On 11 Dec 2008, at 9:42, J.E. Shields wrote: > Corydalis turczaninowii Corydalis turchaninovii > Corydalis kusnetzovi Corydalis kusnetsovi > Fritillaria walujewii Fritillari valuyevii > Iris winogradowii Iris vinogradovii > Arum korolkowii Arum korolkovii > Galanthus krasnovii Galanthus krasnovii (krasnoffii, perhaps) > Does the code say anything about which spelling might be preferred? I > assume that the pronunciation of the final botanical name would be the > same, whether spelled with v or with w, but I also wonder along with Jim McK.: > like "v" or like "f" ? There is no fixed pronunciation of Latin, classical, medieval, or botanical. Those of us who had good Latin teachers in high school know that one school of thought is veenee, veedee, veechee, another is weenee, weedee, weetchee. Most of the names you offer are Latinisations of German transliterations of Russian names. I've given approximate pronunciations, mainly affecting the w- v names, if you accept that the purpose is to memorialize the Russian name and hence the pronunciation should refer back to that, through the lens of German spelling. It's precisely the same issue as in Tchaikovsky and Chaikovskii in the world of music. Whether a termination -wii is best pronounced -vii or -ffii is probably merely a matter of taste. On the whole, it's probably easier to just use the rules for pronouncing classical Latin and don't worry about offending anyone's linguistic sensibilities. And you are allowed to stumble around anyway, there's no law against having private rules for pronouncing the stuff. PS: botanical Latin is a descendant of medieval scholars' Latin; it's a grand- daughter (or further removed) of classical Latin. It has a vastly simplified grammar; in fact most isn't even written in sentences as the custom has grown up of writing plant descriptions in (iirc) the ablative case. It's a very specialized language used only for a single, very narrow purpose. You couldn't write your memoirs in botanical Latin. -- Rodger Whitlock Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate on beautiful Vancouver Island http://maps.google.ca/maps/…