The "How do you pronounce things" thread

[Pineapple House]

I'm curious about how all of you pronounce different aquaria-related terms. I would like it if you could post how you prounce any aquaria related term you like.

I'll start-
Zooxanthellae- ZOX-an-Thell-Ah (I read that the proper way to pronounce it was Zoo-Zan-Thell-E)
Tridacna- Tri-DACK-Nah
Crocea- Crow-SEE-ah
Refugium- Re-Fuge-E-umm
Scleractinian- Skler-Ract-tinian
Copepod- Cope-E-pod
Euphyllia- ??

Graham

[damonbrodie]

Is it:

hay lide

or

h ah lide

for Metal Halide?

(Great thread BTW)

[bdr127]

Euphyllia = you-FEEL-ee-aah

[Aaron1100us]

Sebae= See-Bay or Se-be or Se-bee?

Great thread

[despair]

euphyllia..ive bee wondering how to pronounce that for the longest time

[Pineapple House]

Welcome to reefcentral, damonbrodie!

I guess I'll add in a few more (thats how I pronounce it):
Caulerpa- Cal-Erp-ah
Acropora- Ack-Row-Pora
Montipora- Mon-Tee-Pora
Pocillopora- Pock-ill-oh-pora

euphyllia..ive bee wondering how to pronounce that for the longest time
I second that statement!

Keep em coming :)

Graham

[lebowski]

haha, good thread to start. Here's a few.

Acropora- AKRO-POHR-uh

Metal Halide- Meh-Tahl- Hahl-EYE-d

er.....

Percula- PER-Q-Luh

Zoanthid- ZOO-an-THID

Refugium-REF-U-G-UHM

Lobophylia- LO-BO-feel-E-uh

Cladniella- CLAHD-KNEE-Ehl-uh

Salifert- SALLY-FERT

Crocea-CROW-SAY-UH

Squamosa- SKWUH-MOSE-uh

Nassarius-NASS-AIR-E-us

Ricordia- Rick-OR-DEE-uh

[lebowski]

I'm positive that euphylia is pronounced YOU-FEEL-E-uh

[Mattnificence]

Conch?

[bdr127]

Originally posted by Pinapple House
Pocillopora- Pock-ill-oh-pora


Per Borneman's "Aquarium Corals" (p. 213),
Pocillopra = poh-SILL-oh-POHR-ah

[bdr127]

Originally posted by Mattnificence
Conch?

To reference the American Heritage Dictionary, conch has two acceptable pronunciations: "konch" or "konk"

[iCam]

euphyllia- yoo-fill-ee-uh
pocillopora- poh-sil-oh-pore-uh ....or....puh-see-lo-pore-uh
zooxanthellae- zoo-zan-thuh-lay
conch- con-ch.....or con-ck
glaberescens- glab-er-ess-ens
halide- hail-ide
divisa- div-ee-za

[bdr127]

Originally posted by damonbrodie
Is it:

hay lide

or

h ah lide

for Metal Halide?

(Great thread BTW)

Also per the American Heritage Dictionary, it can be pronounced either "HAL-ide" or "HAY-lide"

[bdr127]

Originally posted by Aaron1100us
Sebae= See-Bay or Se-be or Se-bee?

Great thread

Sebae = SEE-bay

[Pineapple House]

Anyone know how to pronounce Stichodactyla, Astroceoniidae, Pseudosiderastrea, Trachyphylliidae or Duncanopsamia :confused: :eek:

Graham

EDIT
Conch?
I've always pronounced conch CON-ch

Pocillopra = poh-SILL-oh-POHR-ah
Wow, I can't beleive I've been pronouncing that "wrong" for the past few years!

[iCam]

Stichodactyla, Astroceoniidae, Pseudosiderastrea, Trachyphylliidae or Duncanopsamia


stichodactyla- stick-o-dack-tuh-luh
astroceoniidae- astro-sohn-ih-day
pseudosiderastrea- sew-doe-sid-uh-rast-ree-uh
trachphylliidae- track-phil-ih-day
duncanopsamia- doon-can-op-some-ee-uh


I think...*scratches head*

[Toutouche]

damonbrodie,


[welcome]

[Rock Anemone]

damonbrodie,
<img src="/images/welcome.gif" width="500" height="62"><br><b><i><big><big>To Reef Central</b></i></big></big>

I always hear it as Ha-Lide.

Rock Anemone:D

EDIT: Sheesh TouTouche.

[Sting]

How about "percula"?

pur-cue-LAH

per-CUE-lah

Haha this is a great thread- so I don't look like an idiot in the LFS haha!

[Darya]

Originally posted by Mattnificence
Conch?

the correct pronounciation is: Con-K

[Pineapple House]

1. Ancanthastrea tanegashimensis- An-CAHN-Thas-Treah/ Tan-E-Gash-Imen-SIS

2. ishigakiensis- Ish-Igah-Keen-Sis

Graham

[iCam]

Conch can be correctly said as con-ch or con-k. I would normally say con-k, but it seems that's the "sophisticated" way to say it, so nobody is really bright enough to figure it out..so I stick to saying con-ch.

[Darya]

Originally posted by Sting
How about "percula"?

pur-cue-LAH

per-CUE-lah

Haha this is a great thread- so I don't look like an idiot in the LFS haha!

the first 1.

[Toutouche]

Rock Anemone,
Hah!!!! You're a minute too late!!!http://smilies.crowd9.com/otn/tongue/rude.gif


and onto the subject of this thread... Is it Kiton, or Chiton?

[Darya]

Originally posted by nihonjin_anemone
Conch can be correctly said as con-ch or con-k. I would normally say con-k, but it seems that's the "sophisticated" way to say it, so nobody is really bright enough to figure it out..so I stick to saying con-ch.

Except don't try that in the Caribbean or Bahamas! :D

[iCam]

Ok TouTouche. Let's figure out your name. Two-too-shay? Or what?

[Rock Anemone]

What kind of smiley is that? http://mysmilies.creativesell.net/ups/mtk/slimie.gif

I think the RC clock is a bit fast...

Rock Anemone:D

[Rock Anemone]

nihonjin_anemone, I think it's too touchy.

TouTouche, I think it's Chit-on.

Rock Anemone:D

[Toutouche]

Rock,
Close, but no sea cucumber....

Nihonjin ( and what about this one),
It's Too- toosh. My wife had a Maltese named Toupy, and she also nicknamed it Toutouche. We had to put it to sleep at only 5 years old so thatit wouldn't suffer ( had a spinal column problem even after 2 operations and it kept getting worse). We both had a hard time dealing with having to do this to the litle guy, so in his remembrance, I use this name.`
Here's a pic of the little guy (you can see why we were attached to the little Ewok).

[BigDaddy]

Nihonjin = Japanese

[Toutouche]

...but how do you pronounce it???

[BigDaddy]

Knee Hone Jean

[johnrags1234]

My sister has a half maltese half poodle named Holly Originally posted by Toutouche
Rock,
Close, but no sea cucumber....

Nihonjin ( and what about this one),
It's Too- toosh. My wife had a Maltese named Toupy, and she also nicknamed it Toutouche. We had to put it to sleep at only 5 years old so thatit wouldn't suffer ( had a spinal column problem even after 2 operations and it kept getting worse). We both had a hard time dealing with having to do this to the litle guy, so in his remembrance, I use this name.`
Here's a pic of the little guy (you can see why we were attached to the little Ewok).


Sorry to hear about your little guy:(

My sister has a maltipoo named Holly (AKA Hoots or Poofro, dont ask, okay?). She is the goofiest looking and acting dog in the world!


John

[Rock Anemone]

Zooxanthellae- zo·o·xan·thel·la
Conch- Conk

Rock Anemone:D

[Python73]

Oh this rules...

First I'll add:

duncanopsamia - dunkin - op - SAH - mee - ah

But how about:

centropyge
euxiphipops (hehehe)
chaetomorpha

S !

[Leviathan]

Great Thread!!


Theses had me for a while:

Pachyclavularia- PACK-ee-CLAV-yu-LAIR-ee-uh

Alcyonium- al-see-OH-nee-um



My favorite:

Scleronephthya- SKLEH-ro-NEPH-thee-uh

[johnrags1234]

centropyge- Cen-TRO-pie-gay

[BonsaiNut]

Quick way to not sound like a newb when pronouncing Latin words. Latin is pretty straight forward - there are significantly fewer ways to pronounce sounds than in English. Rules are absolute, there are no exceptions. For example, in Latin "c" is ALWAYS hard. So for all of you who pronounce percula as "per-CYU-la" or "per-CELL-a" you need to revise your thinking :) The worst is crocea, which even I pronounce as "cro-SAY-uh" - it probably should be "cro-CAY-ah".

Vowels
Short
a as in again
e as in met
i as in hint
o as in offer
u as in foot

Long
a as in father
e as in gate
i as in eat
o as in open
u as in food

y like the French u

Dipthongs
ae as in kite
au as in out
ei as in stray
oe as in coil

Consonants
c as in car
g as in gate
j as in yet
r trilled
s as in sign
t pronounced without aspiration
v as in win
bs as in apse
bt as in apt
ch as in chaotic
ph as in top heavy
th as in take

As far as stress goes, a general rule for working out where the stress should fall is the following:

If a word has only two syllables, the accent will fall on the first syllable.

If a word has more than two syllables,
the stress will fall on the second last syllable if that syllable contains a long vowel or a short vowel followed by a consonant, otherwise the stress will fall on the third last syllable eg celériter, sollÃÂ*citus.

So...

percula: per-COO-la
sebae: SEE-bye
zooxanthellae: zoh-uh-zan-TAY-lie
crocea: cro-CAY-ah
ocellaris: ock-el-AR-is
gigantea: ghee-gant-AYE-ah (there is no "gee" sound in Latin)
digitada: dee-ghee-TAH-dah

[Cakepro]

LOL ~ great thread!

On Merriam-Webster's website, you can look up a word and hear it pronouced. It definitely is "zo-ah-zan-THELL-a."

I am so glad that all this time I've been saying conch (konk) correctly. LOL

What bugs me is not knowing whether it's capanella or capnella.

Yesterday at our reef meeting, someone kept saying "da-serra" clams for "derasa" and "photo-plankton" for phytoplankton. LOL!

Oh yeah, and he kept saying "Montipora digitelli" instead of digitata. Hee hee!!!

Hoo, man, and many people in my reef club keep saying "ka-loop-ree-a" instead of caulerpa (KAWL-er-pa). Drives me nuts!

~ Sherri

[crazyfishlady]

How about those naughty anemones - aiptasia? It's not on merriam websters...
Erika

[JazzMan]

Very cool thread...

All I keep picturing is that kids show I watched growing up with the two face outlines that would pronounce parts of words and then bring them together. Does anyone remember this? I think it was called the electric company but I am not sure.

[BonsaiNut]

Originally posted by Cakepro
On Merriam-Webster's website, you can look up a word and hear it pronouced. It definitely is "zo-ah-zan-THELL-a."


Heh :) Going to Merriam-Webster for pronounciation is like going to Clinton for ethics classes. It might be what some people find acceptable today, but classicists would raise their eyebrows :)

"th" in Latin is ALWAYS hard - like tom, tim, take, etc. There is no "th" sound in Latin pronounciation.
"ae" in Latin is ALWAYS a hard "i" - like time, site, crime, etc.

[Cakepro]

LOL, that's exactly why I go to English Mass instead of Novus Ordo or Tridentine Mass...yo no hable da Latin. ;)

If there is a better pronounciation guide online, please clue me in!

Erika, I say "ap TAY zhuh." Perhaps those who enunciate more clearly would say "ap TAY see a." :eek1:

~ Sherri

[naesco]

Colour Ca-lore

roof Roooo-f

eh! A

[MiddletonMark]

I've heard of 2 different Acropora pronunciations:

Ack Ro Pora
A Crop ora

I used to be the top, but I like the bottom one better and use it now. Might vary regionally [like LFS people actually care/know much?!?] ... never mind international or scientist usage.


Like how much of the world pronounces aluminum.

Al Loo Min Eeum.

But some of them are damn tricky, and have 1 pronunciation.

Great thread

Mark

[greenbean36191]

gorgonian?

[Sting]

Down here in FL if anyone ever said con-ch you would be given a VERY funny look.

I think everyone should just be content with con-k- it's so much easier...and the correct way after all :)

[iCam]

BigDaddy, thanks for answering for me. Yes nihonjin is Japanese for "Japanese". I was outside trying to get some color in me, and I missed the post :D .

[iCam]

Example: Kodomo wa Nihonjin desu ka?

[Pineapple House]

Originally posted by greenbean36191
gorgonian?
I've always pronounced that Gore-Go-Nian

What bugs me is not knowing whether it's capanella or capnella.
It's Capnella. I think it's pronounced just like it's spelled- Cap-NELL-ah

How about those naughty anemones - aiptasia?
I had quite a hard time pronouncing aiptasia for quite some time. I would always act like a fool whenever I said "Aiptasia." I've always heard it pronounced Aip-TAY-She-ah.

Yongei- Yon-Ghee
Platyhelminths-?
Cryptocaryon irritans- Cripe-Toah-Cary-on + Irri-Tans?

Graham

[Salt'n'Lime]

One I did not see


Porites = Poor-eye-tees or same Pohr-eye-tees

[Toutouche]

Tom- A - toe or To - mah - toe?

Pote - A - toe, or Po - tah - toe?

Oh!!! never mind, I think it was a blue dress anyway!!!! :D

[GSchiemer]

If anyone is really interested in pronounciation and derivation of scientific terms, I highly recommend the book: "Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms" by Donald Borror. Two Little Fishies used to sell this book. It's inexpensive.

Here is the first paragraph from the preface:

"One of the outstanding problems of the biologist, whether he be the beginning student or specialist, is that of understanding technical terms. The best way to understand and remember technical terms is to understand first their componet parts, or roots. To this end the various word roots, from the Latin, Greek, and other languages, that are most frequently encountered in biological terms have been brought together in this dictionary."


Greg

[greenbean36191]

Here's a whole list:

seriatopora hystrix
platygyra
caulastrea
kaelini
stylophora
hydnophora
turbinaria
pectinia
merulina

Maybe I will come up with some more later.

[naesco]

Originally posted by Toutouche
Tom- A - toe or To - mah - toe?

Pote - A - toe, or Po - tah - toe?

Oh!!! never mind, I think it was a blue dress anyway!!!! :D

:D :eek2: :eek2:

aluminum .............. al lu min E um

lieutenant.............. left ten ant



:p

[gcvt]

What about nudibranch?

Is the ending pronounced like one would say 'tree branch'? Or does the ending sound like 'brank'?

[Rock Anemone]

When I'm at some good LFS's they always say NudiBranch as in like a tree branch. And nudi like nude-e.

Rock Anemone:D

[Toutouche]

And nudi like nude-e.


Hee, Hee!!!!!

[Rock Anemone]

http://66.227.101.70/contrib/xerx/smileydavid.gif

Rock Anemone:lol:

[BlAcK_PeRcUlA]

how about cheatomorpha?

I say Kaeyto Moorfa

[Rock Anemone]

caulastrea - call-a-stree-a
stylophora - stylo-pooraa
hydnophora - hide-no-poor-a
turbinaria - turb-in-air-rea

Just some guesses, hahahaha... We are so good at talking about them via text, but we can't really talk about them via voice can we?

Rock Anemone:D

[Toutouche]

Rock,
your 2 for 4.

StI - lo - fora
HIde - no - fora

http://www.smilies.okipages.com/s/contrib/tweetz/moon.gif hee! Hee!

[Pineapple House]

Originally posted by gcvt
What about nudibranch?

Is the ending pronounced like one would say 'tree branch'? Or does the ending sound like 'brank'?
I've always prounced that
Nude-E-Branch
(Branch as in Tree branch, not Bran-K)

Graham

[Pineapple House]

hydnophora - hide-no-poor-a
It's pronounced
Hide-No-FOR-ah

Graham :)

[Rock Anemone]

That's right... Now I remember... The ph is making an f sound... ha, I got it...

Rock Anemone:D

[teevee]

Originally posted by BonsaiNut
Heh :) Going to Merriam-Webster for pronounciation is like going to Clinton for ethics classes. It might be what some people find acceptable today, but classicists would raise their eyebrows :)

"th" in Latin is ALWAYS hard - like tom, tim, take, etc. There is no "th" sound in Latin pronounciation.
"ae" in Latin is ALWAYS a hard "i" - like time, site, crime, etc.

you hit that one on the head. i always laugh when people run out to layman dictionaries for definitions and such... who really defines words and pronunciation - those who use the word, or those who write the dictionary. of course this opens the whole language argument. what is a word? what needs to be done to "make" something into a word? is slang not english? why are we here? is there a place a guy can get a drink around here?

[BlAcK_PeRcUlA]

how about cheatomorpha? i dont like sounding all weird when i say it to someone who asks if i have any macro.

"I have Kaeyto Moorfa"

" You have what?":D

[naesco]

shoaling fish ...... skoo ling fish

shoal of fish ...... skool of fish

[Cakepro]

Guess again, naesco.

Shoal = "shole"

School = "skool"

~ Sherri

[photobarry]

Originally posted by Pinapple House
I've always prounced that
Nude-E-Branch
(Branch as in Tree branch, not Bran-K)

Graham

Its actually the latter. Follow the rules Bonsai laid out. 'ch' is always pronounced as a hard 'k'.

[vikingkim]

Coelogorgiidae-see-lo-GORG-a-day (?)

[Pineapple House]

Originally posted by photobarry
Its actually the latter. Follow the rules Bonsai laid out. 'ch' is always pronounced as a hard 'k'.
Wow. Even on the discovery channel they pronounced it "Nude-E-Branch." It'll take a while to get used to saying the words correctly!

Graham

[BlAcK_PeRcUlA]

whoa... nudibranK

never heard it said that way

[photobarry]

Originally posted by BlAcK_PeRcUlA
whoa... nudibranK

never heard it said that way

That's funny, I don't think I've ever heard it pronounced the other way. There are lots of other words that I have mispronounced for a long time though.

[lebowski]

I say

Nude-uh-branch

[Toutouche]

While I'm not saying that Photobarry and Bonsainut are wrong, I'm gonna go out on a limb and and play the Devil's advocate. I'm pretty sure there are exceptions to the rules as in any language, and Nudibranch is actually pronounced with a "branch" ( as in a tree). People lots of are often wrong about things, I don't think the ENTIRE WORLD is wrong about this one. I too have never ever heard it with a "brank" sound.
Until I actually hear it from a language specialist who absolutely knows, I'm gonna stick to "branch" on this one.

[Rock Anemone]

I have to agree with Toutouche on this one. Also, I doubt the Discover Channel would be saying it wrong, but who knows.

Rock Anemone:D

[Toutouche]

People lots of are often wrong about things

WOAH!!! Talk about a Yodaism!!! :D

[photobarry]

Check this (http://www.pogopus.com/opus/gallery/nudibranchs/whatis.html) out for the proper prununciation of nudibrach. Unfortunately the Discovery Channel gets a bunch of pronunciations wrong.

[Toutouche]

Photobarry,
O.k. fair enough. Like I said, I wasn't accusing you of being wrong, but since that looks specialized enough, I guess you're right!! Looks like the whole world CAN be wrong at times.
Now that I think about it, it makes sense, afterall, think about the word "bronchial".

[photobarry]

No worries. I'm just trying to be helpful. I'ld be the first to admit if I was wrong. All you guys had me worried so I thought I would double check. Since I did the search and all I thought I would share the results.

Now if someone could pronounce those Finnish RK articles, I would be impressed. :D

Cheers

[Ninong]

Originally posted by BonsaiNut
Latin is pretty straight forward - there are significantly fewer ways to pronounce sounds than in English. Rules are absolute, there are no exceptions. For example, in Latin "c" is ALWAYS hard. So for all of you who pronounce percula as "per-CYU-la" or "per-CELL-a" you need to revise your thinking :) The worst is crocea, which even I pronounce as "cro-SAY-uh" - it probably should be "cro-CAY-ah".


Where did we get these absolute rules for pronunciation of classical Latin? Did someone discover a sound recording of Cicero's orations?

The truth is we do not know how Latin was pronounced 2000 years ago. We don't even know how English is supposed to be pronounced today. Just put an Australian, an American, an Oxford educated Englishman and a London cabbie in the same room and see how many different versions of English you will get. Throw in Dubya for good measure and you get an entirely new language that only Karl Rove understands.

In my opinion, the best way to pronounce scientific names should be the Italian, since that language is the most similar to Latin. In the case of Crocea, the correct Italian pronunciation should be "cro-CHAY-ah" instead of "cro-CAY-ah" or "cro-SAY-ah." The consonant C has different pronunciations, changing with the vowel that follows that letter. For example, Ceras is pronounced "cheras" (not "seras" or "keras") but Cadlina is pronounced "kadleena."

A few consonants that are pronounced differently in English are H, which is silent in Latin, and J, which is pronounced like the vowel sound "ee" in Latin. They didn't even have a J in classical Latin; Julius Caesar was really Iulius Caesar. For example, Hypselodoris should be pronounced "eepsehlohdoris" and Jorunna should be pronounced "eeohrunna."

The major problem is that English has so many different vowel sounds. Latin has only five: A "ah," E "eh," I "ee," O "oh," and U "oo."

It bugs me every time I hear Jupiter's innermost moon, Io, called "Eye-oh" instead of the correct "EE-oh."

Don't worry if you can't pronounce something in Latin, the doctors and lawyers can't either. Ever hear one of them say "bona fide" or "habeas corpus?" Ever hear a plant person say "Ficus benjamina?" Their pronunciations are not even close to Latin. Only the genus is correctly pronounced in "H0m0 sapiens."

It's nudi-brank, not nudi-branch, and the plural is spelled nudibranchs not nudibranches. It's from the Latin nudibranchia.

:)

[Rezzan1]

palypathoa, sorry if the spelling is incorrect.

[Pineapple House]

Originally posted by photobarry
Check this (http://www.pogopus.com/opus/gallery/nudibranchs/whatis.html) out for the proper prununciation of nudibrach. Unfortunately the Discovery Channel gets a bunch of pronunciations wrong.
Very interesting read, Photobarry! Thanks for showing the link!

palypathoa- Pay-Lee-Path-Oh-Ah??
I'm probably incorrect, but I'm sure someone here will correct me :)

What about Capricornis? I've pronounced it Cap-Re-Corn-is. Is this correct?
Second, how is Gemmifera pronounced? I've always pronounced it Gem-If-Fur-Ah. But, i'm most likely way off on that one as well.

Graham

[Rock Anemone]

What about Capricornis? I've pronounced it Cap-Re-Corn-is. Is this correct?
Same with me.

What about Montipora? Mon-te-pour-a ?

Rock Anemone:D

[Pineapple House]

Originally posted by Rock Anemone

What about Montipora? Mon-te-pour-a ?
I've always pronounced it Mon-Te-Pour-ah, also. I think that's the correct way to say it...I hope :o

Graham

[Rock Anemone]

Digitata - di-gi-ta-ta ???

Rock Anemone:D

[oz]

I can't say Anemone.

Bush can't say nuclear.

[saltyseaman]

Originally posted by Toutouche
WOAH!!! Talk about a Yodaism!!! :D

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: I actually did Laugh Out Loud at this one!!!! That was good!!:lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

[BlAcK_PeRcUlA]

haha Nuclear=Noo CA LEEAR for bush

[Lenny Llambi]

well since latin is a phoenetic language, technically, you hav to pronounce each and every letter:

euphyllia: eh oop heel lee ah

but: you phil ee ah is so much easier

porites: poh ree tes

but: pohr ites is so much easier

Favites: fah wee tes

but: fay vites is so much easier

I went to a catholic latin school so the nuns beat that pronunciation into me, latins dead anyways so you can massacre it all you want.

[Lenny Llambi]

OOPS

Didn't see Ninong's post...but ditto what he said...with one exception:


LAst time I heard linguists had determined romanian to be the closest descendat to Latin.

All of the pronunciation rules are essentially best guesses determined by comparing all of the romantic languages.

[Jello2028]

Tubastrea: too-ba-stray-uh or too-ba-stree-uh?
Amphiprion: am-fuh-pry-on or am-fip-ri-on? Or neither?
Goniopora?
Ritteri?

Also I'm wondering about the pronunciation of "lysmata amboinensis," not that I'd ever need to call it the latin name.

This thread is great - I will not be made a fool of anymore, darn it!

[Mikeaveli21]

Originally posted by Jello2028
Tubastrea: too-ba-stray-uh or too-ba-stree-uh?
Amphiprion: am-fuh-pry-on or am-fip-ri-on? Or neither?

I say:
Tubastrea:too-ba-stree-uh?
Amphiprion: am-fip-ree-on--not sure though on this one

I know this got mentioned somewhere before but I didn't see the answer : AIPTASIA....i hate trying to say this word!

Is is AP-TAY-JHI-AH?

[Ninong]

Some of the words that are being discussed now are not from the Latin at all, but from the Greek, which really complicates things.

Amphiprion is obviously from the Greek; just think of amphitheater. Porites is actually pronounced Pohr-EYE-tees, which leads me to think that it, too, might be from the Greek, although I haven't bothered to look it up.

Octopus is another obvious example of a word with a Greek origin, which is why the plural is NOT octopi, no matter what some people may say. If it were from Latin, it would be octoped. Think biped, quadriped, et cetera -- which are all from the Latin, including the obvious et cetera which IS Latin.

We could carry this Latin thing to the extreme. The plural of forum should be fora, the plural of aquarium should be aquaria, etc. I always like it when someone refers to an individual of a certain college as an alumni instead of an alumnus. It's even funnier if the individual is female, in which case it should be alumna. There is no alumni association at an all women's college, only an alumnae association.

:D

[Jello2028]

Octopodes, right?

(I got that knocked into my head repeatedly by a friend who kept one, and I think it's neat, but confidentially, I'd enjoy him being wrong for once :))

Sarah

[Jello2028]

I mean octopus. Gaaah.

[Ninong]

Octopuses.

[BlAcK_PeRcUlA]

i always thought it was octopi

[Ninong]

Octopi has made its way into the dictionary as the second choice only because so many people use it instead of the correct octopuses. Octopus is from the Greek oktôpous, literally eight feet. People are just used to thinking that any word ending in -us must be Latin masculine and therefore the plural should be -i.

[Ninong]

And in furtherance of my argument that it makes no sense to hold that the consonant C in Latin must always be pronounced hard, I offer the word "cello." It's chell-oh, not kell-oh or sell-oh.

Acropora should be Ah-CROP-or-ah, although Acro-POHR-ah is supposedly OK, too. But how would you pronounce that famous Greek landmark, the Acropolis? ;)

[Pineapple House]

Originally posted by Jello2028

Goniopora?
Ritteri?
Goniopora- Gone-E-oh-Pohr-ah (?)
Ritteri- writ-er-re(?) or Rit-ter-re(?)

Digitata- Digi-TAH-TAH?

Graham

[Toutouche]

You know, funny thing happened this morning while I was taking my shower. I was thinking about this thread and about the word "Nudibranch". ( don't know why I was thinking about this in the shower...., but anyways...). It hit me and I laughed to myself. I've been living the explanation Photobarry had for it being pronounced "brank" at the end all my life.
Lenny Llambi's comment about latin being closest to romanian also confirms it. I'm Romanian and my last name is spelled "Nichifor", but it's pronounced NiK-E-fore. In romanian there is no letter "K" and the "CH" is always pronounced K ( at least that is what I've been told all my life, soooo.... Photobarry must be right!!)

[oz]

I have a colleague with a last name of fuch

Not sure how he pronounces it but I just call him by his first name to avoid the issue.

[GSchiemer]

Originally posted by oz
I have a colleague with a last name of fuch

Not sure how he pronounces it but I just call him by his first name to avoid the issue.

I had a neighbor with the last name "Fuchs." It is pronounced with a long "u" (Fewks).

[Toutouche]

Since we're talking about names a bit, I had a friend named Robert Loblaw, and as often is the case him included, Bob is used as a shortened version of Robert. We used to cal him Bob Loblaw!!http://216.40.249.192/s/otn/realhappy/mhihi.gif http://216.40.249.192/s/otn/laughing/lol2.gif

[photobarry]

Originally posted by Toutouche
soooo.... Photobarry must be right!!)

Was there ever any doubt!! :D

[Lenny Llambi]

I'm not sure if they are still around, but during WWII two of Germany's largest airplane manufacturers were Focke Wolfe and Fokker. Well one time, as a child, I was in my friend's room talking about model airplanes from WWII. Well after mentioning the aforementioned manufactures a couple of times (I had just built a couple of model planes, by those very companies) his mom burst in and screamed at me Army DI style and banned me from playing with her children, b/c of my potty mouth. I wish I could have seen her face when my dad explained to her that she was just being ignorant (she was the "my kid is smarter than yours" type).:hammer:

[Toutouche]

Was there ever any doubt!!

Ummmm???..., welll?????... YEAH!!!!!!!:p

[photobarry]

Originally posted by Toutouche
Ummmm???..., welll?????... YEAH!!!!!!!:p

Oh yeah, I guess there was. :lol:

[Pineapple House]

Cyano-
Kye-ano?

I've never been able to pronounce that.

Graham

[Ninong]

Originally posted by Pinapple House
Cyano-
Kye-ano?

I've never been able to pronounce that.

Graham

SI-ah-no, as in SI-ah-no-bak-TEER-ee-ah. The first syllable is pronounced like the word "sigh."

This isn't from the Latin anyway, it from the Greek for dark blue. Most Latin scientific terms are not really pronounced in Latin anyway. There is some deference to the Latin and certain conventions as to where to place the accent, but I don't think you will find too many biologists or botanists pronouncing hard C's or V's as W's. And in medical and legal terms, most of the Latin is fully anglicized.

Besides, I think Veni, vidi, vici sounds a lot better as VAY-nee, VEE-dee, VEE-chi. WAY-nee, WEE-dee, WEE-key sounds too much like Elmer Fudd for me and I just can't imagine Caesar prounouncing it that way or pronouncing his own name as KYE-zar, either -- too Germanic for me. :lol:

[oz]

I can't pronounce this not imagine eating there...

[chewie]

Not reef related but this has always bugged me.

How do you pronounce "promenade"

most people say it prah-muh-nawd

I say it prah-muh-nayd

Like lemonade, leh-muh-nayd, or should it be leh-muh-nawd:mixed:

[chewie]

what about Nepethea?

nep-EE-theeah or nep-theea

Chaetomorpha= kay-toh-mohr-fah Is that right?

Last one's for Bomber

Jerel, would that be jer-EL or jerrel. I say it jer-ELL, but have heard both.

[Armando]

This may be easy but I dunno :(

Anthelia?

[BlAcK_PeRcUlA]

I can't pronounce this not imagine eating there...


Fook Yoo:lol:

[Psychedelic Mandarin]

Merriam-Webster Dictionary is really helpful:

http://www.m-w.com/

It even has a feature to listen to the pronunciation.

[Toutouche]

Black Perc,

I'll bet you just did the most awesome slip through the censor loophole in the history of this board!!!!

[BlAcK_PeRcUlA]

:lol:

Nope i think they found me. I'm posting from mexico right now because i'm laying low outside the country so the RC police can forget about it.

[dattack]

Originally posted by PetFreak
This may be easy but I dunno :(

Anthelia?
An-the-li-a
;)

[tld]

Originally posted by oz
I can't say Anemone.

Bush can't say nuclear.

You are not alone Oz... I frequently hear "anemone" incorrectly pronouced as "an enemy" and the word is often spelled wrong too as "anenome" - adding to the confusion.

Now, George W saying "Nuke - u - lar" absolutely drives my mother insane :rolleyes:

[Tabizan]

Stupid question , but I presume that 'Kalkwasser' is prounounced with a 'V' , not a 'W' , ie , Kalkvasser , being a german word?

[Jabrams]

Originally posted by Pinapple House

Acropora- Ack-Row-Pora
Montipora- Mon-Tee-Pora



A-CROP-ORA

MON-TIP-ORA

[Jabrams]

Originally posted by chewie
Not reef related but this has always bugged me.

How do you pronounce "promenade"



PROM-A-NOD

[Jabrams]

Originally posted by Ninong
But how would you pronounce that famous Greek landmark, the Acropolis? ;)


A-CROP-A-LIS

MA-TROP-A-LIS

[Jabrams]

how about herb

the english say.... ERBS

US says..... HER-B'S

beacuse there is a freaken 'H' in there........

[wee-reefer]

My mum would yell at me if I said HERB "Herb'',

It is quite backwards of how you wrote it, the English say it HERB, and the name HERB is pronounced HERB, but the tasty garden variety is pronounced ERB. Don't ask...:rolleyes: WEE

[TippyToeX]

A thread that deserves an overdue BUMP :)

[Unresistible Blue]

Originally posted by Mattnificence
Conch?
Konk

[kenny77]

hey this is the best english class i have taken. since english is my 3rd language. keep them coming guy. i hate to go to a LFS and ask for something and they show me something else since they didnt understand me!"(

[Unresistible Blue]

REF u gee-um

[bement14]

This would have helped 4 months ago.

[Saltz Creep]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v45/Cannonball888/Willie.gif

Willi says
"man sagt kalkwasser wie kAHlk vAH-sir"
(german for lime water)

[safetydancer]

One i can never get right: Eibli?

[greenbean36191]

Acropora should be Ah-CROP-or-ah, although Acro-POHR-ah is supposedly OK, too. But how would you pronounce that famous Greek landmark, the Acropolis?

I would pronounce acropolis ah-CROP-o-lis, but how would you pronounce the word pore, which is the other half of the name? I would say acropora akro-PORE-uh.

Don't forget when you try to use hard and fast rules from Latin to pronounce these names, that a lot of them aren't Latin (or even Greek) in origin; they are names of people and places, so the rules don't apply.

Also FWIW, all of the professors I've had pronounced the "ae" ending on Latinized words as "ee." For example zooxanthellae is zoh-zan-thell-ee. They also stress different syllables than I would expect if I saw the words written. For example isopoda is eye-SOP-ih-duh and chlorophyta is klor-OFF-it-ah.


I'm not sure who asked, but chiton is kite-un.

[KafudaFish]

This thread is great. Sit in any college taxonomy class and you will hear the same scientific name pronounced differently. As an undergrad my professor pronounced cephalopods with a strong "k" but in graduate school it was a soft "c" like a snake. The difference: My undergrad prof. learned it from a Scotsman.
Greenbean: I have always heard isopoda as i-SO-po-da.

[cwegescheide]

Wegescheide > Weg-esh-ide :lol:

[SilverShark]

So how do you say Anemone? I say ANN-E-MONE :o

[cwegescheide]

Tunze >> toon-zee or ton-zee

[Lev F.]

what about Kole, as in kole tang?

[LobsterOfJustice]

Cyclop-eeze?

I assumed sy-klope-ease

but someone at my LFS pronounced it "cyclops"

[Ninong]

Originally posted by Dragonet_Dude
what about Kole, as in kole tang?

Co-lay

[original-reefland]

Originally posted by Ninong
Co-lay

Hmm.. that is how I originally said it and was correct to "cole" like you would say "coal".

[Ninong]

Originally posted by greenbean36191
I would pronounce acropolis ah-CROP-o-lis, but how would you pronounce the word pore, which is the other half of the name? I would say acropora akro-PORE-uh.

Don't forget when you try to use hard and fast rules from Latin to pronounce these names, that a lot of them aren't Latin (or even Greek) in origin; they are names of people and places, so the rules don't apply.

Unlike the legal and medical professions, where Latin words are usually Anglicized, the scientific community has certain conventions for the pronounciation of Latin names. Those rules place the accent on the second sylable in Acropora, which I believe is derived from the Latin for upper and opening, which probably refers to the axial corallites. I guess you would have to place the accent on the next to last sylable if you were pronouncing it in Spanish.

Also FWIW, all of the professors I've had pronounced the "ae" ending on Latinized words as "ee."

An example of that would be the plural of alga -- algae. The Anglicized pronounciation of algae is AL-jee in the U.S. but it's AL-ghee in most other English speaking countries. We pronounce it with a soft "g" and they pronounce it with a hard "g."

They also stress different syllables than I would expect if I saw the words written. For example isopoda is eye-SOP-ih-duh and chlorophyta is klor-OFF-it-ah.

Yes, that's correct, and that's why they would say Ah-CROP-or-ah and not Ah-cro-POR-ah. :D

[jaguarmonk]

Wrasse....is it Wr-As or Wra-se??

[Ninong]

Originally posted by original-reefland
Hmm.. that is how I originally said it and was correct to "cole" like you would say "coal".

Whoever corrected you wasn't a native Hawaiian. :D

OK, I'm not either but the word "Ko-le" is the Hawaiian name for Ctenochaetus striatus and in Hawaiian you pronounce every vowel separately.

[Ninong]

Originally posted by jaguarmonk
Wrasse....is it Wr-As or Wra-se??

The "w" is silent. It's pronounced "ras."

[padixon2]

LOL! now go back and tell me what all those pretty words mean, ROFL!

[Ninong]

Originally posted by greenbean36191
Don't forget when you try to use hard and fast rules from Latin to pronounce these names, that a lot of them aren't Latin (or even Greek) in origin; they are names of people and places, so the rules don't apply.

Ah, but the "rules" do apply. Just different rules -- the Rules for Zoological Nomenclature. :D

Unfortunately the rules are often misapplied and it is common to find different spellings -- endings actually -- for the same animal. Some authors even use more than one spelling for the same species. For example, Scott Michael in Angelfishes & Butterflyfishes refers to the Coral Beauty as Centropyge bispinosus everwhere in the book except on page 225, where it is correctly called C. bispinosa. Dieter Brockmann calls the Flame Angel, Centropyge loricula in Fishes and Corals. It should be Centropyge loriculus. This one is spelled incorrectly by a number of American authors, too. (P.S. -- Scott Michael is still using the masculine endings for ALL of the Centropyge species in his new book, Angelfishes & Butterflyfishes, which was just published last year. Several of those are incorrect.)

The problem is that it was incorrectly assumed that the Greek word Centropyge was masculine but now they have finally realized it's feminine. So a lot of authors (example: Gerald R. Allen, 1999) have gone and changed all the masculine endings in the species names of this genus to feminine. But that's not correct because the species name does not always follow the gender of the genus name. Only descriptive species names follow the gender of the genus name (example: bispinosa); substantive species names (example: loriculus) or dedicatory names (example: eibli) remain unchanged.

So, if you used to use Centropyge loriculus and you thought it had changed to C. loricula, it didn't. So go back to using C. loriculus. But if you're still using C. bispinosus for the Coral Beauty (aka two-spined angelfish), you're now wrong because the correct name is C. bispinosa. All of the descriptive species names in the Centropyge genus have changed to feminine endings but only the descriptive ones.

:D

[Ninong]

Originally posted by Poone
This thread is great. Sit in any college taxonomy class and you will hear the same scientific name pronounced differently. As an undergrad my professor pronounced cephalopods with a strong "k" but in graduate school it was a soft "c" like a snake. The difference: My undergrad prof. learned it from a Scotsman.
Greenbean: I have always heard isopoda as i-SO-po-da.

The correct Latin pronounciation of the letters "c" and "g" always starts a good argument. People disagree on what is correct. For example: Veni, vidi, vici to me should be pronounced "vainee, veedee, veechee" and not "waynee, weedee, weekee" as some prefer. The Italian word "cello" for the musical instrument is pronounced "chello," not "kello." I prefer to lean towards Italian pronounciations of Latin words. It's not hard pronouncing the Latin vowels because there are only five of them and they are always pronounced the same: Ah, eh, ee, oh, oo (a, e, i, o, u). Some of the consonants are pronounced differently and some letters don't exist. "J" is pronounced as "ee" and "h" is silent.

Besides "cephalopods," here are a couple more that are pronounced differently in different parts of the English-speaking world: Ceras -- I think it should be pronounced "cheras" instead of the more common "seras" or "keras." "C" is not always pronounced as "ch." It all depends on the vowel that follows the "c" and whether it's just one vowel or two. "Ca" followed by a consonant would usually be pronounced hard as "Ka." I have heard Tridacna crocea pronounced several different ways. I like to say "Treedakna crochaya" but most people say either "Trydakna crosaya" or "Trydakna croshaya."

Just ask someone how to pronounce "Celtic" and see what you get.

:D

[greenbean36191]

Ah, but the "rules" do apply. Just different rules -- the Rules for Zoological Nomenclature.

True, there is one RIGHT way to say every taxonomic name, and if you wanted to be absolutely correct you would follow all of the rules to the T. In the real world though, not even the people who study these animals and talk about them regularly follow all of the rules. I think if the pros can't even agree how to pronounce the words, but people still understand them it shouldn't be too big of a concern to hobbiests to get the words ABSOLUTELY correct. :) Just get close enough that people understand what you are talking about. I doubt many people at the LFS will be correcting your Latin. If you did follow all of the rules they might not even understand what you're talking about. :lol:

[KafudaFish]

Greenbean: I agree there is one right way to pronounce a word. Who is going to correct someone who is an authority on a taxon with 30 years research experience?
Are you a DISL Derelict?
Another one: Pteronarcyiidae. The "p"is silent.
Not every scientific name is Latin or Greek though. What if a species is name after a Russian scientist?

[Saltz Creep]

For those of you interested in taxonomic nomenclature, here is a list of really strange ones. Who would name a species after Mick Jagger or Metallica? :lol:
Look under "named after people"
http://home.earthlink.net/~misaak/taxonomy/taxEtym.html

[greenbean36191]

Phallus impudicus Linnaeus (stinkhorn fungus, family Phallaceae) There is also Phallus daemonicum.
My friends and I were actually getting a good laugh about this genus yesterday. You should see the pictures.

[greenbean36191]

Are you a DISL Derelict?
I know DISL (I hate the place), but I'm not sure I know what you mean by DISL Derelict, so the answer is probably no.:D

[starmanron]

Sorry the thread is too long, and I'm lazy today. Was cnidarian covered?

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I think we need one for our president:

It's new-kle-er, not nuk-u-ler


:lol:

[Ninong]

Originally posted by Randy Holmes-Farley
I think we need one for our president:

It's new-kle-er, not nuk-u-ler


:lol:

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/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=nuclear&x=11&y=14

:rolleye1:

I'm sure that will make your day! :lol:

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Just as long as he stays away from pronouncing chemical names. :D

[greenbean36191]

Was cnidarian covered?

nye-dehr-ee-an or nid-err-ee-an

I've heard it both ways, and dispite my horrible phonetic spelling they sound almost the same.

One of my professors said something that reminded me of this thread the other day when she was stalking about one of the classes of Chrysophyta (and she knows the rules for Latin): "You will here these names pronounced a million different ways. Just listen to how the experts say it and try to copy them."

[Jabrams]

nid-AIR-ee-ah


cool little critters

[inerratum]

actinic?

[Jabrams]

ak--tin--ick

[aquaman67]

go to www.m-w.com and type in any word you want to HEAR pronounced...

Here's an example

http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=cnidarians&x=15&y=11

Push the little red speaker button...

[yessongs]

Originally posted by Randy Holmes-Farley
Just as long as he stays away from pronouncing chemical names. :D
Thats not his only problem "Most of our imports come from other countries"

[TJ]

the "Bob Loblaw" has been my favorite so far! It's been a long time since I've sat and read through a post and laughed my head off! I feel like I'm reciting a Native American language, sounding out all these word! Great post....:)

[Putawaywet]

Originally posted by LobsterOfJustice
Cyclop-eeze?

I assumed sy-klope-ease

but someone at my LFS pronounced it "cyclops"

Cyclo-pee-zee & Cyclop-ee-zee both seem to be pretty interchangeable. However, according to a coworker who professes to have spoken to a company rep, #1 is technically correct.

As for the Ak-ro-por-ah vs. A-crop-or-ah argument, us left coasters seem to use the former. Although I know 2 professional aquarists who use the latter and they both are from the east coast if that makes a difference.

Brett

[BrianD]

Another timely bumpidy bump

[rockindacheeks]

conch is konk

[msuzuki126]

cheato

cay-ay-tow?
chet-tow?
cheat-ow?

[LobsterOfJustice]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8045164#post8045164 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by msuzuki126
cheato

cay-ay-tow?
chet-tow?
cheat-ow?

I believe it is Cheet-o (like the snack), short for cheet-o-morf-uh

Here's one that threw me off a few years ago, Tunze

TUHN-zee

[Ninong]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8045164#post8045164 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by msuzuki126
cheato

cay-ay-tow?
chet-tow?
cheat-ow?

I assume you mean "chaeto" as in Chaetomorpha, a genus of algae, right?

The first sylable "chae" is prounced "key." You should be able to figure out the rest.

:D

[Ninong]

Maybe this will help explain things. Think of polychaete worms, commonly known as bristleworms. Polychaete means "many bristles" or hairs. Chaeta (pl. chaetae) means "stiff hairs" in biological terminology (syn. seta, pl. setae).

Chaetomorpha is "hair algae," also called spaghetti algae. Chaetomorpha means it's shaped like hair (or spaghetti).

[JHemdal]

I always get a laugh from the "experts" at conferences, etc., who are often so quick to correct you when you pronounce something "wrong". Just ask them, "But do you know what it is that I'm naming?" Of course they do - and thats all you really need for good communication. I never correct people's pronunciation of scientific names - as long as I can intuit what they are talking about. I learned most of my aquarium taxonomy by reading tons of books when I was a kid. All these years saying those words in my head, without ever hearing anyone else say them has given me a rather unique pronunciation on many of them<grin>. It is a sub-genus now, but in my head, as a kid, the angelfish genus Euxiphipops came out something like uck-pee-pops. I'm still not certain how most people would say that one!

Jay Hemdal

[Snakebyt]

great thread

[Ninong]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=4242767#post4242767 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> 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/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=nuclear&x=11&y=14

:rolleye1:

I'm sure that will make your day! :lol:

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]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8048171#post8048171 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> 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).

:D

[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]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=4137105#post4137105 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> 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!!! :rollface:

[Ninong]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10291778#post10291778 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> 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 (http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/chaeta) and here (http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/chaeta.html).

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 (http://www.saltspring.com/capewest/pron.htm#current) 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.

:D

[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 (http://courses.washington.edu/insects/455Students/a5_methods/Pronounciation.htm) is another quick guide. Here (http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~insrisg/nature/lindell.htm) 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]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10292363#post10292363 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by token
Here (http://courses.washington.edu/insects/455Students/a5_methods/Pronounciation.htm) is another quick guide. Here (http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~insrisg/nature/lindell.htm) 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 (http://www.iczn.org/iczn/index.jsp), 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]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11346552#post11346552 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reggiepe
How about Detritus? I went through this whole thread and didn't see it.

detritus (http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/detritus.html)

[Ninong]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11343951#post11343951 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Rambomessiah
Is it zee ni yah or zen e yah for xenia?

ZEEN-ee-yah

[Rambomessiah]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11347437#post11347437 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Ninong
ZEEN-ee-yah

That's what I thought but I keep running into people who say zen e yah.

Tomato .................... toe mah to............tah may tah

[Ninong]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11363121#post11363121 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Rambomessiah
That's what I thought but I keep running into people who say zen e yah.

You can find the pronunciation of xenia in any of the online dictionaries, such as this one (http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/xenia). Just ignore the definition.

:D

[LobsterOfJustice]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11346552#post11346552 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reggiepe
How about Detritus? I went through this whole thread and didn't see it.

duh-trite-iss

[rbursek]

and if you are in Massachusetts it gets all screwed up.
Bob

[staticpig5]

http://i720.photobucket.com/albums/ww210/hunterfreeman1/119586263163.jpg

[Ninong]

Here's one that a lot of people get wrong: Centropyge. The correct pronunciation is sen-tro-PEE-gee, not sen-tro-PIE-ghee.

:D

[jbird69]

Porites

por-eye-tees?

favia

fah-vee-uh?

favites

fay-vi-tees?

[Abaddon]

You know, this thread is AGES old but every single new member should be FORCED to read every word before they go to the LFS for the first time. I live in middle Tennessee and listening to the average red neck trying to say these things at the fish shop is priceless! "Hay, how much is this...umm...yellow thang?"

[reefboarder]

Porites

por-eye-tees?

Where is this proven to be the correct pronunciation? Its driving me batty.

[Bunnylicked]

How about zoanthid? I've heard it pronounced zoo-an-thid and zoe-an-thid. Which is correct?

Also, chaeto is kay-toe, right? And one other - is nudibranch nude-ee-brank?

[StephLionfish]

I've always pronounced Chaeto " Chay-toe"... I've heard people call Nudibranch "Nude- ee- bronk". Zoanthid " Zoe-an-thid"

There's names of fish that I have no idea how to pronounce... Took me a website to figure out that Pterois is " Tare-oh- eese "...
But things like Dendrochirus Brachypterus?? I have no idea how to pronounce that. ( I mean, I kind of do...but not enough to say it in public )

[Ninong]

Where is this proven to be the correct pronunciation? Its driving me batty.
I don't know where it's proven but that is the way it's pronounced. Remember, it comes from a Green stem, not Latin.

Porites is a very porous coral. Pore in Greek is po-ros (πόρος). I have always heard Porites pronounced Po-RIGHT-ees. That's the same as what you're talking about, I'm just trying to show that the accent is on the second syllable.

Just remember, most of the scientific names, especially the Latin ones, are not pronounced in Latin. They're pronounced using what is generally accepted as scientific Latin pronounciation, which only occasionally matches true Latin pronounciation. Then there is always the argument over what exactly is true Latin pronounciation.

Until recently (meaning sometime in the last few decades), Latin pronounciation was what we now call ecclesiastical Latin. Latin was a common language in use all over Europe until only a couple of hundred years ago and it's still used in the Roman Catholic Church. Over that period of time, pronounciation has changed and even the Roman alphabet has changed. Many of the letters weren't around during the time of Julius Caesar (IVLIVS CAESAR). By the way, that's how his name would have looked in his day. The letter 'J' and the letter 'U' didn't exist back then. Actually the letter 'U' did exist but it was written as 'V'. The letter 'V' was the later invention and it was invented as a consonantal 'U.' After the letter 'V' was invented, they started writing 'U' as 'U.' Confusing, right?

And there was no 'J.' 'J' was invented as a consonantal 'I'. However, there was no consonantal 'I' in CAESAR'S time, so his first name was written IVLIVS. They didn't have lower case letters either. That came much later.

That's why I crack up laughing when I see people arguing for what they consider the correct pronounciation of Classical Latin (meaning around the time of Caesar and Cicero) yet their text books are written with today's punctiation and with both upper and lower case letters, including 'j', 'u', 'k' and other letters that you won't find in any of Cicero's originals. What is called Classical Latin pronounciation is nothing more than reconstructed Latin pronounciation. It's how they think it was probably pronounced based on reading Virgil and other Latin poets.

Way too much, I know. LOL

Anyway, the pronounciation of Porites is correct the way you heard it.

:)

[Ninong]

How about zoanthid? I've heard it pronounced zoo-an-thid and zoe-an-thid. Which is correct?
It's pronounced zoe-AN-thid. Scientific names of more than two syllables are accented on the next to last syllable if the vowel of that syllable is followed by two or more consonants.

So we know that it's the second syllable that is accented. As far as the pronounciation of the first syllable 'zo', that's Greek, meaning animal. In Greek it's ζώο, pronounced zoe -- the same way we pronounce it. If the word starts out with zoo, then we pronounce it zoo (like where they keep all the animals, which is why it's call zoo).

The second syllable is Latin, meaning flower. In other words, animal flower. In Latin the word for flower is chrysanthus. Actually that's one Latin word for flower. There are others.

Also, chaeto is kay-toe, right? And one other - is nudibranch nude-ee-brank?

It's pronounced KEY-toe (short for Chaetomorpha). You're correct on nudibranch. It's NUDE-e-brank. And the plural is spelled nudibranchs.

:)

[StephLionfish]

It's pronounced KEY-toe (short for Chaetomorpha). You're correct on nudibranch. It's NUDE-e-brank. And the plural is spelled nudibranchs.

:)

I learn something everyday....

[Ninong]

But things like Dendrochirus Brachypterus?? I have no idea how to pronounce that. ( I mean, I kind of do...but not enough to say it in public )
How about Den-droh-KEAR-us brach-ip-TER-us. Brachy-pterus means short-winged in Greek (short-finned).

Don't forget, a lot of times the way scientific names are pronounced in the scientific community may not be the same as the way they really should be pronounced.

Most people in the reefkeeping hobby figure out how to pronounce most of the Latin scientific names but it's the Greek ones that can sometimes be difficult.

:)

P.S. -- Ever notice how some people on Facebook like to show off by using foreign words in their posts? My favorite has to be when they write 'chow' for ciao. LOL

Then there are the ones who misspell Latin phrases to match the way they mispronounce them: ad nauseum for ad nauseam. Or they will spell ad infinitum correctly but almost always pronounce it wrong. If you're a lawyer, it's okay. They anglicize virtually all of the Latin words they use.

[StephLionfish]

How about Den-droh-KEAR-us brach-ip-TER-us. Brachy-pterus means short-winged in Greek (short-finned).

Don't forget, a lot of times the way scientific names are pronounced in the scientific community may not be the same as the way they really should be pronounced.

Most people in the reefkeeping hobby figure out how to pronounce most of the Latin scientific names but it's the Greek ones that can sometimes be difficult.

:)

P.S. -- Ever notice how some people on Facebook like to show off by using foreign words in their posts? My favorite has to be when they write 'chow' for ciao. LOL

Then there are the ones who misspell Latin phrases to match the way they mispronounce them: ad nauseum for ad nauseam. Or they will spell ad infinitum correctly but almost always pronounce it wrong. If you're a lawyer, it's okay. They anglicize virtually all of the Latin words they use.

Hm, that's how I was saying it... ( the D. Brachypterus ). At least I got that one right. Thanks :)

[reefboarder]

So either way is acceptable? I just feel that some LFS's try to say things differently just to make you question how you've been saying it! poor-ites

[Ninong]

So either way is acceptable? I just feel that some LFS's try to say things differently just to make you question how you've been saying it! poor-ites

The "correct" pronunciation has three syllables. The stress is on the second syllable. The first syllable sounds just like the word poor. The second syllable sounds just like the word might but without the 'm'. The last syllable sounds just like if you were telling someone how to spell the word feet: spell it with two e's. Por-IGHT-ees. It should come out as Por-RIGHT-ees.

P.S. -- Most LFS employees are "temporary" hires. They are usually very young and sometimes very enthusiastic about the hobby. Most of them are still learning. It's not usually a career choice.

[Ninong]

You might find this guide helpful: Pronunciation of Biological Latin (http://capewest.ca/pron.html).

It will give you some good general tips on where to place the stress on words with multiple syllables. I wouldn't pay too much attention to his comments on Classical Latin, which is nothing more than a relatively recent reconstruction of what scholars now think Classical Latin probably sounded like.

I prefer Latin pronunciation the way it was actually pronounced in 'more modern' times, meaning the last few hundred years. Its pronunciation then was closer to Italian then. Remember, Italian is just "street Latin." Dante first used it in writing.

VENI, VEDI, VICI to me will always be VAY-nee, VEE-dee, VEE-chee. Not WAY-nee, WEE-dee-, WEE-key. And I have a hard time saying Kaiser for Caesar. And I'm not about to pronounce virus in the so-called classical pronunciation. :D

The pronunciation of Latin scientific names varies somewhat depending on which country you're living in. People whose first language is English tend to anglicize it more than people whose first language is Spanish or Italian. Maybe it's because their languages are based on Latin. ;)

[Palting]

Sum 1 kneeds 2 mayk a gloss airy en postit :D

[BaronVonDango]

[QUOTE

Graham[/QUOTE]

Gray-HAM? I have only seen these crackers at markets. Nobody says their name. I assume in this country it is pronounced this way. You just did not have the phonetic next to it. Thank you for your efforts.

[reeferstace]

P.S. -- Ever notice how some people on Facebook like to show off by using foreign words in their posts? My favorite has to be when they write 'chow' for ciao. LOL



Or French's "voila" becomes walla. LOL

[Buzz1329]

Great thread,

Thanks Ninong. (BTW, is that pronounced NEE-nong or Neh-NONG?)

Always wondered why my recollection of classical Latin did not necessarily match how Linnaean terms were pronounced by those in the know.

Also appreciated your exegesis of the difference between church Latin and classical Latin. The pronunciations I learned as an altar boy did not always help me when I studied classical Latin. Boy, am I old or what?

[Ninong]

Great thread,

Thanks Ninong. (BTW, is that pronounced NEE-nong or Neh-NONG?)
NEE-nong (it's means godfather in the Filipino language).

Always wondered why my recollection of classical Latin did not necessarily match how Linnaean terms were pronounced by those in the know.
The pronunciation of Latin in the scientific community is not at all the same as the pronunciation taught in school in Latin classes. It's more anglicized. The same goes for the pronunciation of Latin in the legal community except that they make no pretense at getting it correct; they anglicize virtually everything.

And, as I previously mentioned, the pronunciation of scientific names varies depending on the country.

Also appreciated your exegesis of the difference between church Latin and classical Latin. The pronunciations I learned as an altar boy did not always help me when I studied classical Latin. Boy, am I old or what?
I took four years of high-school Latin but that was 60 years ago, before the invention of so-called 'reconstructed' classical Latin pronunciation.

Even in the new reconstructed classical Latin, they use letters of the alphabet that did not even exist back during the classical Latin period and they use both upper and lower case letters. Lower case letters, as well as most punctuation symbols, were not invented until hundreds of years later.

In Julius Caesar's time, his name was spelled IVLIVS CAESAR. He was a member of the IVLII (Julii). However, in most Latin text books you will see his first name spelled either Julius or Iulius, but not IVLIVS. Actually it was C. IVLIVS CAESAR. The letter C. is the abbreviation for Gaius. I'm not sure why that is except that maybe it was a carryover from the period before the introduction of the letter 'G' in the Roman alphabet. I think 'G' was put into the Roman alphabet one or two hundred years before Caesar's birth. Before that, 'C' took the place of both 'G' and 'K'. In fact, even during the classical Latin period, K,X,Y and Z were used almost exclusively for Greek words. Those letters did not exist in the Latin alphabet until they were imported from the Greek sometime around the beginning of the classical period. 'V' took the place of both 'U' and 'W'. You just stuck two V's together to make what we now know as 'W'.

'U' was introduced to represent the vowel sound and 'V' was then used exclusively as we use it today. 'J' was later invented to represent the consonantal 'I'. During the classical period, 'I' was used for both the vowel and consonant sounds.

The Romans borrowed heavily from the Greeks in virtually every facet of their culture. Most educated Romans spoke Greek as well as Latin, just as the Russian aristocracy favored French over Russian prior to the revolution.

[Buzz1329]

"The pronunciation of Latin in the scientific community is not at all the same as the pronunciation taught in school in Latin classes. It's more anglicized. The same goes for the pronunciation of Latin in the legal community except that they make no pretense at getting it correct; they anglicize virtually everything."

Thanks, Godfather. And you are absolutely right. In fact, res ipsa locitur. When I was a first year associate, I smirked at my worthy opponent butchering the pronunciation of res judicata (as rays judicaytah). I was thinking well I may not be able to rebut this guy's argument, but at least I'll score points on pronunciation. As soon as I started to speak, the judge interrupted to ask why rays judicaytah did not bar my client's claim. Things went downhill from there. And now I'll retreat from highjacking this thread.

Salamat po, and I apologize for MacArthur causing your country so much unnecessary pain.

[TheFishTeen]

Heres one we haven't mentioned yet:

Achilles (as in Tang): Uh-Kill-Eez

Some more:
Harlequin: Har-Lu-Kwin. Some say Har-Lee-Kwin.

Not sure about this one. I have always said it:
Naso (As in Tang): Nay So, but I have heard it said Nah So. Which one is correct?

[Cahooligan]

Lineatus: lin-ee-at-us or line-ate-us? or neither?

[schristi69]

Lin-ee-tus

[schristi69]

Heres one we haven't mentioned yet:

Achilles (as in Tang): Uh-Kill-Eez

Some more:
Harlequin: Har-Lu-Kwin. Some say Har-Lee-Kwin.

Not sure about this one. I have always said it:
Naso (As in Tang): Nay So, but I have heard it said Nah So. Which one is correct?

har-le-qwin....le as in let....uin as in penguin

[TheFishTeen]

har-le-qwin....le as in let....uin as in penguin

Dictionary.com says Har-Lu-Kwin.

[MarkusII]

Hello,

interesting thread for a non native english speaker.
But I had latin in school and always have difficulties when english speaking people use the latin names for fish and corals to correctly understand. And even in Europe the pronounciation is slightly different in Austria and Germany (although in both countries we speak German)

Euphyllia = you-FEEL-ee-aah
no in Latin the "Eu" is pronounced like the "oy" in boy

har-le-qwin....le as in let....uin as in penguin
har - le (as in let) - kin (as in kindergarden)

Naso (As in Tang): Nah So is best

Lineatus
best is I would say
Lin (as in Lindsey) - e (as in best) - a (as the last a in Tampa) - to - s

often it is almost impossible to get the right pronounciation as certain expressions of letters are not used or known in English.

tricky for you guys

regards

Markus

[Jonviviano]

I have also heard this on discovery specials and documentarys...

Acropora

Ack-cropra.

I have always pronounced it differently.. anyone else hear this?

[HatTrick]

How about Helfrichi Firfish?

[pledosophy]

Hell free chee

[Ninong]

How about Helfrichi Firfish?

hell-FREECH-eye (i as in alibi).

It's a commerative name (eponym). It has three syllables. Words of more than two syllables are stressed on the next to last syllable if the vowel of that syllable is followed by two or more consonants.

Eponyms are treated as latinized possessive nouns. If it ends in i, it is pronounced eye. If it ends in ii, it is pronounced ee-eye. If it ends in eae, it is pronounced ee-ee. If it ends in iae, it is pronounced ee-ee.

Or you could just say Helfrich's firefish, in which case the accent would be on the first syllable. ;)

P.S. -- Remember, the pronunciation of scientific Latin names in not the same as actual Latin pronunciation. In Latin a word ending in i would be pronounced ee and one ending in ii would be pronounced ee-ee.

[Reefmedic79]

I have also heard this on discovery specials and documentarys...

Acropora

Ack-cropra.

I have always pronounced it differently.. anyone else hear this?

I've heard Bourneman pronouce it differently at a convention.

Acropora= A-crop-pour-a

Montipora=Mont-tip-pour-a

[Alfalfameister]

How about Delbeek, as in Charles Delbeek? I've heard it pronounced Del-beek (long e), and Del-bek (short e)? :)

How about all those aquarists in Denmark, Norway, Germany, etc (i.e, Svein Fossa, Stuber, etc).

[Ninong]

I've heard Bourneman pronouce it differently at a convention.

Acropora= A-crop-pour-a

Montipora=Mont-tip-pour-a
Eric's pronunciation is, of course, correct. In both of those words the accent falls on the third to last syllable. In both of those words that would be the second syllable if you're counting from the front.

For Acropora, just think of the Acropolis in Greece to remember how to pronounce it.

:)