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, then the stress is determined by the number of consonants following the next-to-last vowel
  • #2a: If the next-to-last vowel is followed by another vowel, the stress falls on the next-to-next-to-last syllable (ROsea, not roSEa).
  • #2b: If the next-to-last vowel is followed by two or more consonants, the stress falls on the next-to-last syllable (puSILLa, not PUsilla).
  • #2c: If the next-to-last vowel is followed by a single consonant, then
    • #2c1: If the next-to-last vowel is long, the stress falls on the next-to-last syllable (gutTAta).
    • #2c2: Otherwise, the stress falls on the next-to-next-to-last syllable (GRAcilis, not graCILis).

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

1. If the next-to-last vowel is -a-, it is almost always long.  This includes endings -alis, -aris, -ana, -ata.
2. If the next-to-last vowel is -o-, it is almost always long (as in the endings -flora, -osa), but not in the ending -cola, where the -o- is short.
3. If the next-to-last vowel is -u-, it is long in -uta (e.g. hirsuta) but short in -ula (e.g. pendula).
4. If the next-to-last vowel is -e- or -i-, it is short.  This includes the ending -ilis.

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