on.
Add a conversation where the other person misprounces the name. Then your MC can correct them with the phonetic version of her name.
Yeah, I think that was the case for everyone. Didn't hurt that franchise none. It's probably not too big a deal. What what really hurts writers is when multiple characters have similar names, confusing the reader as who's doing what. Or if the book has a lot of mispronounce-able names that muck up the flow. Every once in a while I read an otherwise good book that had so many wonky or stupid names that it downgraded the experience.
Faced with a lot of complex, multi-faceted, unfamiliar, weird-ass names, I put the book down. Aminat doesn't fall into that catergory, though I'd probably have pronounced it ahm-ee-NAT in the beginning.
Keep it, I say. (As some others mentioned, it can come up in the story). It could be an easy way for your fans to tell who the real fans are in conversation. People will always have different ideas of vowel emphasis for names anyway, and it's fine if people pronounce it differently in their heads. Her-Moyn didn't cause any issues.
J. T., you do you and don't worry about how the readers pronounce the name. There are many in literature with mis-pronounced names.
I read a bit of sci-fi and there are plenty of odd names in those, no issue there. What is your target audience with your book, if you have one? Sci-fi and fantasy readers may be used to odd names and are often creative enough to find their own pronunciation to them rather quickly throughout the story. Is it wrong if people find their own pronunciation to your name? If the book is for the non-fiction or realistic fiction folks who read English, then you may need to adapt to their conventions. In my own science fiction and speculative fiction works I have many, many hard names. I may simplify here and there, but really, a name is important to me and the character. A name can hold a lot of symbolic power and significance.
