How to pronounce orchid names ..??

This is probably a really dumb question but I can't seem to find the answer on line. Is the "ii" ending in an orchids name, ie; Phal mannii pronounced as an "E" or "I" sound? I keep thinking of Hawaii with the "E" sound but I know botanicals may be different.

Thank you
kanda

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

You need to go to Orchid Society meetings and listen to the people there, they mostly get it right. Or, you could take up latin, tee hee. Well, for mannii, start with Pep Boys' Manny, Mo and Jack. That Manny is the first two sylables, then add I, as tho you were refering to yourself. Or you could ask here about each and every one as you have a question about it. After a while, you start to be able to pronounce the latinized names just by looking at it. Cynthia, Prescott, AZ

Thanks Cynthia

I don't have an orchid society nearby so I've not been to a meeting. But, from what your saying, it's usually and E then I? Example.....man-E-I ....is that correct? Or as in Laelia Alaorii would be A-lor-E-I ? If so I think I've got it now or are they all different?

Thanks so much,
Kanda

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

The E-I is fine, but I am not sure that the a after the l gets lost. I have only had this Laelia for a few months, but I have been pronouncing it as A-la-or-E-I or maybe al-la-or E-I, don't really know how these codes convert to sounds. However, with a spelling like this, I could be wrong. I'll check with my source for the plant next month at the Costa Mesa Show in California. As far as an orchid society near you, I travel a hundred miles each way twice a month to orchid societies in Phoenix. Then I started an orchid society up here in Prescott, AZ. Need to get my fix on a regular basis. Cynthia

[lunaticvulpine]

lololol heres a nice good confusing one

"Eurychone"

i still cant get it and ive had several people pronounce it for me

Now I'm even more confused after looking here....LOL!!!
http://www.how-to-grow-orchid.com/orchid-type.htm

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

I'm not even going to begin to try that one. And if I ever buy one, I will certainly ask the vendor for the pronunciation. But you know, half the time they don't know, or are unwilling to commit themselves. Cynthia

[lunaticvulpine]

lol it so true

but that really doesnt say much for the growers.

[janet_a]

personally i am a firm believer in speaking in abbreviations and acronyms.

[Second_Chance]

Kanda~~~ HI
There is a page on the AOS website that has pronounciations for all of the Latin names.
Best Wishes,
Samantha

[pikevi]

Maybe this could help too, along with AOS's list.

I think it is easier to remember to use the second 'i' as 'I' as Cynthia suggested. It will be right in most cases , whether it be in physics, biology or medicine and regardless of where the two 'i's are,with a few exceptions.

Example:

Radi-i
Fasci-itis
Odontoglossum (Rossioglossum?) rossi-i

exception may be in viri-i ( which is officially not accepted , I think)

[prisana]

The most confusing one is the most common plant ..Phalaenopsis, some pages pronounced it fa-Lay-nop-sis, while others pronounced fey-Lay-nop-sis and so on , there's a few more besides those too " phal " ( fal ) works for me. ( or is it "fayl" )

[kmarch]

I recommend going out and picking up The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Orchids by Alec Pridgeon as it includes the pronounciation for something like 300+ different genera.

Cynthia recommended taking up Latin, which actually really would help since many of the pronounciations are very similar. I am very lucky to have a partner who is a Classicist (teaches Latin and Ancient Greek amont other things).

Sometimes an orchid name is a person's name Latinized (e.g. Paph rothschildianum). When this is the case, one should lean toward the pronounciation of the person's name. For example: Cattleya forbesii. i often hear this pronounced for-BES-e-i, but it is named after a guy by the name of Forbes so the proper pronounciation is FORBES-e-i.

Got a good Latin pronounciation guide?

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by lunaticvulpine

lololol heres a nice good confusing one

"Eurychone"

This one is Greek-based and is pronounced "YOU-ri-CONE-ay" or "YOU-ri-CONE-ee". I'm told, by my ancient-greek-scholar partner that either would be correct.

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by prisana

The most confusing one is the most common plant ..Phalaenopsis, some pages pronounced it fa-Lay-nop-sis, while others pronounced fey-Lay-nop-sis and so on , there's a few more besides those too " phal " ( fal ) works for me. ( or is it "fayl" )

I've never heard it pronounced with the second syllable accented like that. The encyclopedia says it's pronounced "fail-eh-NOP-sis"

[GiovannaD]

Being Greek and having studied both ancient greek and latin as a part of legal studies prep, here is some latin 101.
Nouns have genders (male, female and neutral) in latin and greek whereas in english, the nouns are all the same. Furthermore, nouns have "cases", which comprise of the root of the noun plus different suffixes to convey different meanings in one word.
Regarding orchids:


a) Some genera have been produced by the surname of the researcher plus the suffix of -ii/-i. The genitivus case suffix (-ii/-i) is sometimes used to convey the meaning of the noun belonging to that person.
e.g. p.manii, bastianii, lindenii, wilsonii,parishii, lobii
So if that word existed it would be Manius, Bastianius, Lindenius just like genuine latin-Roman names (in the nominativus case).
In english we use the "'s", like Tom's, Linda's.

b) Some genera have the -ana/-is suffix plus a surname or other word.
eg. sumatrana, corningiana, amabilis, equestris, tetraspis
Those are formed more like adjectives, having the meaning of geographical location, of origin or even a certain trait (eg amabilis means lovable). Well for the surnames the meaning is just like in case a) [schilleriana, stuartiana, ]

c) Some have an obvious trait garnished with a latin suffix/ a trait translated in latin, like hieroglyphica, gigantea eg. that can obviously be explained when you look at the bloom.

d) The genera ending in -ensis are once again nouns that have been formed by trait/surname/location plus the -ensis which is another form of nouns.

Most of these genera names are not real words, but they have been produced to resemble real latin words. However they have been formed in a way to illustrate certain bits of info. (as I mentioned before origin, location, researcher, etc).

[GiovannaD]

Regarding pronounciation:
English has pretty much penetrated the true pronounciation of Latin. The original pronounciation is straightforward, you are reading everything you see, without pulling the "i"s, the "a"s or silencing letters.
For instance, it is NOT "Coliseum" it's "Colosseum" (a classic mistake of pronounciation that has even altered the true written form).
It's not failenopsis! Try to read everything as you see it. Phalaenopsis = falenOpsis. The "a" is straight "a" like in "aloof". The "e" is like in venom.
The "ae" is pronounced "e".
BTW the latinized surnames are read as -ii. So they would be read as "wilsonee" (think about Milwaukee).

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by GiovannaD

BTW the latinized surnames are read as -ii. So they would be read as "wilsonee" (think about Milwaukee).

This must be an instance where pronounciation parts ways with the original languages. I've never heard, form a taxonomist, gorwer, or anyone, the -ii suffix pronounced as "ee". I've always and consistently heard it pronounced "ee-eye," as in Paph lowii (Low-ee-eye).

It's important to understand that while based on Ancient Greek or Latin, the names are not Greek and Latin so it's probably best not to bee too literal with our approach to pronounciation.

[GiovannaD]

I mentioned before that English has altered the original pronounciation. Latin in American english is not really latin . Just like any other language, if spoken by a non native speaker, it sounds...not right.
Roman catholic priests in Italy maintain a perfect latin pronounciation...you'll never hear an elongated "eee" or "aaye" there.

[pikevi]

I think GiovannaD has a valid point.

I pronounce it as "fal-ee-nop-sis". When a word gets Anglisized' it takes on a different 'flavour'.

Anaemia, ischaemia are all pronounced with '-ee-' for '-ae'

I think I will stick to that pronunciation