The "How do you pronounce things" thread

[Snakebyt]

great thread

[Ninong]

Originally posted by Ninong
Here ya go Randy. Click on the third little red speaker icon to hear it pronounced exactly like our President: http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionar...lear&x=11&y=14



I'm sure that will make your day!

Well, this is a welcome improvement. Websters has dropped the third pronunciation of nuclear, the one our president favors.

[ReeferKeith]

How do you pronounce Aiptasia ?

Is it Apptay-zia?

Or is it Ape-tah-zia?

[SDguy]

Euxiphipops ("yukes-if-ih-pops").

Chaetodontidae ("Key-toe-don-tah-dee") meaning "bristle-tooth"

a la Bob Fenner. Are they correct?

[reefing102]

Originally posted by ReeferKeith
How do you pronounce Aiptasia ?

Is it Apptay-zia?

Or is it Ape-tah-zia?

I say it as

Ap-t-asia<-- as in the continent

But ive heard it as

Ap-tay-zia

or

Ap-ta-C-ya

Oh and BUMP

[ChrisB]

I've always wondered about the correct pronunciation for

Chessmiahs

[Ninong]

Aiptasia = ap-TAY-zhia (rhymes with Eurasia).

[hubris007]

I don't care what everyone else says, i think it's KI-toe.

[Nabob89]

I don't think I've been pronouncing any of these words correctly...no wonder the guy at the LFS always gave me weird looks

[Amphiprion]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. With most of these words, there really isn't a standard to go by for proper pronunciation. There is a code of zoological nomenclature that does give some basics, but it doesn't really go into great detail.

[Draggie]

Isn't the p in aiptasia silent as in a - tasia

[ZooZ]

awsome stuffff!!

[xtm]

Originally posted by cwegescheide
Tunze >> toon-zee or ton-zee

I thought it was "Toon-zeh" ?

[xtm]

Clam = First let the rear end of your tongue touch the rear-upper side of your mouth making the "ch" sound, then gently tap the tip of your tongue against the back of your upper front bite teeth to make the "LL" sound then say "Ah"then let your lips close once and for all to make the "MMM" sound. Now try it. Say "CLAM".

[MSU Fan]

Very nice xtm...that one always had me confused!!!

[Ninong]

Originally posted by hubris007
I don't care what everyone else says, i think it's KI-toe.

Based on what? Are you pronouncing it in reconstructed ancient Roman Latin, which has only been around for less than a hundred years? It's only since the early 20th century that some Latin scholars started pronouncing Veni, vedi, vici as WAY-nee, WEE-dee, WEE-kee instead of VAY-nee, VEE-dee, VEE-chee, and pronouncing Caesar as Kaiser instead of CHAY-sahr.

I'm pretty sure chaeto didn't exist as a word in classical Latin. It appears to be from the Greek.

The ch is pronounced as k. The ae is pronounced as e in scientific Latin and in Southern Continental Pronunciation (aka "Church Latin"). The ae could be pronounced as ai in aisle but only in reconstructed ancient Roman Latin. Both Encarta online and Merriam-Webster online give the pronunciation of chaeta as kee-, not ki-. Here and here.

Another example: We pronounce algae as AL-jee, not AL-guy. Some English-speakers in other countries pronounce it as AL-ghee. We give it a soft g and they give it a hard g.

If anyone is interested, this is a pretty good reference for the pronunciation of scientific Latin.

I took four years of Latin but that was more than 55 years ago and it was in a Catholic school, so it was based on a pronunciation that is closer to modern day Italian than what some people now say is the way Latin was pronounced in Cicero's time.

[token]

Bonsainut gave a pretty good description of Latin pronunciations earlier in this thread but many of the words that are quite common in this hobby are hybridized from a mixture of Latin and Greek parts. My biology class was taught by a meticulous "corrector". In additon I studied both Latin (six years) and Attic Greek (three years) so I am Sadistically entertained by mispronunciations of all kinds.

But to the point; if a scientific name is comprised of both Latin and Greek parts, the syllables follow the original language's pronunciation guideline, as it is commonly accepted (the caveat is that we don't know, with certainty, how "Classical" Greek was pronounced).

Ninong: the link you provided has, as resources, some very out-dated references. Here is another quick guide. Here is yet another, referencing BTJ's seminal pronunciation guide.

I hope that helps.

I think that correct pronunciation and usage of the more technical terms and phrases will help this hobby to gain the recognition it rightly deserves for its contributions to marine science. As an example, I find it hard to accept that someone is knowledgeable when nuclear is pronounced "new-kew-lehr"....

[Ninong]

Originally posted by token
Here is another quick guide. Here is yet another, referencing BTJ's seminal pronunciation guide.

OK, thanks, I'll store those now. And just for kicks, let's include the link to ICZN rules for the formation of scientific zoological names, too. There seems to be a lot of confusion lately on the rules governing gender agreement.

I find it hard to accept that someone is knowledgeable when nuclear is pronounced "new-kew-lehr"....

So much for Harvard and Yale.

[token]

Ninong, I think I am going to have read that before I can ask for a specific name for one of those "mysterious unknowns" we all have lurking in our tank...

btw, the rain here has semi-forced all of my orchids to flower; at least that is one good thing about all of our recent rain.

[Rambomessiah]

Is it zee ni yah or zen e yah for xenia?

[ZooZ]

crocea= crow see ah

[pledosophy]

Here are a few I got wrong for a bit

Hippocampus reidi = hippo campus ree die
comes= co mez
$1000 credit card bill from LFS explaing to wife= no habla englas

[reggiepe]

How about Detritus? I went through this whole thread and didn't see it.

[Ninong]

Originally posted by reggiepe
How about Detritus? I went through this whole thread and didn't see it.

detritus

[Ninong]

Originally posted by Rambomessiah
Is it zee ni yah or zen e yah for xenia?

ZEEN-ee-yah