I teach this story in world Lit, so here are our ruminations on the names:

1. Vhd Vhd should be pronounced "vid vid"
2. In class we pronounce Qfwfq as just "Q' but we did notice his name is a palindrome.
3. In class we also pronounced Xlthlx as "Little X" as she is only 12, but we also liked saying "Li'l Zithel," (like Li'l Ethel). The questions was posed, 'what is the purpose of this character?' but are still working on the discussion.
4. One student accidentally pronounced the Deaf One as the "dead one," which changed the story in an alarming yet amusing way!
5. They also constructed an argument for the Captain's name as only the Captain -- As everyone seems to have an unrequited love that ironically disconnects each of them, Captain's love seems to be the ocean. (Captain's wife loves the Deaf One, Q loves the Captain's wife, the Deaf One loves the moon, Captain loves the ocean)

Thanks! Looking forward to the results.