Diplodocus pronounciation

[tyrantqueen]

Just wondering. Thanks to extensive childhood viewing of WWD, I've always said pronounced it as number 1.

I also say IG-YOU-AHNA-DON, instead of IG-WAHN-ADON., similar to how many of us in the UK pronounce the "u" in jaguar.

[Patrx]

Hm, my usual pronunciation of the name is somewhere between the first and third options. Using these conventions it might be written as "dip-LODDO-kus".

Does the usual UK pronunciation of Iguanodon also apply to the word "iguana"?

[tyrantqueen]

Hm, my usual pronunciation of the name is somewhere between the first and third options. Using these conventions it might be written as "dip-LODDO-kus".

Does the usual UK pronunciation of Iguanodon also apply to the word "iguana"?

Yes, I say ig-yoo-ahn-ah as well

[Patrx]

Interesting! Just curious. In the States, it's not uncommon to hear "jaguar" pronounced like "jagwire", which is just unpleasant to hear. 

[Z-Ray]

Does the usual UK pronunciation of Iguanodon also apply to the word "iguana"?

Funny i was just thinking the same thing, Here in NZ we tend to use the UK pronunciations, but the few times anybody has ever said "iguana" it has been IG-WANNA, and I can't recall ever hearing anybody actually say Iguanadon.

Also, I voted #3 but thinking about it I actual pronounce it: "DI-PLOD-ickus" rhymes with Spartacus...sort of.
and when I'm thinking how amazingly odd it looks I think of it as a DIPLO-DOKUS rhymes (badly) with Hocus-Pocus.

[tyrantqueen]

I just remembered another one- I've heard most Americans say CARNY gee (with emphasis on the "Carn"). I personally pronounce it Car NEE gee. But apparently the correct version is Car NAY gee. Can anyone think of any others?

There's Giganotosaurus, which some people say as "jigganotosaurus". Like Dr. Brown in Back To The Future.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9wQiVeNKRY

[Gwangi]

I voted number 1 but after re-reading them I think I probably say it more like number 3. I dunno, I generally say it the same way a Z-Ray, DI-PLOD-ickus.

Now how about ankylosaurus. Do y'all say ann-ky-low-saurus or ann-kee-low-saurus? I used to say it ann-kee but now I say ann-ky, most people seem to say ann-kee.

[tyrantqueen]

I voted number 1 but after re-reading them I think I probably say it more like number 3. I dunno, I generally say it the same way a Z-Ray, DI-PLOD-ickus.

Now how about ankylosaurus. Do y'all say ann-ky-low-saurus or ann-kee-low-saurus? I used to say it ann-kee but now I say ann-ky, most people seem to say ann-kee.

It's really hard to translate the pronunciation into text. If you listened to Dr. Bakker's recent podcast where he talked about the validity of the Brontosaurus genus, he made a joke about how people pronounce Diplodocus differently, and that no-one really knows which the correct version is. I used the three versions that he mentioned in the podcast. But it's awesome podcast, and you should watch it anyway regardless of that

[DinoToyForum]

Number 1 for me. I've never heard anyone say it the third way.

By the way, I changed the title of the topic to 'Diplodocus pronounciation', hope that's okay.

[tyrantqueen]

Number 1 for me. I've never heard anyone say it the third way.

By the way, I changed the title of the topic to 'Diplodocus pronounciation', hope that's okay.

No problem, thanks for asking.

[DinoLord]

I say it like Z-Ray and Gwangi.

Dimetrodon is another one. I used to say it like Die-metro-don, but after meeting some British members of the forum and discussing it I now say it like Die-mee-trodon

[DinoToyForum]

Okay, after saying it aloud several times, here's how I say it: dih-PLOD-uh-kus
Still closest to number 1, but slightly different.

[tyrantqueen]

Dimetrodon is another one. I used to say it like Die-metro-don, but after meeting some British members of the forum and discussing it I now say it like Die-mee-trodon

I say Die-metro-don too, even though I'm English. Actually it sounds more like DIM-etro-don, is that a valid pronunciation too?

[Newt]

It's always tough with scientific names, especially now that so few people learn classical languages. The "correct" (if you follow classical rules) pronunciation is "di PLO do kuss" - i as in bit, o as in not, u like the "oo" in hook (there was no schwa sound in classical languages).

The two words in the name are both Greek (it is considered poor form to mix Greek and Latin in a single name):

diploOS (double) + doKOS (beam) (all these 'o's represent the short o, omicron, not the long o, omega)

In the compound word "diplodokos", the double omicron of "diploos" is contracted to an omega. Now, a Greek word can only have an accent on one of the last three syllables. The accent cannot be on the "di". The "plo" is now long, while the last two syllables are short. If one of the latter syllables were long, it would constrain the accent to appear on one of them, but that is not the case. Therefore, the accent could fall on any of the last three syllables. (By the way- an accent in Ancient Greek represented a change in pitch, not stress as in English). There's no way to know which would actually be used, as this compound form does not, of course, occur in Ancient Greek.

Simplifying matters, the word has been Latinized- that is, it's not just a Greek word represented in Latin letters, it's a Greek word transformed to fit Latin rules (the change of original kappa to "c" instead of "k" and the Latin 2nd declension masculine ending "-us" in place of Greek "-os" are indicators of this). Latin stress rules are simpler than those of Greek. If the word has three or more syllables, the stress goes on the penult (next-to-last syllable) if the penult is long, and on the antepenult (syllable before the penult) if the penult is short. In this case, the penult is short, so the accent goes on the antepenult, which is "plo".

Well, there's my two cents. My classics teacher would be proud (or not, more likely).

[deanm]

  If I follow my son's pronouciation when he was 3-4 years old, I would say "boom - boom". The sound of it's feet hitting the ground. 

I actually pronounce it "dih-PLOD-uh-kus". 

[Takama]

If I follow my son's pronouciation when he was 3-4 years old, I would say "boom - boom". The sound of it's feet hitting the ground. 

I actually pronounce it "dih-PLOD-uh-kus".

Same here. My Dad said this the first time he got me the  Original Carnegie model, and I had a Computer program that was about dinosaurs, and it pronounced it the same way.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

I used to use the 2nd one when i was younger..then switched to Dip-lod-i-cus later as I got older..same with An-kee-low-saurus..started using An-ky-low-saurus when I was in highschool.

[EmperorDinobot]

I say it in a latinized way: Dee Ploh Doh Koos.

[docronnie]

I am WWD influenced as well.

[Nebuloid]

Okay, after saying it aloud several times, here's how I say it: dih-PLOD-uh-kus
Still closest to number 1, but slightly different.

Yup that's how I'm saying it these days as well. Used to be di-plo-doh-kus ( second o is longer ),  might be because I'm Dutch...