>Would one of you Latin wizards please help me to pronounce
"Trigonostoma"?.....................
>Steven [Coker]
>Texas
>
>
Hi Steve,
 
It's nice to hear from you.  I don't pretend to be a Latin wizard, but I do
know of a keeper of a rule for helping you decide which syllable to accent.
When a word has more than three syllables, this wonder rule goes, one
places the accent on the antepenultimate syllable.  Love that word. The fun
of pronouncing it is how I remember the rule.  "Penultimate" means "next to
last" so put an "ante" with it and you get "before the next to last,"  or
"next to the next to the last."
 
However, I don't think I can be accused of always following this delightful
rule. My natural inclination would tell me, probably wrongly, that I should
break "trigonostoma" down into parts..."trigono" and "stoma" which would
give me two accents, one on "tri" and one on "sto." We all bring our own
spins to the pronunciation of the Latin and Greek of scientific names, it
seems. The first time I heard "janthina" pronounced "eye - an' -thee-na"
and then by the other speaker in the group as "ee-an-thee-na"  I was really
puzzled, having always pronounced the most un-Latin "J"  as a "J."  And
appalled to learn that they were right! It sounded so silly to me! But I've
gotten over it.
 
Although this topic always brings all sorts of interesting answers -- and I
can't wait to read them -- from our excellent Latin students on Conch-L (if
indeed we haven't driven them all away!),  I honestly think that "you pays
your money and you takes your chance" as the old (American) saying goes.
 
My copy of Tucker's recording (the LP version, not the taped version which
is hiding out somewhere in this sedimentary deposit that is my office!) was
lent to Conch-L member Lori Schroeder last week, so Lori?  What does Tucker
say?  I'd bet on the "os" and the "antepenultimate rule!"
 
Lynn Scheu
[log in to unmask]
Louisville KY. Home of the 1999 COA Convention where we even have
differences of opinion over how to pronounce the name of our city!
Looavull.
Luhvul.
Lewisville.
Looaville.
Looeyville.
Louisville!! Your kind of place, any way you say it! Come to the convention!