pronunciation

[merc]

it would be absolutely fabulous if someone would make a video (or point me to one) with the correct pronunciation of all the different species of paphs out there! i feel like an idiot sometimes trying to sound out and pronounce the name of something when describing paphs i have or plants i want.

 

[littlefrog]

it would be absolutely fabulous if someone would make a video (or point me to one) with the correct pronunciation of all the different species of paphs out there! i feel like an idiot sometimes trying to sound out and pronounce the name of something when describing paphs i have or plants i want.

I just tell my students to say it with confidence. If someone corrects you just reply "well that's how _you_ say it".

It really is a moving target. Different languages pronounce the same epithet differently and they are all correct. There is no official correct way to say them. The point is that everyone spells them the same way (there is an official spelling).

General rules. If it is based on a person's name, you should pronounce it like the name. Example, Stanhopea is really 'stanhope - ah', since it is named after (lord? Earl?) Stanhope. Most vowels are individually pronounced 'ii' is 'i-i'. In English anyway.

Make a practice run in your head before you tackle a particularly hard one. But if you say it smoothly and without apology you are probably close enough.

 

[big923cattleya]

There are books, pamphlets if you will, on Botanical Latin. I am sure that these things can be found on line. They often deal with pronunciation.
For example “lindleyi” is Lind-Lee-eye”.
The “ch” in leucochilum is a hard ‘K’ sound. Lew-co-K-eye-lum.

The one that always puts a smile on my face is Brassavola. Brass-ah-voh-la. A few pronounce it as Bra-sav-oh-la.

As Rob said, plant names based on a persons name, Stanhope-ah, is named after the Earl of Stanhope. At least I seem to remember him as an Earl.
But I can tell you this, I minored in Botany back in college. I was more comfortable with pronunciations back then but as I have gotten older, I don’t use them enough, and I find some are troublesome.
Fredclarkeara is Fred-Clark-ee-‘r’-ah.

Good luck!!!

 

[Heather]

Watch some live sales on Instagram or PlantStory. Or videos on Instagram or tik tok just to get used to listening to Latin names. Often the clonal names are the same across genera….

I work with a lot of younger people at the nursery and it surprises me that a lot of them don’t even try, tho they are very knowledgeable about plants and horticulture. I find it a challenge and love working on my Latin and common names.

Also as littlefrog said, just act confident…often saying it like a Harry Potter spell gets a laugh (and helps me remember things…”Scabiosa!”Is one of my favorites to do this with…)

 

[big923cattleya]

Oh, that is pretty easy, scab-Ee-oh-sa. Scab as in what develops on top of a boo-boo.

 

[tomp]

Then there is Gomesa Gomes-ah named after Sr Gomes.

a favorite is: bigibbum bi-gib-um. It is often pronounced
bigi-bum which if one is not careful becomes an ear worm

 

[tnyr5]

PRONUNCIATION OF BIOLOGICAL LATIN Including Taxonomic Names.

 

[Tom-DE]

Here is a book I will recommend to all hobbyists: Orchid Names and Their Meanings by Hubert Mayr, (English translation by Schmucker, original in German I think)
It contains pronunciation guidelines and so much more...if you can master all the contents in this book(545 pages), you certainly may call yourself an expert.