Pronunciation watch

[Lat-Literal]

... how truly spoken - as a lifelong dis-sector it is indeed a joy to encounter that pronunciation.

Curiously I'm pretty indifferent to the various pronunciations of margarine and vitamins. Don't believe in them, ennyways...

Since there are proper scientists around here - what is the view on lichen -

litchen or lyken??

Ray Mears was in Argyll on today's "Wild Britain" with - a word I hadn't heard before - a lichenologist.

He pronounced it lyken.

To be repeated on Travel Channel, 12.30am - http://www.tvguide.co.uk/titlesearch...with+Ray+Mears

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

"Lichenologist" but not really one?

[french frank]

"Lichenologist" but not really one?

'You got an ology?'

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

'You got an ology?'

No - the ointment was very effective.

[oddoneout]

No - the ointment was very effective.

It prevented an attack of science?

[Lat-Literal]

"Lichenologist" but not really one?

Yes - that one.

It is also the name of the British Lichen Society's journal. The Lichenologist contains taxonomic revisions of critical groups, articles of ecological, physiological and environmental interest, and many other matters of interest to lichenologists throughout the world.

Clarification of pronunciation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWQaEI9fKZc

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

It prevented an attack of science?

I have no way of knowing.

[french frank]

The pronunciation 'litchen' seems to be, originally, nothing more than a characteristic (or ignorant) British 'say as you write' pronunciation. The OED gives one pronunciation - /ˈlʌɪkən/ from Greek λειχήν . The French word, also lichen, is pronounced lee-ken, rather than lee-ʃen. If pronounced 'correctly, that is In both languages the word was a late arrival, so pronounced as the erudite pronounced it, knowing the Greek original.

I don't see why you shouldn't pronounce it 'litchen' if you prefer: it just means you prefer the popular pronunciation to the scholarly one.

[jean]

I'm sure that's all true - what surprises me is that I seem to hear the 'erudite' pronunciation more than I used to - perhaps the great unwashed just don't talk that much about lichen these days?

[gurnemanz]

All this makes me think of David Bellamy, wacky 80s TV presenter and lichen-populariser, famously parodied by Lenny Henry. He think he said "liken".

[french frank]

perhaps the great unwashed just don't talk that much about lichen these days?

Air pollution.

[Richard Tarleton]

The pronunciation 'litchen' seems to be, originally, nothing more than a characteristic (or ignorant) British 'say as you write' pronunciation. The OED gives one pronunciation - /ˈlʌɪkən/ from Greek λειχήν . The French word, also lichen, is pronounced lee-ken, rather than lee-ʃen. If pronounced 'correctly, that is In both languages the word was a late arrival, so pronounced as the erudite pronounced it, knowing the Greek original.

I don't see why you shouldn't pronounce it 'litchen' if you prefer: it just means you prefer the popular pronunciation to the scholarly one.

I've met a number of the UK's leading lichenologists in a professional context, and it's definitely liken. They are the most frustrating people to spend time with in the field, if you're not one yourself - you can't go a dozen yards before they stop to scrutinise rocks, trees, the grass under their feet, with their magnifying lenses. You can recognise a group of lichenologists at some distance because they're usually crouched down on their hands and knees, or peering at trees or walls at 6 inch range. Here are a couple of very pretty lichens native to round here - golden-haired and scrambled egg.

http://www.arkive.org/golden-hair-lichen/teloschistes-flavicans/

http://www.arkive.org/scrambled-egg-lichen/fulgensia-fulgens/

[jean]

Air pollution.

Of course!

[subcontrabass]

There seems to be a current vogue to pronounce the first syllable of "enclave" as if it were French (but the second syllable as English).

[vinteuil]

There seems to be a current vogue to pronounce the first syllable of "enclave" as if it were French (but the second syllable as English).

... yes, I had noted this - in fact a couple of times in the last few weeks.

Wiki is, as usual, helpful here : I had not realized quite how complicated these things can be, nor indeed how many there are..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enclave_and_exclave

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_enclaves_and_exclaves