Latin's no help at all in the case of clematis. It comes from a Greek word, κλῆμα, which actually is pronounced KLEE-ma.

You're right that people who insist on the "correct" Latin pronunciation are pretentious or uninformed. I took Latin at a Catholic school and a public school. The pronunciations were radically different. Ecclesiastical Latin sounds nothing like Classical Latin, and we don't follow either in our pronunciation of many Latin words and names. We pronounce Cicero as SISS-uh-row, but Classical and Ecclesiastical Latin would pronounce the name as KEE-ke-ro or CHEE-che-ro.

The Romance languages are no help because most of the "correct" pronunciations don't follow the Latin rules or the rules of most Romance languages. If they did, our pronunciation of Campanula would sound like kahm-pah-NOO-lah, but the pronunciation offered in most botanical dictionaries is kam-PAN-yoo-lah.

So right, zuzu. Pronunciations of the same spellings are completely different in French, than Spanish or Italian let alone Portugese! Almost none of them carry any relation to Latin pronunciations which, as Melanie pointed out, is a "dead" language anyway so we really don't know how it should sound.

Great, I'm saying Campanula wrong, too!?

mellielong said:Great, I'm saying Campanula wrong, too!?

Yep, same here.

zuzu said:If they did, our pronunciation of Campanula would sound like kahm-pah-NOO-lah, but the pronunciation offered in most botanical dictionaries is kam-PAN-yoo-lah.

you mean, kam-pu-NOO-luh is not the correct pronunciation?? But I have 2 kam-pu-NOO-luhs in my yard, and not a single kam-PAN-yoo-lah!

Catmint, you can fix that. You just have to buy some kam-PAN-yoo-lahs to go with your current 2 kam-pu-NOO-lahs.

grannysgarden said:Catmint, you can fix that. You just have to buy some kam-PAN-yoo-lahs to go with your current 2 kam-pu-NOO-lahs.

Yes I think you're right about that!

Laughing so hard at this thread. These spellings and pronunciations are giving me a headache.

Lin

I've got another one: Cotoneaster? My mother called it "ka-toe-nee-ASS-ter" but my neighbor in Salt Lake surprised me one day by referring to it as "Cotton Easter".

I'm on board with cam-PAN-yoo-la. As for Agastache, the last syllable is the same as mustache. I think -ach is pronounced "ak" but -ache should be "ash" . . . when it's not a head ache.

Elaine, we always said *cotton-easter* too..... Hope this thread is not giving anyone a head ache.

I think our brains automatically want to separate those two words cotton easter but it is pronounced ka-toe-nee-ASS-ter.
http://www.merriam-webster.com...

Ok, this is kind of nit-picky so I apologize in advance but - what is the plural of "clematis" ?

I think it is both singular and plural just the way it is eg. one clematis, fifteen clematis. But in a couple of the 'ideas' on the sidebar this week they are referred to as "clematises". Anybody else get a little spot of bother about this?

Yes. I also feel that iris should be plural without adding the 'es'. Since both require the 'es' to be correct I often write and speak incorrectly.

The plural of clematis is clematises, but most of us just call them clems.

My Father called them cle-MAT-tis

I was born & raised south of Chicago.

I have lived in Michigan for over 40 years.

I usually call them cle-MAT-tis:)

I will never, NEVER attempt to pronounce Agastache in the presence of another gardener. And I refuse to tell anyone how it gets pronounced in my head.

I pronounce it the way "Martha" does.