History TheUnpronounceable / Literature

* The eponymous character in Creator/DanielPinkwater's children's book ''Borgel'' has a driver's license in the name of Borgel [=McTavish=]--his real last name sounds nothing like [=McTavish=], but even less like anything else.

* On the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'', demons are given names that look like they were selected by headbutting a keyboard; when the demon [=WxrtHltl=]-jwlpklz introduces himself in ''Literature/WyrdSisters'', Nanny Ogg quips, "Where were you when the vowels were handed out, behind the door?" Her co-witch, Granny Weatherwax, pronounces it without raising a sweat. While there are hideous beasts from the dungeon dimensions a la Cthulhu, more description is given to their forms than names (they're usually described as what might be the offspring of an octopus and a bicycle).
** This must have made for an interesting experience when recording the audiobook edition, but narrator Tony Robinson (best known for playing [[Series/{{Blackadder}} Baldrick]] and presenting ''Series/TimeTeam'') handled it about as well as could be expected.

* A great example is from the book version of ''Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'', in which the character Ford Prefect's original name is "only pronounceable in an obscure Betelgeusian dialect" which was almost wiped out by the "Great Collapsing Hrung Disaster of Gal./Sid./Year 03758", and which Ford himself never learned. At school, Ford was nicknamed "Ix", which translates as [[TranslationYes "boy who is not able satisfactorily to explain what a Hrung is, nor why it should choose to collapse on Betelgeuse Seven"]].
** Also invoked ''and'' subverted in a humorous way: Douglas Adams settled for Slartibartfast's name precisely because, when he dictated the name to his secretary, he wanted him/her to ask how the name was spelled, upon which Douglas Adams wanted to reply that [[{{Troll}} it was spelled the way it's pronounced]]... His secretary didn't ask how it was spelled and spelled it correctly on the first try.

* In the ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'' there's a race of sentient reptiles that's called K'Chain Che'Malle (and their brethren, the [[spoiler:K'Chain Nah'Ruk]]). And while in and of itself that's just difficult, but not impossible to pronounce, it keeps piling up. As an example, when one takes into account the race and the reason he was bred for one such lizard, one ends up with the beautiful K'Chain Che'Malle Shi'Gal Gu'Rull.
** Interestingly, the K'Chain seem unable to pronounce human names, even though they can communicate via their own brand of telepathy with humans. And yet they only ever use the titles of their human companions. That may or may not have to do with their telepathy working via transmitting ideas into the other's brain, and titles being easier to express as an idea.
* In the Literature/ModestyBlaise novel ''The Night of Morningstar'', the Zdrzalkywicz brothers are said to have "a surname only another Pole could pronounce", and most of the characters call them "the Polish twins" instead. Willie Garvin does manage to pronounce their name without apparent difficulty when he's telling Sir Gerald about them.
** It should be noted that actual Poles would also have a slight problem with pronouncing this surname, considering [[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign it's not Polish at all]].

* In Creator/GordonKorman's ''Nose Pickers from Outer Space'', we are introduced to Stanley Mflxnys, an alien from Pan (a so-called "Pant", pl. "Pants"). He looks just like a person, but he eats paper, and has a computer inside his head where a person's brain would be (his real brains are behind his knees).

* In the short novel ''Realty Check'', (yes, ''realty'', not ''reality'') the female protagonist briefly encounters a female alien whose name is written out in random symbols -- somehow she manages to pronounce it, while her {{Love Interest|s}} can only say "Star-Omega". In the same chapter, we discover said alien's lover is under attack by a monster called a ===.

* Creator/AlastairReynolds tends to name his transhuman characters in this fashion. Many Conjoiners in his ''Literature/RevelationSpace'' universe have names consisting of "a string of interiorised qualia" only comprehensible within Conjoiner [[HiveMind collective consciousness]]. Those who have to interact with baseline humans tend to use one-word approximations -- a Conjoiner girl whose name represents a particular atmospheric phenomenon found rarely in the upper layers of certain gas giants is known to her human captors as Weather.
** And the Slashers in the standalone novel ''Century Rain'' have full names which include strange, musical trilling noises, thanks to their modified larynxes.

* Creator/DavidBrin's ''Startide Rising'' features aliens called the Karrank%, with the % pronounced as a "double glottal stop", which is allegedly impossible for humans to make.
* In "Heaven's Reach", a later book in ''Startide Rising'' universe, a pair of humans are trapped in a ship of aliens called the Jophur, who often use scent semantically. Signs to certain sectors of the ship are labeled by odour not by script. One of the humans is able to figure out the meanings of the signs based on his experience with the species.

* Creator/TimothyZahn loves unpronounceable names, both in his own original works and his ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'' series. In the latter, at one point during ''Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy'' Han Solo mentions the Imperials have attacked three planets -- "Bpfassh, and two unpronounceable ones" -- and even Bpfassh doesn't look that straightforward to say. In ''Literature/OutboundFlight'', Thrawn tries to teach his language to a human, but while the human can hear the difference between his pronunciation and the right one, he can't aspirate right. Thrawn's name seems pretty straightforward, right? Which is probably why Zahn revealed that his full name is Mitth'raw'nuruodo. His brother's name? Mitth'ras'safis. Good luck!
** And if you think his ''Franchise/StarWars'' novels are bad, try books like his ''Literature/TheConquerorsTrilogy'', where you have another pair of siblings: Thrr-gilag and his brother Thrr-mezaz, and their father, Thrr't-rokik.

* ''[[https://jimmunroe.net/category/books/angry-young-spaceman Angry Young Spaceman]]'', by Jim Munroe: The only reason the planet Octavia can maintain its own culture and not pay royalties for speaking their own language (due to Earth's oppressive copyright laws) is that their language is, strictly speaking, unpronounceable: it has two sounds that humans can't make by mouth, a pop and a click (apparently sufficiently different from a click consonant to count) [[spoiler:until the protagonist threatens to spoil everything with respectively a finger-pop and tapping his fingernail against his teeth]].

* In the ''Series/RedDwarf'' novel "Last Human", many of the GELFS have long, hard to pronounce names (One even has the title "The Unpronounceable" following his).

* In Creator/AnneMcCaffrey and Creator/MercedesLackey's ''Literature/TheShipWhoSearched'', one of the graduate students Tia and Alex are taking to their archeological dig is a plantlike alien who goes by "Fred".

* ''Literature/{{Cosmicomics}}'': Almost all of the characters' have names consisting of long strings of random letters, sometimes consisting purely of consonants: Qfwfq, Rwzfs, De Xuaeaux, etc. Some even have things in their name like ^(x). It's actually a bit jarring when the love interest in "The Form of Space" [[AerithAndBob has a recognizably human name]]... and even then, she has the last name of H'x.

* ''Literature/AnOutcastInAnotherWorld'': Most Elves have fairly simple names, with the exception of one Elder. Rob refers to him as "Elder Beardo" because he can’t keep track of the man's "six-syllable fantasy-world monstrosity of a name".
* The demon from ''Literature/ArtemisFowl'': N* 1, which is apparently supposed to be pronounced 'Number one', but is still a pain to read aloud.

* In the [[WoodenShipsAndIronMen Bolitho series]] by Alexander Kent, there's a RunningGag of his French opponents being unable to pronounce his name.

* 'Literature/{{Ambergris}}'': The Graycaps have a language consisting largely of clicks and whistles, and is so complicated that for longest time people were arguing if they really had a language at all. In ''[[Literature/{{Ambergris}} Finch]]'' it's mentioned that their name for themselves is Fanaarcensitii -- or as close as you can get with Roman letters.

* ''Literature/TheCosmicomics'': Almost all of the characters' have names consisting of long strings of random letters, sometimes consisting purely of consonants: Qfwfq, Rwzfs, De Xuaeaux, etc. Some even have things in their name like ^(x). It's actually a bit jarring when the love interest in "The Form of Space" [[AerithAndBob has a recognizably human name]]... and even then, she has the last name of H'x.

* One of the villains in ''[[Literature/AlcatrazSeries Alcatraz Smedry Versus the Knights of Crystannia]]'' is referred to as She Who Cannot Be Named. This is because only one of the good guys is capable of pronouncing her name, which is Kangchenjunga Sarektjakka.
* In ''Literature/AlienInASmallTown'', the subterranean aliens' language consists of subaudible sounds projected through the ground. When dealing with humans, the main character instead goes by the name "Paul".
* In Jeff [=VanderMeer's=] ''Literature/{{Ambergris}}'' books, the Graycaps have a language consisting largely of clicks and whistles, and is so complicated that for longest time people were arguing if they really had a language at all. In ''[[Literature/{{Ambergris}} Finch]]'' it's mentioned that their name for themselves is Fanaarcensitii -- or as close as you can get with Roman letters.
* In Jim Munroe's [[https://jimmunroe.net/category/books/angry-young-spaceman Angry Young Spaceman]] the only reason the planet Octavia can maintain its own culture and not pay royalties for speaking their own language (due to Earth's oppressive copyright laws) is that their language is, strictly speaking, unpronounceable: it has two sounds that humans can't make by mouth, a pop and a click (apparently sufficiently different from a click consonant to count) [[spoiler:until the protagonist threatens to spoil everything with respectively a finger-pop and tapping his fingernail against his teeth]].

* Most Elves in ''Literature/AnOutcastInAnotherWorld'' have fairly simple names, with the exception of one Elder. Rob refers to him as ‘Elder Beardo’ because he can’t keep track of the man’s ‘six-syllable fantasy-world monstrosity of a name’.

* ''Literature/TheCityOfBrass'': {{Subverted|Trope}} with the [[OurGeniesAreDifferent daeva]] Darayavahoush "Dara" e-Afshin. The viewpoint character doesn't even try to remember his full name at first, but when they reach a city of daeva, the locals use the unabbreviated version easily.

* ''Literature/KushielsLegacy'' takes this UpToEleven with [[spoiler:the True Name of God]], which is [[spoiler:spoken to Phèdre in total silence by a tongueless priest]] and is rendered in text as "_______!" [[spoiler:When she finally says it aloud, everyone within earshot hears it as [[AFormYouAreComfortableWith their native language's version of the word]] "[[AC:Love]]".]]