The discussion of Sunseeker names reminds me of something I forgot to mention. Consider the case of Plainsfolk males and Moonkeepers-- they already have two names. So obviously the simplest option is to make those your first and last names and be done with it. There's also the option of smashing those two names together and treating them as a first name, first and middle name, or however you want to explain it, just like some people I know have a double first name.
In the purest sense, it's hard to believe that those cases actually consist of a first and last name, while in almost all other cases NPCs only display first names. And most of us who picked other races still have no convention for choosing last names.
So, I realize that only raises more problems and offers no solutions. In attempt to remedy that, here are my thoughts on Sunseekers with some specific examples:
R'bhusha
The way I see it, there are two plausible options. One is to simply cut out the apostrophe (Rhbusha), and the other is to replace it with its phonetic representation. Meaning... how does one pronounce "R'bhusha" anyway? At least in our language, you can't just go from R to B without a vowel sound (though SE certainly seems to enjoy letting us try). For my example I'll wager a guess that it's Riboosha. So in this case, we simply replace the apostrophe with the sound it's supposed to make... Ribhusha.
I think lore-wise, this can be justified as simply a different representation of the same word, similarly to how the Japanese phoneticize other languages into romanji. There's also the practical benefit of not frustrating other people with having to struggle quite so hard with your name, and you don't end up with an odd looking consonant crunch.
So S'dhodjbi becomes Sidhodjbi?
But then there are these, which don't badly need an apostrophe to begin with:
J'ludaba, M'naago, K'wabati
I wouldn't find Jludaba, Mnaago, and Kwabati confusing in the least, though they could also potentially make use of a vowel between the first and second letters.
So my recommendation for those who really want to be consistent with the lore is to simply weigh it out and decide which approach you prefer best-- I really don't think anyone will be offput by it. And of course, at least in my opinion, there's no need to treat the lore as absolute law when it comes to this issue. I picked my name without regard for the lore, and just happen to think it fits well enough.
In the purest sense, it's hard to believe that those cases actually consist of a first and last name, while in almost all other cases NPCs only display first names. And most of us who picked other races still have no convention for choosing last names.
So, I realize that only raises more problems and offers no solutions. In attempt to remedy that, here are my thoughts on Sunseekers with some specific examples:
R'bhusha
The way I see it, there are two plausible options. One is to simply cut out the apostrophe (Rhbusha), and the other is to replace it with its phonetic representation. Meaning... how does one pronounce "R'bhusha" anyway? At least in our language, you can't just go from R to B without a vowel sound (though SE certainly seems to enjoy letting us try). For my example I'll wager a guess that it's Riboosha. So in this case, we simply replace the apostrophe with the sound it's supposed to make... Ribhusha.
I think lore-wise, this can be justified as simply a different representation of the same word, similarly to how the Japanese phoneticize other languages into romanji. There's also the practical benefit of not frustrating other people with having to struggle quite so hard with your name, and you don't end up with an odd looking consonant crunch.
So S'dhodjbi becomes Sidhodjbi?
But then there are these, which don't badly need an apostrophe to begin with:
J'ludaba, M'naago, K'wabati
I wouldn't find Jludaba, Mnaago, and Kwabati confusing in the least, though they could also potentially make use of a vowel between the first and second letters.
So my recommendation for those who really want to be consistent with the lore is to simply weigh it out and decide which approach you prefer best-- I really don't think anyone will be offput by it. And of course, at least in my opinion, there's no need to treat the lore as absolute law when it comes to this issue. I picked my name without regard for the lore, and just happen to think it fits well enough.