Linda, try this site. If you click on the name a window will come up and a nice lady will say the word. I use this site off and on to check my pronunciation. Adele

Here is a link that might be useful: pronunciation

That's a good site, and have recommended it several times myself. Another thing you can do is to write down the inventory of plants in your own yard (by common name, of course) and then do simple Google searches on those names individually. You'll soon have the Latin nomenclature of all of your plants, which is a nice way to start your studies.

There are a number of websites that have audio files you can click on and hear the name pronounced and there are many books that include the phonetics either using symbols or sound-alike words.

But (and there's always a but). The science of naming things is the study of Taxonomy and taxonomists don't pay much attention to the scientist over in the horticulture or zoological world. This is why names are constantly being disputed and changed.

Gardeners, Horticulturists and many other very knowledgable folk tend not to pronounce things correctly - so even if you do, they will correct you to their way of saying things even if it flies in the face of "the Rules".

Yes, there are rules. If the word is longer than three syllables then the third from the last syllable gets the emphasis. If the root of the word is latin you pronounce certain vowels one way, but another way if the root is Greek. Though we often call the scientific names "latin" there sure a lot of Greek words being used. Since this whole system of names was developed by Carolus Linnaeus way back in the olden days when monks in monastaries were the only people that could read or write and they mostly spoke latin - we are supposed to be pronouncing things the way the ancient church said them. But we don't. We are supposed to change the spelling on modern words that get used as a name so that they will be spelled in such a way so as to be pronounced the ancient church way - but we don't. Please, somebody show me anything 'johnson' in the ancient Italian church, but 'johnsonii' shows up often.

To me there is nothing wrong with saying it your own special way - there is something wrong with adopting the attitude that you are right, and others are wrong. There are also rules that we call 'manners' which state that we shouldn't look down on other people, but people do that also. I try to include every possible pronunciation when I use a scientific name. You will also notice that I don't call it 'botanical latin' (kinda grates on my nerves) the system is used to classify all forms of life on this planet = animals, plants and bacteria. It is not only about plants.

just my two cents. I've stood all day in the sun....

There's a nice little book called Gardener's Latin by Bill Neal.

lindanc, I like what Allan Armitage (University of Georgia Horticulture guru) says about pronouncing a plant's name: "fire away and try to get the number of syllables right."

We all learn new information in different ways. I began by sending away for all the free catalogs I could find and concentrated on the ones that included the Latin names. I enjoy reading books by Elizabeth Lawrence and Pamela Harper because the plants they talk about do well for me. I often refer back to the catalogs to make sure I know what a plant being discussed looks like.

When it comes to learning to recognize the Latin names of plants, I have found it very helpful to simply use the Latin names and the common names in parentheses whenever I can: when I label seeds I've sowed; when I create my Excel worksheet to track my plants; on the seed packets I create for trading seeds. Each time I write the Latin name, it seems to fasten a little somewhere in my head.

Thinking about Elizabeth Lawrence reminds me of one of the difficulties of learning Latin names. Taxonomists are changing the Latin names of plants as they accommodate new plant introductions. Today, Acer refers to maples; in five years, who knows?

I like Latin names because common names vary from region to region, but with Latin names changing, I try not to take them too seriously. Any gardener who makes you feel inferior for not knowing Latin names is a gardener I'd avoid.

Thank you all for your helpful answers! My computor was down for about 3 weeks, off and on, so I am late saying Thanks! Linda