Scientific names (Latin) pronunciations

[Rich.Harrington]

Since the majority of us don't have a background that includes the latin language, we tend to have two problems. First is the use of common names for T's, which causes all manner of mis-id's. Second is a bout of confusion regarding the correct pronunciation of the latin names, again a minefield for mis-id.

I've looked around online for something to help with this, but to no avail. so can anyone out there suggest a good starting place to learn the correct pronunciations?

[patsyking]

Try this site, there is a speaker icon by a lot of the names and you can hear them being pronounced though Windows Media Player. Hope this helps. The site is

http://www.arachnofreaks.com/info_sheets.htm

[Peter Lacey]

I have a site that gives you a sound bite of how to pronounce the latin names however its American so subject to their own interpretation, lets face it, they couldn't even spell Autumn! and god knows what happended to aluminium I'll try to search it out from my bookmarks at work.
Many sites offer phonetic pronounciation, a good source of this and what the latin names mean can be found on ATS: http://www.atshq.org/articles/beechwp1.html
From my 25+ years of trying to pronounce the latin names of fish, and now tarantula, I've found nobody is too bothered with the correct pronounciation but impressed with the fact you've bothered to identify them against using the common names.

EDIT: I see Patsy has found the site I was looking for. Whilst you're there take a look at the community tank of H. incei

[mary walters]

Erm......in the absence of Phil Rea......it is SCIENTIFIC not LATIN....thankyou.....

[Colin D Wilson]

Erm......in the absence of Phil Rea......it is SCIENTIFIC not LATIN....thankyou.....

Thanks Mary i've got that niggle too.

In the five years at school where we had Latin as a compulsory subject i had three seperate teachers, they all spoke and pronounced differently.

If you search this forum there are a couple of threads which contain posts about this and a few links are included for the "generally accepted" pronunciation of set combinations of letters etc.

Bearing in mind that the scientific names are not just Latin but have roots including Greek, Germanic, French and even tribal origins the correct pronunciation in not always straight forward.

Also as a good percentage of our language has Latin roots the pronunciation is mostly straight forward, some people try to use different inflections to make it sound more "exotic" but this is not usually the case.

an example could be smithi, some pronounce it smith-ee and some smith-eye

At the end of the day, it's only really important when it's written down, which is what the written language was originally intended for....... "non verbal communication & written records"

[Andrew Ferguson]

I'd been meaning to ask this question for a while now. Guess you beat me to it Rich !!

Go to go slightly off topic (only slight Colin ), I participate on a forum for Omega watches and one one the hotly debated topics is the pronunciation of Omega. The general concesnsus there (this is where I swerve back on topic!) is that so long as regional dialect and accents exist, no hard and fast pronunciation can be set in stone. I listened to the "American" on that website and I have learned now how to say Poecilatheria regalis, but Chromatopelma cyaneobescens just had me in stiches!

[Colin D Wilson]

Actually Andrew, that is an even better example than mine (even though you strayed )

OMEGA.......om-EE-ga, om-AY-ga, om-E-ga, oH-MEE-gaR....ah well you get the general idea.

do you pronounce the C in Poecilatheria as a K or as CEE though, both seem to be accepted.

[matthew spooner]

Erm......in the absence of Phil Rea......it is SCIENTIFIC not LATIN....thankyou.....

a point i was going to raise as soon as i saw the thread title. all scientific names are not actually latin. depending where in the world the species is from, it can be from any language, for example with phasmids, there is one particular species i can think of with the scientific name abercrombi (a-ber-crom-by) as it was discovered by Ian Abercrombie, not taken from any language what so ever, just tarted up to sound good lol

[Peter Lacey]

As the song goes:
"You say potato, I say patattah
You say tomato, I say tomata..."

My favourite is this little beauty which I defy anyone to suggest is anything but Australian humour - Underwooodisaurus
http://www.amonline.net.au/collectio...cord.cfm?id=16

[Peter Roach]

Ah yes but I bet didnt you know that the name has been changed a few years ago to Nephurus milli, not sure on how long it will stay as that name though...

[Brendan Stent]

My 2004 edition of "A complete guide to Reptiles of Australia" still has it as Underwoodisaurus two species milii and sphyrurus and funny enough it says habitat under logs. Us Aussies have a sense of humour? never

[Peter Lacey]

Us Aussies have a sense of humour? never

To slightly stray off, I loved the story my dad came back with after taking a group of disabled children on Journey of a Lifetime around Australia. He was concerned about the Sharks in the water and asked on the beach "aren't you scared of the Sharks in the sea?" to which he received the reply "you don't wanna worry m8, crocodiles ate all the sharks". You have to laugh!

[Clinton Hogben]

I'd been meaning to ask this question for a while now. Guess you beat me to it Rich !!

Go to go slightly off topic (only slight Colin ), I participate on a forum for Omega watches and one one the hotly debated topics is the pronunciation of Omega. The general concesnsus there (this is where I swerve back on topic!) is that so long as regional dialect and accents exist, no hard and fast pronunciation can be set in stone. I listened to the "American" on that website and I have learned now how to say Poecilatheria regalis, but Chromatopelma cyaneobescens just had me in stiches!

Ive always pronounced it O-MEE GAH
I love my seamaster chrono

[Nicola Dolby]

I won't tell them the one about how the Kangaroo got its name Brendan!!! Its true about the scientific names being from numerous languages, after all the B. baumgarteni is named after the German entomologist Baumgarten; the P. pederseni is named after Pederson; there's two nationalities involved for a start!! Just out of curiosity, is Brachypelma smithi another way of saying Smithie's Brachypelma?

[Andrew Ferguson]

Ive always pronounced it O-MEE GAH

I think that is the British pronunciation.