Re: Botanical Latin
Julie wrote in agreement with Charles:
>..... I find it more useful to encourage my colleagues and public
>contacts to use scientific names, however they want to pronounce them,
>rather than common names.
Another "me too" from me. I don't give a fig about someone's
pronunciation as long as they've got the right name and not its common
name. So Dahlia can be Day- lia, Dah -lia and Fuchsia can Fuchs-ia
or even Fewsha - it doesn't take rocket science intelligence to
recognise the plant in question. However if someone says 'butterfly
bush' are we talking Buddleia or something else?
I don't speak any more than the slightest smattering of conversational
Italian which I use reluctantly and only as a last resort. However
last Wednesday, I met up with an Italian guy who wanted advice about
suitable plants for in and around his parrot aviaries just outside
Rome. He spoke very little English and I even less Italian, but when
asked about various shrubs trees etc., it was easy to understand
precisely what plants were being discussed despite major differences
in pronunciation.
Dave Poole
TORQUAY UK
