Does My Name Meet Conventions?

[BlaiseLallaise]

Ever since I first read over the Lalafell naming conventions, I have been thinking about the name I've been using throughout 1.0 and trying to figure out whether or not I meet these naming conventions.

So, let's break it down.

The name I chose, after MUCH deliberation, is Blaise Lallaise. This seems to best fit into the Plainsfolk Male naming conventions. If you are saying, "But wait, you're a Dunesfolk," you would be correct, but please ignore that for now. I'm considering my options for taking care of that little problem. Spoiler alert: It'll most likely be explained with mixed-clan parents.

In the Plainsfolk Male naming conventions, we are shown that they normally follow the AB-CB pattern. This would break my name down as follows:

A = Bl
B = aise
C = Lall

At a glance, it appears to fit right into the conventions. But wait! There is yet one little caveat that may throw it all out the window. Given the rule that states, "[t]he A, B, and C phonemes are usually limited to one or two syllables," one can assume that means the first name and surname will each usually have between 2 and 4 syllables. The potential problem here is that my AB first name shares a single syllable.

So, the question I cannot quite figure out is this. Will I be required to add a vowel in the middle of the 'A' phoneme in order to fall within the naming conventions or does it fit in just fine as is?

One more point, in the naming conventions thread, it is said that "[t]here are four unique sets of rules, and these rules are rarely deviated from." That brings up other questions. Is the single syllable first name considered a "deviation" and if so, is it small enough to be deemed an acceptable, or even noticeable deviation?

So, what do you think? Perfectly fine? Acceptable deviation? In need of change? I should stop fretting over something so trivial?

[Jinketsu]

You could say it's Bla-ise Lalla-ise. Given much of the Lalafell language isn't as strict in its phonetics in present day Eorzea, you can still pronounce it AS one syllable (two for surname) and still meet the conventional properties of Lalafellian lore!

EDIT: Fern also confirmed that the clans have been known to mesh together in some cases, like the Miqo'te from Ul'dah who has a Sun seeker name, but is clearly a Moon Keeper. So it's not too hard to believe a Dunesfolk has a Plainsfolk's conventions. I'm in the same boat as you. I love my mismatched eye colors, but have the name 'Jinketsu.' My surname in 1.x was Juster, but now that I know the conventions I'll be changing it to Moruketsu. Plainsfolk conventions, but I like it much more than Jijiketsu Momoketsu, haha.

[Yrusama]

You could say it's Bla-ise Lalla-ise. Given much of the Lalafell language isn't as strict in its phonetics in present day Eorzea, you can still pronounce it AS one syllable (two for surname) and still meet the conventional properties of Lalafellian lore!

In Japanese they don't have what we know as a long "A" as one syllable. It's the blending of E (pronounced "eh") and I (pronounced "ih" or "ee"), so Ei results in a long A sound, even though it counts as two syllables.

Truth be told, in Katakana your name would be "Bu-Le-I-Zu La-Le-I-Zu", or "Buleizu Laleizu", where "Bule" and "Lale" are A and C respectively, and Izu is B. You could say that the name was poorly transliterated from its original form by an ignorant Elezen or Hyur.

By the way, my fellow Americans, I don't expect you to learn any Eastern languages, but don't be ignorant of their pronunciations. The vowels are really not that hard. It's thanks to ignorance that people pronounce "Hyundai" as "Hundy".

[Jinketsu]

By the way, my fellow Americans, I don't expect you to learn any Eastern languages, but don't be ignorant of their pronunciations. The vowels are really not that hard. It's thanks to ignorance that people pronounce "Hyundai" as "Hundy".

I understand how the Japanese language works just fine (I just don't know any actual Japanese to uphold any conversations, haha). The Lalafell language is not Japanese. Please check out the Lalafell Naming Conventions thread and read up on how their language works. I'd hate for you to look as ignorant as you think the rest of us do. It's somewhat similar to Japanese - in a way - but it's also pretty different. Look at this portion:

The Lalafellin language (used by the clans before they arrived in Eorzea) originally only possessed five distinct vowels: a e i o u.

The keywords there are "originally" and "only." Meaning to be extremely authentic (or archaic, depending on how you look at it), you would always follow those strict vowel pronunciations. But the case here is that different tones and phonetics for those vowels are allowable and, in fact, used often enough in present day Eorzea.

On top of that, the spellings of Lalafell names do not meet the Katakana methods of Japanese emulating a double consonant sound. It's just straight up double consonants. Kopel Yorpel and Alka Zolka are two such examples. Those are the exact way you spell those names, which are completely Lalafellin, and not further broken up or remastered into any other kind of 'original, true' way to do it like they have with the Miqo'te and Roegadyn. It's not secretly "Koperu" or "Zoruka" or anything of a Japanese nature. It's just "Kopel" and "Zolka," which is why I go about hoping to hear an answer from a dev just how to pronounce them. ^^

[Inaaca]

In order to fit convention, each phenome needs to have a syllable within itself. Using "laise" as your B phenome and adding a vowel to the first syllable in your first name would solve it if you're trying to fit Male Plainsfolk convention.

As far as what's an acceptable deviation, I think Ferne would be able to better answer that. That also begs the question of what causes the rules to be deviated from in the first place?

Edit: Jinketsu also makes a good point about interpreting syllables and pronunciation.

[Jinketsu]

Actually, I'm hoping Fern comes in to at least specify more about consonants. I don't know if double-consonants like BL, LL or TS are allowed within the same syllable. That would make or break our names for authenticity's sake!

[Inaaca]

Or even double vowels, for that matter.

[Kinseykinz]

keep in mind too, that names that are 'close' but not quite right would also demonstrate the changing populations etc. that the game has. Most lalafells have migrated to Uldah afterall, and therefore it is easy to assume there would be a fair amount that have 'less racial' names. So I guess the question is 'How traditional a lalafell are you/how traditional were your parents?'

Basically, OP if you like your name as is, it is close enough that it would blend in...and you could create a little 'my parents were progressive-thinking lalafells' back story or something of the like.

[Jinketsu]

That is a very good point, Kinsey - unless that's not the direction they want us to go with.

Let's ponder, less for RP's sake and more for continuity's, what the consonant-vowel rules are. The only specification they give is that a syllable can in fact hold only one letter - consonant or vowel. All of the examples given reflect that rule, but each name has only a maximum of two letters per syllable. The two-letter syllables always start with a consonant and end with a vowel. No examples are given with doubles of anything, nor are there any rules stated saying it's not supposed to happen. The unstated-but-given rule is that a single three-letter syllable written as consonant-vowel-consonant (like Zol in Zolka) is to be considered two syllables - but would that example be pronounced as Zol-Ka, or is it actually pronounced as three syllables like Zo-Uhl-Ka or something?

Then back to my original question, what are the rules behind thee-letter syllables like Bla or Tsu? Are they generally unaccepted? Do they exist and were just not reflected in the examples given? I'd like to at least know for sure, because I'm anal like that :P

EDIT: It could be that the rules say 'Usually' one or two syllables for the A-B-C rhythmic portions means that three or four could be acceptable, and that Bla and Tsu would be considered two instead of one. It would make my name Jinketsu lay out like Ji-N-Ke-T-Su, or Lallaise like La-L-La-I-Se. While it's not the 'Usual' convention of one or two syllables, it's not entirely against the rules. If I'm right in that assumption, then all I would need is confirmation on how to pronounce consonants as their own syllable, like Zolka or Blaise.

EDIT 2: Oh, and given that the E in Blaise would be silent, what are the rules on silent vowels?

[BlaiseLallaise]

Hmm...there are some good points here. I didn't consider alternate pronunciations. If I pronounce the B like 'Buh', then that forces a new syllable, creating a phonetic pronunciation of Buh-layz La-layz. It's sketchy, but may work.

Even so, an official word on the questions that have come up in the process would be a nice read.