Botanical Latin
totototo@telus.net (Fri, 12 Dec 2008 09:06:30 PST)
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