How do you pronounce "gibbiceps"?

[Melanochromis]

I happen to need to actually pronounce the name Apistogramma gibbiceps.

A guideline says gibbiceps = JIB-ih-seps
http://www.columbusfishclub.org/info/tips/latin.php

Another suggests gibb EE seps for the catfish with this name
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=148

On top of all this, I'm not a native English speaker and never learned Latin in school. I've tried to avoid saying the more difficult names out loud, but this time I will have to with gibbiceps. Sorry to bother everyone with this again, but any help is highly appreciated.

PS. in the long term, I hope some knowledgeable person might compile a list of hard-to-pronounce species and how to say them correctly. That would be extremely appreciated

 

[Mike Wise]

I guess my 2 years of high school Latin is still uesful! The species name "gibbiceps" is based on 2 Latin words: 'gibbus' = hump or bulge and 'cephalicus' = head. The name was given by Meinken in reference to the bulge on the head of the male holotype. Interestingly, this swelling is not a cephalic fatty deposit, as seen on many other cichlid species, but due to poor preservation techniques allowing bacteria to swell the flesh in the head area of the holotype. Technically, in Latin, all words starting with a 'g' are pronounced as a hard 'g'. Therefore, the latter (gibb EE seps) is correct. Honestly it really doesn't matter one way or the other, so long as everyone understands which species you're talking about.

 

[Melanochromis]

Thank you for the explanation, Mike.

But it inevitably leads me to the next question. If 'g' is always a hard 'g', then it does make me wonder if we are pronouncing some names the "wrong" way. So, Mikro-jee-oh-fah-gus could be technically the incorrect way to say it?

 

[Mike Wise]

You didn't read carefully. I wrote "in Latin, all words starting with a 'g' are pronounced as a hard 'g'". Even the name "Geophagus" isn't aplicable. Why? Because 'geo' is Greek, not Latin (terra)!

 

[Melanochromis]

Okay, I see. So, I suppose 'g' in Greek can be a soft 'g', while 'g' in Latin is always pronounced as a hard 'g'. I'll keep that in mind

 

[Mike Wise]

I don't know about Greek; never studied the language.

 

[gerald]

And there's lots of genus and species names derived from people or place names that could be in ANY language. It's "generally suggested" that the original pronunciation in that language should be kept, so I'm told. A name could be a mix of Greek, Latin, French, Thai, ... so pronounce it whatever way seems to "make sense" keeping in mind its an international "scientific name" and not necessarily a Latin name. There's a silverbell tree here in NC (genus Halesia) For years I've called it Hal-EASY-uh (4 syllables, accent on 2nd). But a botanist recently told me it's named for a guy named "Hales" so the pronunciation "should be" HALES-ee-uh (3 syllables, accent on 1st).

Sometimes authors of new species actually tell you how they intend a name to be pronounced, but that's a new trend you dont see too often.

 

[Mike Wise]

Yes scientific names that honor people should be pronounced as it is/was pronounced by the person honored. That's why I try to pronounce names like 'agassizii, nijsseni, regani, steindachneri" differently from most other hobbyists. It is different from Latin, Greek, etc.adjective/descriptive names.

 

[Melanochromis]

Well, I'd be interested to know how you pronounce agassizii, nijsseni, regani, steindachneri. I can probably guess the latter two names, but the first two, especially nijsseni, aren't easy.

Since we are already on the subject, what's your way to say uaupesi, gephyra, eremnopyge and candidi? These are the difficult ones for me.

But in my opinion the most difficult name for Apistogramma is hoignei. Luckily we already discussed about that one
http://www.apistogramma.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-is-apistogramma-hoignei-pronounced.12086/

 

[apistodave]

I say Gibuhseps Uwe say Jibeeceps

 

[Mike Wise]

You say puh TAY toe, I say poe TAH to, but a spud is still a spud!

A. agassizii: named for Louis Agassiz, (French-Swiss/American) Geologist & Naturalist - Ah GAH see EYE (ong 'i' lbecause of the double 'i' at the end - and don't ask me why Steindachner used 2 'i's, I don't know.

A. nijsseni: named for Dr. Hans Nijssen (Dutch) ichthyologist & ecologist - Nye SZEN ee (the 'ij' is equivalent to a long 'i').

A. regani: named for Charles Tate Regan, (English) ichthyologist/taxonomist who pronounced his last name in the same way as the late US president Ronald Reagan: Ray GAN ee.

A. steindachneri: named for Franz Steindachner, (Austrian) natural scientist: Shtine DACH nare EE ('st' in German is pronounced with a 'sh' sound before the 't'.

A. uaupesi: named for the Rio Uaupés (Brazil)/Vaupés (Colombia): Wah PEZ ee.

A. gephyra: from Greek, meaning 'bridge'. Kullander (1980) believed then that A. gephyra was a bridged species between those of the agassizii-group and those in the pertensis-group: Je FIE rah (I think, but not sure. I say Ge FEAR ah my self. Maybe a Greek speaker can help us here.).

A. eremnopyge: from Greek, meaning 'black (or dark/sooty) buttocks' (Dr. Ready has a weird sense of humor!) for the dark blotch on the caudal peduncle: Ay REHM no PEE geh (I think, but not sure. I say Ee REHM no PEE geh my self. Maybe a Greek speaker can help us here.).

T. candidi: Named for E. Candidus (American) hobbyist who donated the type material for description. Latinized to 'candidi' - Can DEE dee.

I think these are correct, but I could be wrong. Anyone who knows differently, please let us know. Like I said before, it really doesn't matter that much as long as we know which species we are talking about. On a side note, the most abused name I know is Juliochromis marlieri. I've heard it pronounced 'Mar LER eye' and even 'Mal LER eye' (cringe). The species was named for a Frenchman who pronounced his name Mar LEE ay, so J. marlieri should be pronounced 'Mar LEE ay ee'. Anyone heard it pronounced this way?

 

[bbetta]

You say puh TAY toe, I say poe TAH to, but a spud is still a spud!

A. gephyra: from Greek, meaning 'bridge'. Kullander (1980) believed then that A. gephyra was a bridged species between those of the agassizii-group and those in the pertensis-group: Je FIE rah (I think, but not sure. I say Ge FEAR ah my self. Maybe a Greek speaker can help us here.).

A. eremnopyge: from Greek, meaning 'black (or dark/sooty) buttocks' (Dr. Ready has a weird sense of humor!) for the dark blotch on the caudal peduncle: Ay REHM no PEE geh (I think, but not sure. I say Ee REHM no PEE geh my self. Maybe a Greek speaker can help us here.).

A.gephyra: I think it is Je FIE rah without pronouncing the h a lot.But yes I think you are right.
A. eremnopyge: My Ancient Greek teacher told me that we pronounce this with Latin pronunciation as the most latin words which are derived from Greek words.I think it is Ee REHM no PEE geh ,but in Greece we really don't pronounce the ''h'' at the end of the word(ex. Ee REHM no PEE geh). This is because the pronunciation changed from Ancient to Modern Greek.Again I think Mike is Right .
This is just my opinion , I don't know if it is right.

 

[apistodave]

I think in this case one is better off applying the gravy rule--giblets

 

[DwarfApisto]

hey there david.

 

[apistodave]

Hey Dude

 

[raymond82]

Very nice to see the origin of all these names and how to pronounce them!

A. nijsseni: named for Dr. Hans Nijssen (Dutch) ichthyologist & ecologist - Nye SZEN ee (the 'ij' is equivalent to a long 'i').

This is the only one I can really say something sensible about is because it is dutch. I would say that the double s is pronounced like an s and not SZ as suggested. Also I think the emphasis is on the first syllable. So it should be NYE sen ee, although I have to admit that I've been pronouncing it as nye SEN ee most of the time...

 

[Mike Wise]

Thanks for the input bbetta and raymond82. With regards to A. nijsseni, I hope it puts the 'Nee sen eye' pronunciation out of existence, but I doubt it.

 

[Melanochromis]

This is indeed very nice to get to know how to pronounce many difficult names. Thank you

Personally, I think the author of the species should just always tell us the preferred pronunciation instead of having us figuring it out like this. They wrote pages and pages to describe a species but wouldn't add a line to suggest how the name they gave to the species should be pronounced?

 

[gerald]

according to "Pronounce How" the Dutch pronunciation of Nijssen is Nee-EYE-son (recorded voice)
http://www.pronouncehow.com/english/nijssen_pronunciation

If so, that would make the fish name "Nee-EYE-son-eye"
Has anybody here met Han Nijssen and know how HE pronouces his name?

I learned (from William Innes's Exotic Aquarium Fishes and other sources) that "i" on the end of a scientific name is a long i (EYE), not an "ee" sound like "spaghetti". I see Mike prefers the "ee" endings.

In the USA there can be multiple ways to pronounce a name with one spelling, especially if it's Americanized from a non-English language.
Beaufort can be "Byoo-fert" (city in South Carolina) or Bo-fert (North Carolina).

... and don't get me started on what those Brits do to English ... adding a non-existent "i" before the "u" in aluminum, or an "r" sound onto words that end with "a" ... |:>)

EDIT -- I just noticed that "Pronounce How" gives the "English" pronunciation of words (whether the word is English or other languages), so that may toss "Nee-EYE-son" out the window.

 

[bbetta]

Thanks for the input bbetta and raymond82. With regards to A. nijsseni, I hope it puts the 'Nee sen eye' pronunciation out of existence, but I doubt it.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to participate in this great forum!It is very nice to learn and share every detail for our favorite fish!