I've always pronounced "Ceanothus" as "Key-An-Oh-Thus", with the
emphasis on the "An". Is this correct, or am I completely wrong (does
it have a soft C for example).

My neighbour pronounces "Cotoneaster" as "Cott-On-Ee-Aster" (Emphasis
on the "Ee") whereas I have always thought of it as if it were the two
words "Cotton-Easter" - is he right and me wrong again? :-)

Bob

"Bob" wrote in message
om...
I've always pronounced "Ceanothus" as "Key-An-Oh-Thus", with the
emphasis on the "An". Is this correct, or am I completely wrong (does
it have a soft C for example).

My neighbour pronounces "Cotoneaster" as "Cott-On-Ee-Aster" (Emphasis
on the "Ee") whereas I have always thought of it as if it were the two
words "Cotton-Easter" - is he right and me wrong again? :-)

Bob

My votes a

"see an O thus"

"cotto NEE aster"

pk

"Bob" wrote in message
om...
I've always pronounced "Ceanothus" as "Key-An-Oh-Thus", with the
emphasis on the "An". Is this correct, or am I completely wrong (does
it have a soft C for example).

My neighbour pronounces "Cotoneaster" as "Cott-On-Ee-Aster" (Emphasis
on the "Ee") whereas I have always thought of it as if it were the two
words "Cotton-Easter" - is he right and me wrong again? :-)

Bob

From The Collingridge Dictionary of Plant Names

Ceanothus - kee-a-no-thus

Cheers

Nick

"Bob" wrote in message
om...
I've always pronounced "Ceanothus" as "Key-An-Oh-Thus", with the
emphasis on the "An". Is this correct, or am I completely wrong (does
it have a soft C for example).

My neighbour pronounces "Cotoneaster" as "Cott-On-Ee-Aster" (Emphasis
on the "Ee") whereas I have always thought of it as if it were the two
words "Cotton-Easter" - is he right and me wrong again? :-)

Bob
Sorry missed the second one

Again from The Collingridge Dictionary of Plant Names

Cotoneaster - ko-ton-ee-a-ster

Cheers

Nick

in article , Bob at
wrote on 11/12/02 9:45 am:

I've always pronounced "Ceanothus" as "Key-An-Oh-Thus", with the
emphasis on the "An". Is this correct, or am I completely wrong (does
it have a soft C for example).

My neighbour pronounces "Cotoneaster" as "Cott-On-Ee-Aster" (Emphasis
on the "Ee") whereas I have always thought of it as if it were the two
words "Cotton-Easter" - is he right and me wrong again? :-)

Bob
Ah the joys of pronunciation of Latin plant names! Seeanothus and
CotOhneeeaster is our method. But Ray and I have frequent friendly disputes
on these things - so does everyone else, I should think. Take Kniphofia. We
pronounce it "Niphoffia" but friends of ours pronounce it "Nyefofia" - I say
CLEMatis and Ray says CleMAYtis - we say Daylia, friends say Dalia etc. etc.
;-)
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk

"sacha" wrote in message after another Bob:

I've always pronounced "Ceanothus" as "Key-An-Oh-Thus", with the
emphasis on the "An". Is this correct, or am I completely wrong (does
it have a soft C for example).

kee-a-no-thus (a hard c, it's Latin )


My neighbour pronounces "Cotoneaster" as "Cott-On-Ee-Aster" (Emphasis
on the "Ee") whereas I have always thought of it as if it were the two
words "Cotton-Easter" - is he right and me wrong again? :-)

ko-ton-ee-a-ster.

.. Take Kniphofia. We
pronounce it "Niphoffia" but friends of ours pronounce it "Nyefofia"

nee-fof-ee-a

- I say
CLEMatis and Ray says CleMAYtis -

klem-a-tis

we say Daylia, friends say Dalia

dah-lee-a

all from The Collingridge Dictionary of Plant Names written by Allen.J
..Coombes ex Head of Latin at Eton. He's sorted out many a dispute in our
household. :-)

He says in his introduction that it all depends on where the name came from,
i.e. if it's from a town, person etc then it's pronounced that way if it's
from the Latin then it should be pronounced the Latin way, i.e. all "C's"
are hard as in cat.

Now try... Coelogyne :-) (p.s. it's an Orchid family)


--
Regards
Bob

Use a useful Screen Saver...
http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/
and find intelligent life amongst the stars, there's bugger all down here.

"Sue & Bob Hobden" wrote in message
...
(with some edits):
all from The Collingridge Dictionary of Plant Names written by Allen.J
.Coombes ex Head of Latin at Eton. He's sorted out many a dispute in our
household. :-)

He says in his introduction that it all depends on where the name came
from,
i.e. if it's from a town, person etc then it's pronounced that way if it's
from the Latin then it should be pronounced the Latin way, i.e. all "C's"
are hard as in cat.

Is there really 'correct' pronunciation ? More common pronunciation maybe.
For grass I say gr'arse, others say gr'ass. And being a southerner, I know
gr'arse is the 'correct' pronunctiation ) It's the joy of accents IMO.
But then my mother always wanted me to have elocution lessons; dropped
aitches are the real sin you know ...

Diane
PS. For the record, it's clem-a-tis, red hot poker, and those evergreen
plants with lots of berries on it but without the prickles, got one in the
garden, you know, birds love it...

"Sue & Bob Hobden" wrote in message
...

.Coombes ex Head of Latin at Eton. He's sorted out many a dispute in our
household. :-)

He says in his introduction that it all depends on where the name came
from,
i.e. if it's from a town, person etc then it's pronounced that way if it's
from the Latin then it should be pronounced the Latin way, i.e. all "C's"
are hard as in cat.

Now try... Coelogyne :-) (p.s. it's an Orchid family)


--
Regards
Bob

Trouble is we live in a country where even comman words are not prounaunced
the same all over, growing up in the south I say water with an r (warter)
but most people I come across from further up would argue there is no r so
it should rhyme with cat. The result is when ever I turn up to do a talk on
Clematis I can be sure it will be the first question I am asked, how do YOU
say it. A word derived from the Greek written in Latin, spoken in English
(with possible a regional accent) I seldom dare venture an opinion :~)

--
Charlie, gardening in Cornwall.
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of National Plant Collection of Clematis viticella (cvs)

In article , "flake"
wrote:

"Sue & Bob Hobden" wrote in message
...
(with some edits):
all from The Collingridge Dictionary of Plant Names written by Allen.J
.Coombes ex Head of Latin at Eton. He's sorted out many a dispute in our
household. :-)

He says in his introduction that it all depends on where the name came
from,
i.e. if it's from a town, person etc then it's pronounced that way if it's
from the Latin then it should be pronounced the Latin way, i.e. all "C's"
are hard as in cat.
snip
- and he says: Kis-tus (from greek)- *but* comforting, A.T.Johnson in
"Plant names simplified" says sis-tus!In Sweden we use the principle (some
of us ;-) that in latin plante-names the C in front of a soft vowel
(e,i,y) is pronounciated soft like s, and before a hard vowel(a,o,u) we
use the hard k. Such as sistus and kotoneaster.
But I have experienced that latin (that is, it is often greek ;-) is very
different from contry to country in it's pronounciation - but very handy
to use reading catalouges and botany-litterature abroad.
Cheers vera

--
VERA GADE NORRKOPING
VERA @GADE.SE

Or spelt by the looks of it!

:-)

"Charlie Pridham" wrote in message
...

snip

Trouble is we live in a country where even comman words are not
prounaunced
the same all over, growing up in the south I say water with an r (warter)

I've always pronounced "Ceanothus" as "Key-An-Oh-Thus", with the
emphasis on the "An". Is this correct, or am I completely wrong
(does
it have a soft C for example).

My neighbour pronounces "Cotoneaster" as "Cott-On-Ee-Aster"
(Emphasis
on the "Ee") whereas I have always thought of it as if it were the
two
words "Cotton-Easter" - is he right and me wrong again? :-)

My old latin teacher used to say it didn't matter how you pronounced it
as it is a dead language so as long as it is written correctly we were
fine!!

That said "c'tony aster" and "key a noh thus"

Jay

snip My old latin teacher used to say it didn't matter how you pronounced it
as it is a dead language so as long as it is written correctly we were
fine!!
snip
Jay

Or at another angle:
"Oh, come with old Khayyam, and leave the Wise
To talk; one thing is certain, that Life flies;
One thing is certain, and the rest is Lies;
The Flower that once has blown for ever dies".

(In Swedish we have a translation like this: I try to write it back in English).
Let the wise men talk and lay down
in the scent of roses, in the smiling sun
One thing is certain, that life flies
The flower that once has blown for ever dies.
Vera

--
VERA GADE NORRKOPING
VERA @GADE.SE

"Vera Gade" wrote in message
...
..
But I have experienced that latin (that is, it is often greek ;-) is very
different from contry to country in it's pronounciation - but very handy
to use reading catalouges and botany-litterature abroad.
Cheers vera

The good news is there aren't too many native speakers of botanic latigreek
to flame us.

Rod

In article , Sue & Bob Hobden
writes

Now try... Coelogyne :-)

That's the one my mother always called 'colly ogny'
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/garden/

I've missed many posts on this topic for some reason, but I remember hearing on
a TV programme very many years ago that K's were pronounced at the beginning of
words such as knife, knowledge, etc. up till the 17 or 1800's. Languages
change and vary from region to region, even within the same country. A French
teacher of mine once told me how she (English) had to translate so that two
French teachers could communicate because their regional accents made it
impossible for them to understand each other.

With regard to Latin and Greek names, it has to be remembered that Latin in the
form used for scientific names and terms is pronounced differently the world
over. It is a 'dead' language with no definitive root that can be refered to.
Latin and Greek used by us in the naming of plants is not the same as the
Italian and Greek spoken today.

I think it's worth thinking of Latin/Greek as being like French, when spoken by
a range of nationalities serving in the French Foreign Legion. No doubt Latin
was no different, with a tremendous range of pronounciations for each word
within the language, all depending on where each person came from within (or
indeed without) the Roman empire.

Of course, that doesn't touch on cultivars, which are pronounced depending on
the nationality of the person they are named after, and are usually
mis-pronounced.

Alas, a true can of worms I fear.

Dave.