#<Concerns over a Character Name>

1 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

main hornetBOT
#
Please be patient

Our volunteers look into many questions every day; sometimes it takes them a little while to answer.

Pro tip: you can rename the thread title with `.tr <thread name>`

Make it descriptive, including relevant context, but also to the point. This way you improve your chances of getting a more relevant and specific answer.

#

<Concerns over a Character Name>

sick kelp
#

personal opinion, but I'm not a fan of those
You already explained why "matinée" sounded weird, and similarly "aubenée" sounds way too literal, I have trouble hearing this name without hearing literally aube + née
"Aurore" and "Aube" are actual names that would fit better in my opinion, sounding cute and perfectly natural

#

of the two names you shared, "matinée" sounds the least weird, about as natural as "wednesday" from the addams family

lofty umbra
#

Wednesday was actually an example I gave him. I think he wanted Matinée because he wanted the word "née" in it, even if it loses its meaning since Matinée is already an actual word...

#

On a humorous note, someone we know told him to ask an AI chatbot for its opinion and we both kinda laughed

sick kelp
#

"née" from matinée doesn't come from "naître" (to be born)
also French doesn't really use that in names the same way English does with "born"

#

"matinée" is matin + ée, here's the etymology

lofty umbra
#

But what exactly do you mean by "French doesn't really use that in names the same way English does with born"? Could you go into more detail on that?

sick kelp
#

I'm talking about titles with "-born" at the end. It's not really used in modern names, but if you're looking for tribe names, status titles, etc, it's a pretty common feature.
The same pattern doesn't exist in French. Actually, French doesn't really make new names out of merging singular words.

#

That's why "matinée" sounds better (it's a single word, not a merging), and the examples I gave you (aurore, aube) are also singular words

#

of course, for fantasy characters in a fictional story you can do whatever

lofty umbra
#

Maybe I should ask what French listeners / readers would find more or less acceptable for a fantasy characters' name. I mean, we compared Matinée to Wednesday, but I always thought Wednesday was a fun character name.

It'd be stranger to see that name on an actual person, right, but on a fantastical character it's kinda catchy. Do you think Matinée theoretically has that same potential?

sick kelp
#

yeah, it's fine