Pronunciation of species names

In this page, we're going to be dealing with names which are Latin adjectives. I've got my own crotchety pronunciation of douglasii, for instance; you don't need to hear that rant. They should never have allowed species to be named after people.

But most species have Latin-adjective names, and we can all pronounce them correctly.

To start with, the stress in Latin words is completely predictable. Predictable, that is, if you have a Latin dictionary, so that you know whether a particular vowel is short or long.

Short?!!? Long?!!? What's this short/long nonsense? After all, we speak this completely logical, predictable, phonetic language called English, right?????

Um, maybe we better clam up and listen to this long/short business for a few minutes, okay?

Stress in Latin words is very simple.

Rules

#1: If the word has two syllables, the stress falls on the first syllable (ROsa and not roSA).
#2: If the word has three or more syllables and ends in two vowels, the stress falls on the syllable preceding the two vowels
- ROsea, not roSEa
- eBURnea, not eburNEa
- coLUMnea, not columNEa
- sanGUINea, not sanguiNEa)
- LUtea, not luTEa
- conSPICua, not conspiCUa
#3: If the word has three or more syllables and the next-to-last vowel is followed by two or more consonants, the stress falls on the next-to-last syllable (puSILLa, not PUsilla).
#4: If the next-to-last vowel is followed by a single consonant, then
- #4a: If the next-to-last vowel is long, the stress falls on the next-to-last syllable
  - gutTAta, not GUttata
  - cardiNAlis, not carDINalis
  - hirSUta, not HIRsuta
- #4b: If the next-to-last vowel is short, the stress falls on the next-to-next-to-last syllable
  - GRAcilis, not graCILis
  - PENdula, not penDUla

Long and Short Vowels

Okay, to know whether a vowel is long or short, you need a Latin dictionary. However, I refer you to a rulebook for your own native language. Clear and logical and intuitive, is it?

I thought so. So let's get on with Latin. Here's a table of Sinningia/Paliavana/Vanhouttea species pronunciations, with references to the rules that dictate which syllable received the stress.

Before we start, we can formulate some mostly-reliable guidelines about when a vowel is long or not (the only uncertainty in the above rules).

Guidelines

If the next-to-last vowel is -a-, it is almost always long, so (4a) applies. This includes endings
- -alis, e.g. cardinALis
- -aris, e.g. cochleARis
- -ana, e.g. glazioviANa
- -ata, e.g. guttATa
If the next-to-last vowel is -o-, it is almost always long, so (4a) applies. This includes endings
- -flora, e.g. tubiFLOra
- -osa, e.g. tuberOSa
but not -cola, where the -o- is short (ruPICola).
If the next-to-last vowel is -u-,
- it is long in -uta (hirSUta)
- it is short in -ula (PENdula)
If the next-to-last vowel is -e- or -i-, it is short. This includes the ending -ilis (GRAcilis).

This being language, an activity of human beings, there are exceptions, but they will be noted.

Name	Pronunciation	Meaning	Reference
aghensis	aGHENsis	from AGH	Rule #3
aggregata	aggreGAta	combined, collected	Guideline #1
allagophylla	allagoFILLa	having different kinds of leaves	Rule #3
amambayensis	amambayENsis	from amambaya	Rule #3
araneosa	araneOsa	spider-web-like	Guideline #2
arenicola	arenICKola	growing in sand	Guideline #2
barbata	barBAta	bearded (and by extension, old-timer)	Guideline #1
brasiliensis	braziliENsis	from Brazil, wherever that is	Rule #3
bulbosa	bulbOsa	having bulbs	Guideline #2
calcarata	kalkaRAta	spurred, heeled	Guideline #1
calcaria	kalKAria	rock-related	Rule #2
canescens	kaNESSens	growing white	Rule #3
carangolensis	karangoLENsis	from Carangola (a city in Brazil)	Rule #3
cardinalis	kardiNAlis	[original meaning] essential, hence [from the color of the cardinal bishops' robes] red	Guideline #1
cochlearis	kokleAris	snail-like from Latin cochlea (snail)	Guideline #1
concinna	konSINna	symmetrical, elegant	Rule #3
conspicua	konSPIkua	conspicuous	Rule #2
curtiflora	kurtiFLOra	short flower	Guideline #2
defoliata	defoliAta	leafless	Guideline #1
elatior	eLAtior	exalted	Rule #2
eumorpha	yuMORfa	well-formed	Rule #3
gigantifolia	jiganti (or giganti-)FOLia	huge-leaved	Rule #2
glazioviana	glazioviAna	to do with Glaziou	Guideline #1
gracilis	GRAcilis	slender, simple	Guideline #4
guttata	gutTAta	spotted	Guideline #1
hirsuta	hirSUta	hairy	Guideline #3
incarnata	inkarNAta	[literally] made flesh (who knows what the namer had in mind)	Guideline #1
insularis	insuLAris	of island	Guideline #1
lanata	laNAta	woolly	Guideline #1
leucotricha	lukoTREEka	white hair	Rule #3
lineata	lineAta	lined	Guideline #1
macrophylla	makroFILLa	big leaf	Rule #3
macropoda	makroPOda	big foot	Guideline #2
macrostachya	makroSTAkya	big stem	Rule #2
mauroana	mauroAna	mauro's	Guideline #1
micans	MIcans	sparkling	Rule #1
nivalis	niVAlis	snowy, wintry	Guideline #1
nordestina	see discussion	northeast	see discussion
pendula	PENdula	hanging (pendant)	Guideline #3
piresiana	piresiAna	[Named after Pires somebody, maybe?]	Guideline #1
prasinata	prasiNAta	greenish	Guideline #1
pusilla	puSILLa	petty, puny (cf. pusillanimous = puny-spirited)	Rule #2
rupicola	ruPICKola	growing on cliffs	Guideline #2
sceptrum	SEPtrum	sceptre, authority	Rule #1
speciosa	speciOsa	handsome	Guideline #2
striata	striAta	streaked, scalloped	Guideline #1
sulcata	sulKAta	furrowed	Guideline #1
tenuiflora	tenuiFLOra	thin-flowered	Guideline #2
tuberosa	tuberOsa	having tubers	Guideline #2
tubiflora	tubiFLOra	tube-flower	Guideline #2
valsuganensis	valsugaNENsis	from Valsuga (?)	Rule #3
villosa	villOsa	hairy, shaggy	Guideline #2

NORDESTINA

nordestina is an invented word, meaning "northeast", referring to the region of Brazil ("Nordeste") where this species is found. Guideline #4 would suggest the pronunciation norDEStina.

On the other hand, Guideline #4 is just that, a guideline. As can be seen from Rules 4a and 4b, it all depends on whether the i in nordestina is long or short. Guideline #4 says that it is usually short.

In such cases, the usual procedure is to look for a similar Latin word, so that one can reason by analogy. If "morbestina" were a Latin word and the i were short so that the word was pronounced morBEStina, then we'd have grounds for assuming that it was short in nordestina as well. If the i were long so that it was morbesTEEna, then we'd guess that nordestina acted the same way.

I could not think of such a word, however, so the whole issue went on the back burner. I kept on pronouncing it norDEStina.

Finally, a little rhyming light went on. The word clandestine in English means secret or stealthy. It sure sounds like it has a Latin origin. If clandestina were a Latin adjective, its pronunciation would give us a clue. Since the English word is pronounced clanDEStin, it was a good bet that the Latin word had the stress in the same place.

Putting my money on the short i, I pulled out my handy Latin dictionary.

And there it was:

The i was long.

So I have switched to nordesTEEna. Taking me a little while to get used to it, though.

It also helps to know that Alain Chautems, who invented the word, pronounces it nordesTEEna.