In the Western fantasy tradition, some races have Gaelic-influenced names, others Nordic, Old English, or Latin. I like to skim through online dictionaries to get a feel for how words are structured in those languages. Then I piece together syllables that sound good together. After writing down maybe 20 or 30 ideas in a given language, I whittle it down to the most aesthetically pleasing words. Then I carve them up until I create the perfect name.
Ogres and Trolls are fun because their 'language' isn't rooted in any European dialect. I have a system where I omit certain consonants and vowels and limit the names to two syllables. It's really easy once you get a feel for it.
|