Is this intuitive?

[u/PandaGoBrrrr]

So I have a name for the main character of my fantasy novel, and it's "Azystarys" but it has just now occurred to me that that might not be super intuitive to pronounce. Looking at this, does it make your head hurt trying to figure it out, or is it ok? Azystarys is a faerie living in what is essentially the faewild so I wanted it to sound very ethereal and whimsical, but I fear I might've gone a little too far.

It is pronounced, "Ah-star-is" with nicknames either Stars or Azy.

[u/StopItchingYourBalls]

Why would Azy make an “Ah” sound? It’s not intuitive at all to English readers.

Astarys makes much more sense.

[u/excessivelung8 → u/StopItchingYourBalls]

I cannot think of lanaguage in which this pronunciation would be intuitive. Please spell it more phonetically (to literally any language)

[u/PandaGoBrrrr → u/StopItchingYourBalls]

You make a very good point actually, I was kinda riffing off this medication name called Azstarys which is why the z is there, but I guess that wouldn't usually be your first guess, thanks!

[u/blessings-of-rathma → u/PandaGoBrrrr]

That's a brand name of a medication and people who know it would read the story and recognize it, and that would be really immersion-breaking for me. Changing the one letter doesn't help, and adding a vowel without adding a syllable to the pronunciation doesn't work at all. This is a phonetic alphabet, the letters mean the sounds (within the parameters of the language being spoken/written).

[u/ConstantRide5382]

I completely mispronounced that lol.

I thought it was pronounced "AA-ZEH-STAR-IS".

[u/aescula]

My instant reaction is to pronounce it Az-ee-star-rees.

[u/jigglypuffcreative]

Not intuitive at all.

[u/Flat_Pollution8085]

The first y is the most confusing part. Y can’t be treated as a silent letter there. Azstarys would be pronounced more similarly to how you wrote it. Astaris would be by far the most intuitive pronunciation but if you insist on the special letters then I would at least remove the first y.

[u/Ok_Entertainment9665]

Yeah Azystarys doesn’t read as “Ah-Star-is”. It reads “Azy-star-is” or you’ll have people trying to figure out what other language to try so you might also get “Azhy-“

[u/la-anah]

I would pronounce it az-ee-star-eez

[u/TheDNDCat0643]

I thought it was pronounced aa-zyss-TAUH-rus

[u/outlaw_for_life18]

Yes. Need a different name.

[u/eatingonlyapples]

Ah-zy-star-is.

[u/lydocia]

What a r/tragedeigh.

[u/RamenCat100]

I immediately read this is ‘Azstarys,’ which is an ADHD medication. And Azstarys is pronounced “Ah-star-is”
That’s all I can think of seeing your character’s name. To answer your question though, I read it as: ah (like in apple)-zih (like in zit)-star-is.

[u/vaalski]

ah ZIS ta ris lol

just name them Ahstaris.

[u/Din-Draug]

It sounds good to me; it has a certain repetition that makes it feel easy to read, pronounce, and remember... The odd thing is that it sounds like a Sardinian name, so it brings to mind Mediterranean coasts, *nuraghi*, shepherds, and goat cheese 😅—but that’s just my own personal association.

[u/Alarming-While8028]

just go with astarys!

[u/helurkshelurks]

*

[u/dobster1029]

I woukd read ah-zee-star-iss

[u/re_nonsequiturs]

Azzy-star-is rhymes with sis is what I read

[u/Ambitious-Bank4559]

a -star- dis?

[u/halasaurus]

Azz-ee-STAIR-iss is what it looks like to me.

[u/Particular_Policy_41]

I would have said Ah-zih-star-iss or Azzy-star-iss. There is no need for the “y” in there if it is not pronounced.

[u/SnooLemons6942]

Astaris, Astares, Astarys, Astarus, Æstarəs, Astariz, Astäris....I would go for something that is more phonetic