Poecilotheria

TalonAWD

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I have noticed that the majority of people pronounce this word "Poecilotheria" as Poe-klo-theria rather than how it is spelled Poe-see-lo-theria.

Out of curiousity, why is that?
 

Malhavoc's

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I would blame the slangn ame given to the genus of "pokie" or Pocie but phenetticly being pernounced pokie, and thus with not everyone having a basic understanding of latin and sncientific names it becomes generaly simpler.
 

PrimalTaunt

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I would blame the slangn ame given to the genus of "pokie" or Pocie but phenetticly being pernounced pokie, and thus with not everyone having a basic understanding of latin and sncientific names it becomes generaly simpler.
That would be the logical answer. Honestly if it wasn't for the webpage with the pronunciation spelled out for me, I wouldn't have half an idea how to pronounce most of the scientific names. And even with that I still am probably horribly mispronouncing them.
 

TalonAWD

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I would blame the slangn ame given to the genus of "pokie" or Pocie but phenetticly being pernounced pokie, and thus with not everyone having a basic understanding of latin and sncientific names it becomes generaly simpler.
Well shouldn't the slang name be "Poe-see"?. I did a search for pronunciation and found this to be the short form of the Genus name rather than "Poe-Key".
 

xhexdx

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One thing you'll notice if you actually talk to other hobbyists (i.e. at group meetings or A-Con or something similar) is that everyone pronounces everything differently.
 

BlackCat

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In latin, 'poe' is pronounced 'pee', so it should be 'Pee-sil-uh-theria'. As with Psalmopoeus 'Sal-mo-pee-us'.

'Poe-klo-theria' does make me cringe a little when I hear it.

This site is awesome for pronunciations http://atshq.org/articles/beechwp1.html

One thing you'll notice if you actually talk to other hobbyists (i.e. at group meetings or A-Con or something similar) is that everyone pronounces everything differently.
True, it probably comes from seeing the words more than hearing them.
 

TalonAWD

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In latin, 'poe' is pronounced 'pee', so it should be 'Pee-sil-uh-theria'. As with Psalmopoeus 'Sal-mo-pee-us'.

'Poe-klo-theria' does make me cringe a little when I hear it.
Yeah i saw that and at first i thought it was a typo. But as I searched on I see that is what its supposed to be...Poe=Pee{D

I have always heard the "klo" portion and thought why? Thats when I attempted to search to see if I have been adding an "i" in front of the "L" by mistake all these years:?

Thats what made me bring forth this thread.
 

syndicate

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One thing you'll notice if you actually talk to other hobbyists (i.e. at group meetings or A-Con or something similar) is that everyone pronounces everything differently.
Exactly!There doesn't have to be a set way to pronounce a specific scientific name.People will understand what your saying for the most part and know what species your referring to.

-Chris
 

Noexcuse4you

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Good little paper on Latin pronunciations. I took 2 years of (Classical) Latin in high school and I remember that "c" always was pronounced as a hard "k" sound. Perhaps the scientific way is different.

They didn't exactly have tape recorders back then so we'll never know. Pronounce it as you wish; we all know what you're talking about.
 

syndicate

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Also worth mentioning that not all scientific names use latin ;]

-Chris
 

fartkowski

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I'm sure I pronounce the names wrong at times, but they know what I'm talking about. I think thats all that matters.
 

TalonAWD

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I'm sure I pronounce the names wrong at times, but they know what I'm talking about. I think thats all that matters.
I was just curious that all. Now i don't feel so bad with me being the only one on YouTube saying the word differently.{D
 

Malhavoc's

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Also worth mentioning that not all scientific names use latin ;]

-Chris
I thought that latin was the base term for most scientific names as being a universally accepted language? Just what goes into making the names then if not latin? I can't think off of any other languages I've seen in sp names beyond a few names here and there.
 

smallara98

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I like to say Poe-see-lo-theria . Just sounds better in my opinion and makes total sence . My opinion though :)
 

mickey66

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I have noticed that the majority of people pronounce this word "Poecilotheria" as Poe-klo-theria rather than how it is spelled Poe-see-lo-theria.

Out of curiousity, why is that?
I think its pronounced....Poecilotheria (pee-suh-luh-THI-ree-uh)

Also worth mentioning that not all scientific names use latin ;]

-Chris
Yes.....some are Greek!
 

TalonAWD

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I think its pronounced....Poecilotheria (pee-suh-luh-THI-ree-uh)
Yep I already figured that out a couple post above yours:p

Yeah i saw that and at first i thought it was a typo. But as I searched on I see that is what its supposed to be...Poe=Pee{D
I would have never guessed that looking at the word Poe. Edgar Allen "Pee" {D
 

Scorpionking20

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I've a Philosophy professor that teaches Greek and Latin.

He said Poke-a-la-theira is how it's pronounced.

Perhaps he's wrong, but he's translated books and seems very knowledgable on what he's doing.

Anyways...that's how I pronounce it.
 

Noexcuse4you

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I think its pronounced....Poecilotheria (pee-suh-luh-THI-ree-uh)
I still think its wrong, but whatever. C is always a hard "k" sound in Latin.

Also worth mentioning that if a word ends in "i" its long, such as B. smith-eye not B. smith-y.
 

Slappys_g1rl06

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According to my word roots dictionary:

poecil, -i, -o is of Greek origin meaning variegated, many-colored.

theri, -a,-d, -o is also of Greek origin meaning a wild beast.

Not to nerd out on anybody or anything... :D But that would be why Latin pronunciation rules don't apply here.

My guess as to why people will mispronounce these things, especially this one, is since most of us in the United States are western European... we tend to go with the Latin pronunciation of things. At least in my area. That and calling them "pokies" for short doesn't help!
 
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AmbushArachnids

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Lots of good posts here! thanks joe for the link on how to pronounce names. very helpful! :)
 
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