>I almost hate to ask, but here goes...
>
>I've just recently begun birding in North America, having become a birder
>on a three-year overseas assignment in Australia which ended in 1994, and
>I am struggling with pronunciation questions. Of course, the Aussies
>have the same debates with things like Pardalotes, Gerygones, and the
>now-out-of-favor Hylacola, but now that I have learned to soften my "a"s
>to "ah"s I'm certain that I'm getting some of the American names wrong.
>
>At the moment I'm wondering about Heerman's and Phalarope. I've just
>returned from California where I saw both and was confounded by the
>proper pronunciation of each. Is there help available? I know
>regionalism would make it difficult, but sometimes I wish there were a
>pronunciation guide to bird names of the world. The plant people have
>one, maybe we should too!
>
>Thanks.-
>+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> Becca Knox rknox at scn.org Seattle, Washington

Becca, these two are fairly easy. "Hair-mon's" for Heermann's (note
spelling with 2 'n's), "mon's" as in ponds, from German pronunciation. I'm
a firm believer that names that come from other languages should be
pronounced as they would be in those languages (at least if we can). I
assume the person named Heermann wouldn't like to hear the name pronounced
"hear-man."

Fal-a-rope, accent on the first syllable, "fal" pronounced as in "Albert."
For a long time I called it "fa-lair-o-pee," accent on second syllable, but
I think that's incorrect.

There have been articles in Birding magazine about the correct
pronounciation of some of the stickier names.

Dennis Paulson, Director phone: (206) 756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax: (206) 756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail: dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416