wsinbad1 wrote: Jake, I now understand that Scientific names can be made up of words of different origin.  What I don't get is why they can be made up of words of different origin.  It seems very arbitrary to me.  I thought scientists lived by rules.

Here is the "rule".   Scientific names can be anything pretty much (i.e. they don't have to be Latin), but they must conform to Latin grammar.

It is incorrect to call them "Latin names".  They should be called "Scientific Names".

Here's a funny story.

Anthony Calfo told us that recently (2000) the common colt coral (Cladiella, or Alcyonium) was renamed to Klyxum sp. by Aldersdale.  Which he named after a student of his, because the name sounded cool.

Will-
Wish I could help, sorry.

Adam

Hey at least I pronounce Zoanthid correctly.  I even have mom saying "Zo's".  Also, I'll have you know I'm constantly correcting people who say Anenome.  That one drives me crazy.

Adam, maybe we could make everyone happy and call them Clownemone Fish.

Jake, I now understand that Scientific names can be made up of words of different origin.  What I don't get is why they can be made up of words of different origin.  It seems very arbitrary to me.  I thought scientists lived by rules.

Another thing I don't get is that if names can truely be arbitrary such as naming something after the person who discoved it or someone the discoverer liked, why is it that I always read about fish, or other things, that they have decided the original name was not correct for.  One day I discover some new deep sea fish and name it Spenceropticus, because I discovered it and it has big eyes.  So then 20 years later a smarter scientist comes along and says "nope you named it wrong.  It is a Hixenburgerbinoculos", because he came from a small town in Bavaria named Hixenburg and he discovered it has telescopic vision.

Ok this is a little outlandish, but they are often changing the names of things and I don't get why.  If my name is Will and tomorrow my mom says I really think you should have been a Jeremy, as far as I'm concerned my name is still Will because that is what I have gone by for 30 years.

Enlighten me.

I say it differently when I say, "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Royal Caribbean".

I hate to admit this, but I do the same thing.  Oh it is terrible.

And people calling them zoos frustrates me, because they are zos.  It is Zo anthid, and not zoo anthid.  However none of this is as irritating as the example made by Will. 

That term which need not be mentioned he mentioned..... just to stick it to me

Adam

Many words have several correct pronunciations. I just like to use the one that is most widely accepted so I don't sound like an idiot.  For example, how do you say Caribbean? There are two common pronunciations, and both are accepted. I know I use them both. I say it differently when I say, "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Royal Caribbean".

Jake as far as zooxanthellae, I just avoid saying it and use Symbiodinium microadriaticum instead.

I say it zoh-zan-thell-ee. The 'ae' again making a long e sound as in bee.

That brings up another good word that i hear lots of different pronunciations; zoanthid.

I believe its zoh-an-thid, although I hear many say zoo-an-thid or zoos for short. Should we call them zoas (zohs) for short?

wsinbad1 wrote: Seriously, shouldn't Latin names be pronounced in Latin pronunciation.

In short yes and no.  Although many scientific names are latinized (is that a word?) many have Greek origins and some have English, German, French, etc.  Some are even combinations of different languages.

For example

zooxanthellae

zoo is Greek for "an animal"
xanth is Greek for "yellow"
ellae is a Latin suffix meaning "small"

so how do we pronounce this?  Like it is Greek or Latin.

Scientists only say it wrong because they are not linguists.  They've been "not linguists" for so long that they think they are saying it right.

Seriously, shouldn't Latin names be pronounced in Latin pronunciation.  I'm no linguist either, but I have wondered how to pronounce many of the scientific names correctly.  If you're now going to tell me that even if I learn to prounce the Latin words I'll still be saying it wrong I'm not even going to try.

I guess I'll have to fall back on Gold Stripped Maroon Clownfish.

Jake hit the nail on the head.  I tend to pronounce things in "Latin" and my colleagues sometimes make fun of me for not speaking "Science" in the lab. 

Adam