Slang/Shorthand "Orchid Speak" -- or "What on Earth does this term mean?"

[OrchidAddict]

NICE!! At least now I know I've been pronouncing keiki correctly! Someone I was speaking with kept calling the babies "kee-kee's," and I just naturally assumed I was in the wrong. LOL

This would be fantastic as a sticky!!

[pavel]

NICE!! At least now I know I've been pronouncing keiki correctly! Someone I was speaking with kept calling the babies "kee-kee's," and I just naturally assumed I was in the wrong. LOL

Jenn, a LOT of people insist on mispronouncing 'keiki' which is why I included the correct pronunciation. One of those pet peeves of mine, mispronounced this is as irritating to me as many folks find the sound of nails on a chalkboard. (Although considering how many youngsters probably have no idea what that sounds like, may be I should say "More irritating than waiting for a webpage to load while using dial-up." or "As irritating as needing to make a call but having zero 'bars' on the cell and nary a payphone in sight.".)

[Kmac]

... may be I should say "More irritating than waiting for a webpage to load while using dial-up." or "As irritating as needing to make a call but having zero 'bars' on the cell and nary a payphone in sight.".)

payphone? what's a payphone?

[OrchidAddict]

payphone? what's a payphone?

Hmmmm... perhaps we should ask Pavel to include "payphone" in the original chart?

[mauraec]

I have the same pet peeve - and add to that a particular intolerance of poor spelling and grammar - makes me extremely unpopular sometimes - but I can't help it. Language is a gift that should be treated with great care.

Okay - now I'm done lecturing.

[OrchidAddict]

I have another pronunciation question. I was at an orchid nursery looking for a Phalaenopsis lowii yesterday. When I asked for the plant, I pronounced it as "low-ee." The worker frowned at me and said, "You mean you want a Phal "low-ee-eye?" I had never heard it pronounced with three syllables, with the last one sounding like the little orbs on your face that you use to see.

Are either of these pronunciations correct, or is it something else entirely? My husband suggested that perhaps the name was Hawaiian in origin, but if that were the case, it would seem that the Hawaiian pronunciation would be "low-ah-ee," just as native Hawaiians pronounce their home as "Haw-ah-ee," not "Ha-why-ee" like we do in the states.

So, how does one say this name? Is it "low-ee," "low-ee-eye," "low-ah-ee" or something else completely?

[PaphMadMan]

LOW-ee-eye is correct, accent on the first syllable. Named for someone named Low.

There are any number of botanical Latin pronunciation guides online. But basically there are just 2 important things to remember. 1 - Any pronunciation that makes you understood is good. 2 - Anyone who makes you feel uncomfortable because of how you pronounced something is a jerk.

[catttan]

It has something to do with Latin grammar. Hope some Latin scholar will explain. I was taught to pronounce all those ending with 2 'i's by sounding the last 'i' as 'eye', thus 'low-ee-eye' but can how does one pronounce Paph stonei ?

[pavel]

I have another pronunciation question. I was at an orchid nursery looking for a Phalaenopsis lowii yesterday. When I asked for the plant, I pronounced it as "low-ee." The worker frowned at me and said, "You mean you want a Phal "low-ee-eye?" I had never heard it pronounced with three syllables, with the last one sounding like the little orbs on your face that you use to see.

Are either of these pronunciations correct, or is it something else entirely? My husband suggested that perhaps the name was Hawaiian in origin, but if that were the case, it would seem that the Hawaiian pronunciation would be "low-ah-ee," just as native Hawaiians pronounce their home as "Haw-ah-ee," not "Ha-why-ee" like we do in the states.

So, how does one say this name? Is it "low-ee," "low-ee-eye," "low-ah-ee" or something else completely?

Well, since the topic was brought up -- albeit obliquely -- the correct pronunciation of "Hawaii" is "ha-VIE-ee" (the second syllable is where the stress should be placed). My understanding is that a German wrote the Hawaiian language down (Hawaiians did not have a written language). In German, "w" is pronounced as a "v" is in English. While many locals will pronounce "Hawaii" as "ha-WIE-ee", others ... particularly the ethnic Hawaiians ... pronounce it the first way I wrote it.

It has something to do with Latin grammar. Hope some Latin scholar will explain. I was taught to pronounce all those ending with 2 'i's by sounding the last 'i' as 'eye', thus 'low-ee-eye' but can how does one pronounce Paph stonei ?

Been far too long since I had to worry about all the ins and outs of Latin (and there are a lot of them ... it really became quite a complex language as it evolved over time). As Yew stated, the second "i" at the end is pronounced as an "eye" whereas the one immediate preceding it is pronounced as an "ee". Now as far as "stonei" goes, I have always heard it pronounced "stone-ee-eye". However, given the preponderance of mispronounced words that are rampant in their usage (such as keiki), it would not surprise me if that pronunciation of "stonei" is also incorrect. As I mentioned, it has been a long time since I had to recall all the correct Latin grammar and pronunciation rules. But, from what I seem to recall, the "e" in Latin was not pronounced as "ee" which would -- if correct -- make the "common" pronunciation of "stonei" wrong.

While I understand Kirk's point, at the same time I have to say that one should make a point of learning the correct pronunciation of the words one uses. (For that matter I will make the same argument as to learning how to correctly spell the words one uses. It DOES matter.) If you discover you are pronouncing a word incorrectly, yes a bit of embarrassment is often the normal reaction though it needn't be. Take the correction as a chance to improve your knowledge.

[pavel]

payphone? what's a payphone?

Hmmmm... perhaps we should ask Pavel to include "payphone" in the original chart?

Yeah, yeah, you two keep pretending you don't know what that archaic device is.