That was interesting. It's a good place to check when you have a disagreement on how something is pronounced!

Oh. My. God. I have meant to post about this topic for years. There are so many I'm not sure of. Thank you for the website. I must say I still don't know anyone who says "KLEM-ah-tis" as opposed to "klem-AH-tus", even though I have read that it is correct that way several times.

Oh yeah and I don't have to avoid saying Verbascum anymore, LOL, I used to always say Mullein instead.

Ha - I just proved someone wrong. I have always said ver-ON-i-ca and this person told me it was ver-oh-NEEC-a. I'm right. I'm right. I'll have to phone her to gloat. : )

Thanks for the link. bookmarked.

Shauna

Gil, i DO know someone who says "KLEM-ah-tis"! I tried for awhile because it's supposed to be correct, but i just couldn't keep it up. I haven't looked at that particular site yet, but i do have one bookmarked (might be the same one, who knows). I remember checking it once because a person i knew who thought they "knew it all" was pronouncing "see-dum" as "see-DOOM" and i thought, "That can't be right!" It isn't. :>

Just remember that just like any language, there are dialects. Even in Latin there are different pronounciations, and are (were) different dialects. You can listen to different pronunciations on the Web too.

How would you prefer to pronounce Veni, vidi, vici?
Do you like:

Wenny, weedy, weechy
or
Venny, veedy, veeky

If you live in Roman Italy it would be one, but if you were in the Roman south of France it might be another. And there certainly must be more variations.

While it is generally accepted that Latin "has only a hard 'c' sound" where the letter "c" is concerned, even the best horticulturist do not adhere to the "rule". Another general rule is the accent is usually placed on the third to the last syllable. Hence, ver-ON-i-ca. Of course no one now was living 2000 years ago, so it's difficult to know with absolute surity, or even in the last 3-400 years since before Linneaus's time, and his use of botanical Latin. Which brings up another mess that muddies the water: botanical Latin is not the same as the spoken language. In fact botanical Latin is not a spoke language at all, merely a means of classification.

The best way is to do your pronouncing so it can be understood, or(in addition) to advance the most widely accepted pronunciation. KLEM-uh-tis and klem-Ä-tis are fairly easy to detect when they are pronounced "wrong". But SEE-dum and see-DOOM? That's another story, IMO.

I am acquainted with the head of the (Latin)language department of Middle England University, and a good friend of a learned horticulturist here in Minneapolis. Who do I better understand? The Brit. I suspect because my American friend is pretty much self taught in the matter and more strictly adheres to Latin phonetics; yet the Brit is more rounded, even though not American influenced at all.

Thought this might be fun:

Veni, Vidi, Visa -- I Came, I Saw, I went shopping

Veni, Vidi, V8 -- I Came, I Saw, I went very quickly

Veni, Vidi, Vamoose -- I Came, I Saw, I Left

Veni, Vidi, Fiji -- I Came, I Saw, I ran away as far as possible

Veni, Vidi, VCR -- I Came, I Saw, I went home and rented the video

Veni, Vidi, Vacuum -- I Came, I Saw, I Cleaned Up

Veni, Vidi, Vodka -- I Came, I Saw, I Drank

Veni, Vidi, Vomit -- I Came, I Saw, I Drank Too Much

Veni, Vidi, Vespa -- I Came, I Saw, I Rode Home

Veni, Vidi, Voyager -- I Came, I Saw, I Charted the New Frontier

Veni, Vidi, Venturi -- I Came, I Saw, I created a vacuum

Veni, Vidi, Vrai -- I Came, I Saw, the truth is out there

Veni, Vidi, Va Va Voom -- I Came, I Saw, I wore a feather boa

Veni, Vidi, Vanish -- I Came, I Saw, I Disappeared

Veni, Vidi, Velcro -- I Came, I Saw, I Stuck Around

Veni, Vidi, Volvo -- I Came, I Saw, I Drove

Veni, Vidi, Verily -- I Came, I Saw, I Concurred

Veni, Vidi, Violin -- I Came, I Saw, I made a horrible screeching noise

Veni, Vidi, Velociraptor -- I Came, I Saw, I went to a Spielberg film

Veni, Vidi, Venison -- I Came, I Saw, I ran over a deer

LOL One of these years, i'll find the joke thing i had with "Carpe Diem". One was "Carpet Diem - Sieze the carpet". Another was "Cramp diem - Sieze the Midol". LOL