Re: Madonna lily hybrids/off-topic on pronunciation

>From my listening to the BBC World Service, I would
say Brit broadcasters still can't be bothered to
approximate proper pronunciation of words - even
proper nouns - from other languages. How painful was
it in the 80s to hear the name Nickaragg-you-uh for
the peninsular nation in whose largest lake freshwater
sharks swim?

Don't get me wrong, Americans know less about the rest
of the world than most people, it's just that our
broadcasters can *sometimes* be heard to make valiant
stabs at approximating the pronunciation of
non-English words. Of course, were I to hear
May-hee-co from my American radio announcer tomorrow
morning, the shock would replace my cup of coffee.

--- Tony & Moira Ryan <theryans@xtra.co.nz> wrote:
> Joe Seals wrote:
> 
> > I checked my "Index of Garden Plants" and noted
> that
> > Lilium x testaceum is, as YOU know, a hybrid
> between
> > -- get this -- Lilium candidum (as noted here) and
> > Lilium chalcedonicum (one of those other
> > almost-Mediterranean lilies)!
> 
> Hi Joe
> 
> Was just clearing up my letter file and found this
> posting which I
> couldn't resist replying to even at this late stage.
> > 
> > It's known as "Nankeen Lily" (odd, I thought
> "Nankeen"
> > was an Asian reference).  
> 
> Nankeen does indeed have Asiatic connections, being
> the name for a
> particular  cotton cloth obtained originally from
> Nakin (Funny how the
> British could never bother to pronounce foreign
> words correctly
> -possibly a form of arrogance)
> 
> Anyhow, the cloth is buff-coloured and maybe someone
> with an odd colour
> sense imagined the lily resembled it.
> 
> Apparently the entire offspring of original cross
> eventually became
> virus-infected, but the modern re-creation Trevor
> mentioned(which has
> apparently produced a whole pallet of colours from
> white to red) is
> perfectly healthy and consequently more vigorous
> than the original. I
> wonder if the plant shown in the Phillips and Rix
> book is one of these,
> as it does appear too pale to be the original
> hybrid. It is certainly a
> very handsome plant.
> 
> Moira
> 
> -- 
> Tony & Moira Ryan <theryans@xtra.co.nz>
> Wainuiomata, New Zealand, SW Pacific. 12 hours ahead
> of Greenwich Time
> 


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