Scientific Names - Proper Binomial Nomenclature

Chris LXXIX

ArachnoGod
Joined
Dec 25, 2014
Messages
5,845
Well, Latin and Old Greek are both "dead" languages and as such there is no longer a "correct" way to pronounce the words. People from different countries will use different systems of pronunciation. I tried to touch that subject a bit with my discussion with ChrisLXXIX in regards to Italian pronunciation of Latin (soft "C" sound in front of "i", "ae" or "e" in contrast to Classical pronunciation in which "c" and "k" was always hard.) When it comes to Old Greek, no one really knows how to pronounce it anymore. The distinctions between voiced, voiceless and aspirated stops no longer exists in modern Greek for example. Neither does the Old Greek system of word accents that involved pitch. So, also with Old Greek we will use different systems. Greeks will pronounce it close to Modern Greek, whereas we learned the Erasmian system when I studied it at the University of Oslo.
If you want to laugh, for instance, just listen to "rosea" (of Grammostola rosea) spell by non Italians fellas :-s
 

Ungoliant

Malleus Aranearum
Staff member
Joined
Mar 7, 2012
Messages
4,096
Ok, I very rarely post, but this discussion got to me. I'm a biologist, I've trained as a zoologist. I also know Latin very well and I know old Greek. While the rules for the written scientific names stated here are entirely correct, the pronunciation rules are not. They may apply to English speaking counties - they do NOT apply to ALL countries.
Yes, those guidelines apply to anglicized biological Latin. They aren't intended to instruct on how an ancient Roman might have pronounced these words, and nor do these guidelines necessarily apply to speakers of other languages.

I'm not sure how common it is for scientists to use classical pronunciation. I would expect the speaker's native language to affect pronunciation of biological Latin; each country probably develops its own pronunciation conventions over the years.
 

Anoplogaster

Arachnodemon
Joined
Jan 15, 2017
Messages
675
Yes, those guidelines apply to anglicized biological Latin. They aren't intended to instruct on how an ancient Roman might have pronounced these words, and nor do these guidelines necessarily apply to speakers of other languages.

I'm not sure how common it is for scientists to use classical pronunciation. I would expect the speaker's native language to affect pronunciation of biological Latin; each country probably develops its own pronunciation conventions over the years.
Agreed. I've always been under the impression that words used in the context of a particular language should follow the guidelines of that language. So if one uses these words while speaking English, one should follow the English rules. Similar to the age-old debate of "octopuses" vs. "octopi." I always argue that the correct plural form is "octopuses" simply because that is the English rule.
 

Sana

Arachnoprince
Joined
Oct 26, 2014
Messages
1,139
I'm just now getting down the proper English pronunciation now I'm going to need a key for the rest of the languages in the world so I can speak spider properly. Sigh. I realize this is going to sound ignorant but it hadn't ever occurred to me that the names would be pronounced differently based on language given the specific rules of naming as I was aware of them. This thread just keeps getting more interesting to me.
 

TownesVanZandt

Arachnoprince
Joined
May 12, 2015
Messages
1,041
If you want to laugh, for instance, just listen to "rosea" (of Grammostola rosea) spell by non Italians fellas :-s
ahaha, yes, but English is quite difficult when it comes to pronunciation. They spell words completely differently from how they are actually pronounced. Serbian is the most logical language in the sense that one letter represents one sound. For example Michael Corleone from the The Godfather would be spelled as Majkl Korleone :) My real name is Kenneth, it´s an anglicised Gaelic name, but in Norwegian we don´t have the -th sound as in English, so the Serbs would spell my name just as I pronounce it, as Kenet
 
Last edited:

Andrea82

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Jan 12, 2016
Messages
3,686
If you want to laugh, for instance, just listen to "rosea" (of Grammostola rosea) spell by non Italians fellas :-s
Not sure why this would be funny...in Dutch it is pronounced the same as in Italian i think 'ro-see-ah'.
 

Andrea82

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Jan 12, 2016
Messages
3,686
Oh my gosh, this is is going to make no sense at all...but here goes, for english i think it is something like this:
Aycorn-tjus-broh-d
:rofl::rofl:

It is the name of a kind of mushroom that grows on a three.

I have no idea how it is in Norwegian phonetics though.

Another word that has me laughing when i hear someone not native to The Netherlands is 'zonnebril'. It means sunglasses. Especially funny when french or english people try it. :D
 

Andrea82

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Jan 12, 2016
Messages
3,686
Oh my gosh, this is is going to make no sense at all...but here goes, for english i think it is something like this:
Aycorn-tjus-broh-d
:rofl::rofl:

It is the name of a kind of mushroom that grows on a three.

I have no idea how it is in Norwegian phonetics though.

Another word that has me laughing when i hear someone not native to The Netherlands is 'zonnebril'. It means sunglasses. Especially funny when french or english people try it. :D
Of course we could opt for the literal translation of 'eekhoorntjesbrood' as well. Which would be squirrel- bread with 'eekhoorntjes' meaning small squirrel, and ' brood' meaning bread. :p
 

boina

Lady of the mites
Active Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2015
Messages
2,217
Of course we could opt for the literal translation of 'eekhoorntjesbrood' as well. Which would be squirrel- bread with 'eekhoorntjes' meaning small squirrel, and ' brood' meaning bread. :p
Yaayy, I got it right! That's what I thought it meant - my language skills are not that bad, after all ;)
 

Andrea82

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Jan 12, 2016
Messages
3,686
Yaayy, I got it right! That's what I thought it meant - my language skills are not that bad, after all ;)
German and Dutch share a lot, even though German is way more complicated than Dutch and has that B-shaped letter i can never find on a freakin keyboard :p
 

TownesVanZandt

Arachnoprince
Joined
May 12, 2015
Messages
1,041
Of course we could opt for the literal translation of 'eekhoorntjesbrood' as well. Which would be squirrel- bread with 'eekhoorntjes' meaning small squirrel, and ' brood' meaning bread. :p
Dutch and Norwegian is very similar then. Squirrel in Norwegian is ekorn and bread is brød :) Thanks for this explaination - I love that word even more now!
 

Bugmom

Arachnolord
Joined
May 28, 2012
Messages
646
ahaha, yes, but English is quite difficult when it comes to pronunciation. They spell words completely differently from how they are actually pronounced. Serbian is the most logical language in the sense that one letter represents one sound. For example Michael Corleone from the The Godfather would be spelled as Majkl Korleone :) My real name is Kenneth, it´s an anglicised Gaelic name, but in Norwegian we don´t have the -th sound as in English, so the Serbs would spell my name just as I pronounce it, as Kenet
I'm confused... Michael is pronounced in English "My-cull"... where is the "j" coming from? Was that a typo and it should have been an i?

But Italians also pronounce Latin incorrectly by classical standards :p Just read the name Cicero out loud. I bet you pronounce it as "chichero" or something along those lines, but the ancients did say "kikero".
I would pronounce it "Sis-er-oh." In English, a "C" followed by an e, i, or y will be an "S" sound (a soft c).
 

Chris LXXIX

ArachnoGod
Joined
Dec 25, 2014
Messages
5,845
I'm confused... Michael is pronounced in English "My-cull"... where is the "j" coming from? Was that a typo and it should have been an i?
It's because Serbs loves to put the "J" everywhere, I also love that in the land "Milan" is a name :-s

"My-cull" in Italian sounds like "My-butt" :rofl:
 

Chris LXXIX

ArachnoGod
Joined
Dec 25, 2014
Messages
5,845
ahaha, yes, but English is quite difficult when it comes to pronunciation. They spell words completely differently from how they are actually pronounced. Serbian is the most logical language in the sense that one letter represents one sound. For example Michael Corleone from the The Godfather would be spelled as Majkl Korleone :) My real name is Kenneth, it´s an anglicised Gaelic name, but in Norwegian we don´t have the -th sound as in English, so the Serbs would spell my name just as I pronounce it, as Kenet
And I believed that your name was something involving "å" or "ø" or "Ragnar something" (Ragnar sounds similar to "ragno", spider in Italian) :troll:
 

TownesVanZandt

Arachnoprince
Joined
May 12, 2015
Messages
1,041
I'm confused... Michael is pronounced in English "My-cull"... where is the "j" coming from? Was that a typo and it should have been an i?
There´s no typo there. Y doesn´t exist in their alphabet, but maj sounds precisely like my in English ;)
 

TownesVanZandt

Arachnoprince
Joined
May 12, 2015
Messages
1,041
And I believed that your name was something involving "å" or "ø" or "Ragnar something" (Ragnar sounds similar to "ragno", spider in Italian) :troll:
Nope, my parents gave me that name for no apparent reason other than it being popular for some years in the first half of the 80´s. I might be mistaken for a Brit or even an American if people only sees my given name o_O
 
Last edited:

Chris LXXIX

ArachnoGod
Joined
Dec 25, 2014
Messages
5,845
Nope, my parents gave me that name for no apparent reason other than it being popular for some years in the first half of the 80´s. I might be mistaken for a Brit or even an American if people only sees my given name o_O
It's not a bad name at all, my friend. Kenneth. Like Kenneth Branagh :-s

My name is Christian, a tribute for H. C. Andersen, since my mother always loved him (and btw, back then in '79 the priest was pissed off because "exotic" names weren't so common in Italy... go figure now how much we are destroyed, and if a thing like that is possible today, lol) but there's absolutely no difference in spell, here, between Christian and Cristian... only in offices, they ask you if the "H" is present :writer:
 
Top