Pronunciation

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Midnight Reiter Too
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Post by Midnight Reiter Too »

Mary Ann wrote:Two hosta names I was really pronouncing wrong until I heard them roll off the tongue of Mark Zilis are fortunei (for-tune-e-i) and longipes (lon-ji-pees).
I never would have known!
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John wrote:Clematis was exactly the example of which I was thinking.

I bet your way of saying Hydrangea is not incorrect, after all. Check Webster's second way.

And I am never going to say "For SYTH e a"...
Does the "Y" mean it's a long "I"? I pronounce the "Y" like "I" in the word "it."
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Chris_W wrote:I had a customer today ask if I had any "dieKANtruhs". I thought Dianthus? I told them I wasn't sure what they were asking for. They repeated "dieKANtruhs"! like I was an idiot or something. Then after a blank stare while I was trying to figure it out, think about the possibilities, they put me out of my misery... Bleeding hearts you idiot! :lol:

I told them I always called them Die-SEN-truh, but after Kellie now tells us that Picea should have a K sound, maybe I've been saying Dicentra wrong all these years too?

Then they asked if I had any lee-ree-OPE. At least now I understood they were asking for what I've always called lih-RYE-oh-pee. (Liriope) (By the way, this customer "corrected" me on both of my pronunciations. ;) )
I thought it was Die-SEN-truh, but I would have asked for bleeding hearts.

I heard that in some parts of the south, people refer to daffodils as buttercups! Around here the Mennonites talk about spider plants. I would call them cleomes or spider flowers. To me, spider plants are houseplants (Chlorophytum comosum 'Vittatum').
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Post by Midnight Reiter Too »

Chris_W wrote:
I suppose if the customer had asked for Die-KEN-truh I might have guessed easier, but I was thrown by Die-KAN-truhs.
Isn't that the truth? My father was from Texas and drank melk, but my milk rhymes with silk.

When I first came back to Indiana, someone told me that I don't say "lawn" properly. Everytime I listened to her, it sounded like she was saying it my way. Yet she kept telling me we weren't pronouncing it the same. I know that I don't pronounce Don and Dawn the same. My husband does. I was not saying "lon;" I was saying "lawn." I pronounce it like law with an "N" after it. I think that lady thought I was saying "long." :-?

I know of three ways to pronounce "pecan." Oh, wait! There are more than three ways!

http://www4.uwm.edu/FLL/linguistics/dia ... /q_21.html
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Post by Gruntfuttock »

I'm always being corrected, probably correctly.

I'm still not sure whether it's semper-vee-vum or semper-vye-vum, so I just call them semps to be on the safe side.

Clem-ay-tis was always that until some smartypants TV presenter decided they should be called clem-er-tis, now I'm sometimes corrected on that, incorrectly in my opinion.

As for Hosta, some of the above examples are more to do with accents. I would say hos-ter, but would expect an American to say Hah-str, (I know there are a lot of accents in America, but base my expectactions on a typical Hollywood accent).

I think the main problem stems from the fact that the English language does not have it's roots based in Latin unlike other languages.
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Post by thy »

Sorry, for latin...we do not know how...so the general rule is... no pressure, no pull , no slow feet...
just easy...as the tags say..and do not give it a lift at all

campagnula is just cam-pa(g)- nu-la
NOT .... cam-PAG-nu-la
Vocal split the words.. your and my language have latin included and we may follow the ancient rules, but we do not know, so in respect , ...same pressure all over

Smart asses do not know more than the worlds best experts..Sorry, just a bit tired of too many of them :wink:

Do you have latin in primary or high shool ?

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Post by Midnight Reiter Too »

They taught Latin in high school in the 1960's. I don't think any high schools teach Latin now.
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Post by Midnight Reiter Too »

Gruntfuttock wrote:I'm always being corrected, probably correctly.

I'm still not sure whether it's semper-vee-vum or semper-vye-vum, so I just call them semps to be on the safe side.

Clem-ay-tis was always that until some smartypants TV presenter decided they should be called clem-er-tis, now I'm sometimes corrected on that, incorrectly in my opinion.

As for Hosta, some of the above examples are more to do with accents. I would say hos-ter, but would expect an American to say Hah-str, (I know there are a lot of accents in America, but base my expectactions on a typical Hollywood accent).

I think the main problem stems from the fact that the English language does not have it's roots based in Latin unlike other languages.
In the northeast(Maine & Massachusetts) it would be hah-str; in Indiana, it's hah-stuh.

On my English Cottage and Country Gardens video, they say semper-vee-vum. That's the first time I heard of sempervivum. I always called them succulents. I understand that some people call them houseleeks.
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Post by John »

I don't get the adding an "R" to words that do not have them; surely the "expert" is wrong about CLEMATIS.

And English is largely Latin based.
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Post by Midnight Reiter Too »

John wrote:I don't get the adding an "R" to words that do not have them; surely the "expert" is wrong about CLEMATIS.
Are you saying that English is supposed to make sense? :lol: I love the variety of accents we have! Have you ever had a hot toy-key sandwich?
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Post by Ginger »

This thread is interesting! I know I can't pronounce the names correctly, heck I can't even spell them half the time :lol: :lol: and since I speak Okie I say them like they are spelled with an Okie accent :o :o Sagae, I say =Sag eye= :lol: :lol: :lol: like the fish

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Post by Spider »

I would propably say "say gay" for Sagae. And being New England born, I've NEVER been accused of ADDING an "R". :lol:

Oh, and Spider was pronounced Spidah. Spidah always wanted her suppah. :lol:
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Post by Midnight Reiter Too »

Spider wrote:I would propably say "say gay" for Sagae. And being New England born, I've NEVER been accused of ADDING an "R". :lol:

Oh, and Spider was pronounced Spidah. Spidah always wanted her suppah. :lol:
:lol: What's faw suppah? I may have to invite myself ova!
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Post by Ginger »

'Ill give ya a qhwata for a glass of whata :wink:


And folks think southerners talk funny! I cannot understand a word most East Coast folks say, and forget even trying to understand a Cajun :lol:

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Post by Spider »

Is a car what you drive in, or what a crow says? :lol: (I made sloppy joes foah suppah. :) )
Spider's Hosta List There are photos there too :)

"I gotta have more cowbell!" SNL

"If your gecko is broken you have a reptile dysfunction."

"If you don't talk to your cat about catnip...who will?"
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