Pronunciation??

Since getting my first BP, I've become interested in morphs and the idea of breeding (although I won't until I feel I know all there is to know). Anyways, there are a few morphs I'm not sure I'm correctly pronouncing, and that would be embarrassing at an expo ;). So I've always been aware that we say Amelanistic as "Ay-melan-istic" (A-meaning the absence of) and so it would follow that axanthic (being the absence of xanthophores) is pronounced "Ay-zan-thick" and yet I hear people on you tube saying "Axe-anthick". So, which is right? Also Mojave...must be said like "Mo-ha-v-eh", so then pastave is past-ah-v-eh, right?

We all speak different, I say say Axanthic wrong all the time, ask Anna.

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Originally Posted by Neal

We all speak different, I say say Axanthic wrong all the time, ask Anna.

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I would want to say axe-an-thick, just looking at it, but knowing it's meaning, I would presume that it should be said Ay-zan-thick. I guess I should add that I have a biochem background. I'm pretty new, so I don't know Anna yet ;)

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Originally Posted by Shera

I would want to say axe-an-thick, just looking at it, but knowing it's meaning, I would presume that it should be said Ay-zan-thick. I guess I should add that I have a biochem background. I'm pretty new, so I don't know Anna yet ;)

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Annarose. She's awesome.

I've been in the hobby for a long time and I can't pronounce some stuff, no biggie though. If somebody wants to look down on my because of it then I have a middle finger for that, lol.

I say the following:

Amelanistic: Ay-mel-uh-niss-tick
Axanthic: originally I said it axe-an-thick but no I lean towards zan-thick
Mojave: moe-hah-vee
Pastave: pas-tah-vee

The Mojave and Pastave are correct, at least as I have heard them and pronounce them.

The Axanthic is a tough one. Most people I have heard call it Ax-an-thick. Probably not correct, but it seems pretty common anyway. Some also seem to pronounce it eggs-an-thick. Which sounds even funnier.

We won't even go into the whole care-a-mel versus car-a-mel versus car-mel debate. :P

Gale

I just watch YouTube video and hear how the ppl making the videos say it.... like look up Axanthic ball python. http://m.youtube.com/results?q=Axant...25.GkgLWCdEBKM.

How I say them


Amelanistic: Ay-mel-an-is-tic
Axanthic: A-zan-thick or zan-thick
Mojave: moe-hah-vee
Pastave: past-av

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Originally Posted by Pyrate81

How I say them


Amelanistic: Ay-mel-an-is-tic
Axanthic: A-zan-thick or zan-thick
Mojave: moe-hah-vee
Pastave: past-av

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Me, too. I'm with Neal. If someone looks down on you for your pronunciation (or spelling for that matter) they're not worth your time.

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Originally Posted by Neal

Annarose. She's awesome.

I've been in the hobby for a long time and I can't pronounce some stuff, no biggie though. If somebody wants to look down on my because of it then I have a middle finger for that, lol.

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Careful, you're going to make me sound old!

OP - If you have doubts about pronunciation, don't hesitate to ask a breeder at a show or look up YouTube videos by Justin Kobylka or Brian Barczyk (snakebytesTV).

I take pride in having decent spelling, grammar, and pronunciation skills, but sometimes you just don't know until you hear it. No one should judge a person for a mistake, but IMO we should all strive to put a little effort in how we present ourselves. ;)

Don't worry I embarrass myself at every single show, regardless of how much effort I put in pronunciation, there are still people I can always count on to make fun of me (you know who you are ;))

Does not stop me from talking to almost every single vendor and work behind a table.

Hope that makes you feel better.

puh sta vey

a xan thick

It doesn't matter bro

ay-zan-thick

a-melan-istic

mo-ha-vey

pasta-vey


A lot of people butcher a lot of words in English. I think well-spoken people would appreciate you seeking clarification but at the day someone who cared enough for it to make a difference in any interaction you had with them would be a snob.

Lol I watch youtube videos for proper pronunciation too! There have been a few morphs that I said wrong until I went to a snake show and had people say "what morph???" :oops:

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Originally Posted by SnowThickness

I just watch YouTube video and hear how the ppl making the videos say it.... like look up Axanthic ball python. http://m.youtube.com/results?q=Axant...25.GkgLWCdEBKM.

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I actually tried that, but I found different people say it differently, like Gateway City Reptiles, and Royal Constrictor Designs say Ay-Zan-thick all the time, some people seem to go back and forth, sometimes saying Ax-an-thick sometimes and Ay-zan-thick other times, and some people only say Ax-an-thick. I suppose I'll just pronounce it Ay-Zan-Thick, since that makes sense given it's meaning (prefix A-, meaning absence of, is pronounced Ay). I just didn't want to sound funny saying it that way if the way everyone else says it is different, but it looks like it doesn't matter much anyway.

It's true, if someone's going to look down their nose at you for mispronouncing a word, they aren't worth your time anyway. I still like to say things right if I can help it though ;)

Some of the differences are also just regional accents (New England vs. Georgia vs. France). ;)

Moe-hav-a ( Moe, have, A) Mojave
A-mel-an-istic (A, mel, an, istic) Amelanistic
A-zan-thick ( A, zan, thick) Axanthic
Past-av-a (Paste, av, A) Pastave.

Mojave is for the desert, just an fyi it's not "made up". ;)

My biggest one was that I thought Dubia were pronounced Dubai. I sat down one time and was reading it out loud and was like, wait a second.

Technically it's eh-ZAN-thick (with the verbal emphasis on the zan syllable), but I still say axe-AN-thick, and no one has given me a second glance about it. I don't say 'zanthic' though, since that has the opposite meaning.

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Originally Posted by Annarose15

Some of the differences are also just regional accents (New England vs. Georgia vs. France). ;)

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+1 on this.

It's great to want to be correct. However, after being in the medical field for 20 years, I heard many Physicians with weird pronunciations. And even their peers and upper peers never called them on it.

I think it's more important to know what it means and not get hung up on pronunciation.