So, a thought came to me, I was considering other cultures for one of my stories and I've always liked the terms Tsar and Tsarina. My question is though, is it better to use Tsarina or Princess?(or Queen) Or Tsar or King? Given that this book is intended for english speaking audiences, would using the word Sultana instead of Princess be too obscure? What do you think? What do you do?
I don't think it matters, really. The majority of people would understand the meaning of Tsar and Tsarina. And as for Sultana, I think anyone who is confused by it- in this day and age- would use the internet to look it up. I'd say go for whichever you prefer, and trust your audience to have either the knowledge to understand, or the sense to find out.
Most English speaking people are used to reading genre fiction with made up titles and names. I think it would be safe to say using a real world term will not hinder you.
You make good points, but Aaron's point was what I was curious about. "Stop in the name of the Sultana." Cried the guard. I know most older, more travelled people will understand that in context, the sultana is probably not a dried seedless grape, but, by the same token, one could assume that for some reason, this race worships sun dried fruits. Admittedly, Tsarina is less of a problem, but should I perhaps use the following type of structure just in case? Player 1: "I met the Tsarina yesterday." Player 2: "The Princess, how did that happen?" I would certainly do it for a made up word, just wondering whether or not to play it safe.
hi there sultana in medieval arabic should mean queen not princess. if you are trying to convey the meaning of princess then sultana does not apply in your context.
I was of the understanding that Sultana was interchangable, queen or princess. I knew Tsarina was queen or wife of Tsar. Technically, you can use princess for the wife of the king if she has no power, so I'm okay with using it that way. The most important information I want people to get is Female Nobility.
To be honest, I still feel it's unnecessary. The context will imply the meaning, so it's only an issue if that would be the very first line (and even then, it would probably create interest enough to keep reading and discover what was actually meant. Also, you wouldn't capitalise it if it was a dried, seedless grape. I suppose it comes down to how confident you are about your ability to use the context to back up the meaning, but my view would be that you should jut trust your reader in order to be able to figure it out.
Honestly, I would just keep it as "princess." Why get all fancy? But more power to you however you decide to go. It is your work after all.
Well see, using Princess doesn't give any cultural implication. I want to make it clear that this is a different culture right from the start. Cacian, that's great, Amira's a really nice feeling word, I might use that.
If all you are worried about is showing it is a different culture right off the bat, there is plenty of other ways of doing that if you like the word princess.
That's part of the problem Jhunter, I don't like the word princess. It feels too generic to me. Realistically, being a fantasy culture, I could use Krumphorn as the word for princess and get away with it, but in that case I'd have to explain that it was an immediate member of the noble family who is female and not the queen. Just wondering what peoples views were on the use of words from different cultures and words that are made up verses the simple and easy.
If your story is set in Russia before the revolution and you are referring to members of the Russian royal family then if they are called tsar/tsarina in their native country,then it is the correct to give them the title they are known by. If your story is about the British royal family then go by what they are known by, prince/princess. If your story is fiction then it would depend on what you wanted to portray.
Honestly, if you're creating a culture and don't like the word "princess," I'd just make something up. Don't worry about explaining what the word means as long as the first time you use it, it's in context.
My thoughts exactly. If your fantasy characters are all fish-shaped things with long wavy hair that have ears and speak through their eyeballs, when you say "tsarina", I wonder whether or not the characters have onion domes underwater, or if they have a Russian accent, if the guards in the palace wear an Ushanka. So if the title has a particularly cultural and real-world connotation, where that is not a part of your fantasy world, don't use it. If it's not that different in your world, then it's a fine substitute.
