Re: Botanical Latin
Tim Longville wrote:
>
> Re pronouncing plant names so as to preserve the pronunciation of the
> names of people commemorated in the plant names: it's fine and
> admirable in theory but in practice it, like just about everything
> else to do with botanical 'Latin,' can cause problems. Mr Dahl and his
> dahlia, Mr Fuchs and his fuchsia.... I do actually pronounce
> Colquhounia as Ca-hoonia but I don't know whether I'd have the nerve
> to pronounce Menziesia as Ming-esia but since, in Scots English,
> Menzies is pronounced Mingiz, presumably that's how you SHOULD
> pronounce it... (Put that 'should' in as many sets of inverted commas
> as you feel appropriate. About six, I should think.)
And with that delightfully extravagant flight of fancy I guess we can
probably now lay the subject to rest!!!
Moira
--
Tony & Moira Ryan <theryans@xtra.co.nz>
Wainuiomata,
New Zealand (astride the "Ring of Fire" in the SW Pacific).
