I'm not a linguist, so I can't provide a direct answer to your question.  But it occurs to me that there are a lot of other names pronounced with the soft "c" sound, either in initial position or elsewhere in the word, such as Cymatiidae, Buccinidae, Naticidae, Muricidae, Glycymerididae, Lucinidae, Hipponicidae, cylindrica, foliacea, laciniatus, lanceolatus, mancinella, sarcinosa, sericina, urceus, etc.

Paul M.




---- John Varner <[log in to unmask]> wrote: 
> I am inquiring as to the correct pronunciation of Cypraeidae.  For many years I have heard even knowledgeable collectors pronounce this with a soft "c", i.e.: "sipraeidae", often shortened to "sip....", but as there are no soft C's in Latin, is it not "kipraeidae", or "kypreaidae"?  Are there other common blunders in shell lingo?  After 50+ years of collecting, you'd think I'd have these things down....
> Thanks in advance
> - John 		 	   		  
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