Re: Pronouncing Dinosaur Names

[Thom Holmes <70621.2234@compuserve.com>]

Dear Amado,

Some pronunciations for you. Having actually assembled a pronunciation guide 
with Peter Dodson I learned that there can be substantial variation even in 
the United States. Although I think there is little disagreement on the names 
shown here, sometimes "right" and "wrong" are not easy to come by. A case in 
point, in working on a piece about Cope's "Laelaps", I went for what I thought
was the proper Greek pronunciation, LEE-laps. A scientist involved thought it 
should actually be LAY-laps, but only because he had learned it that way, even
though it was probably wrong from a linguistic standpoint.

Anyway,

1. Ankylosaurus: an-KYE-loh-SAWR-us
2. Apatosaurus:ah-PAT-uh-SAWR-us
3. Diploducus: dih-PLOD-uh-kus
4. Tyrannosaurus:tye-RAN-uh-SAWR-us
5. Brachiosaurus: BRAKE-ee-uh-SAWR-us or BRAK-ee-uh-SAWR-us (short "a"), both 
of which I hear.

I actually have a pronunciation guide I created but haven't distributed it as 
yet via book or guide. Sattler's New Illustrated Dinosaur Dictionary has a 
pretty good feel for pronunciations, though I disagree with some of her's just
as others would disagree with some of mine.

--Thom Holmes, Editor, The Dinosaur Society