Pronunciations. . .

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TankGirl said:
Pleck-OS-tamuss


Between my marine biology teacher and the lps I've heard it pronounced as Play-ko but I used to say it as Pleck-o. But, don't trust my marine bio teacher, he's just a regular animal science teacher, forced against his will xD
 
Here is how planetcatfish.com feels about it:

PLEK oss toe mus

I have heard people say "Play-ko" when shortening the name, but there is no way to get the "AY" sound out of that "e" after the PL when it is followed by a c.

Any grammarians wish to chime in with a more definitive answer?
 
Yeah, I didn't see it either. But like i said, don't trust my marine bio teachers word lol, or Petsmart's "experts" x3
 
you know the problem with this thread is accents. I mean, i am from the south, so obviously i will have a more southern way of saying these words, whereas someone from New York or "Brooklyn" will have a completely different way of saying it. Every dialect puts stress on different syllables.
For examle.. I say "Im fixin' the leaky faucet"
You may say "Im fixinG the leaky faucet"
same for "Betta" I say BAY-TA, you say BET-A.. is it really wrong because i say it a different way? Or are we just trying to find the most grammatically correct way to say these.. LOL
 
"Bay-ta" is incorrect, in fact, as that is how the word BETA is pronounced (2nd letter of the Greek alphabet), and "Bet-ah" is correct because of the double "T" in the middle, but I know exactly what you mean.

There are definitely regional pronunciations of all sorts of things, but when you break down the etymology the pronunciation is (or should be) universal. That is what is so cool about this thread!
 
TankGirl said:
"Bay-ta" is incorrect, in fact, as that is how the word BETA is pronounced (2nd letter of the Greek alphabet), and "Bet-ah" is correct because of the double "T" in the middle, but I know exactly what you mean.

There are definitely regional pronunciations of all sorts of things, but when you break down the etymology the pronunciation is (or should be) universal. That is what is so cool about this thread!

Correct, especially when it comes to taxa, which have only one correct pronounciation, no matter where you are from.
 
sort of like.. Medical terminology.. still accents come into play when you don't think about it and just say it... and i will always say BAY ta no mater waht becasuse Bet-ah just sounds to damn yankee for me.. LOL , just kidding, i love the yankees i swear.
 
AshleyNicole said:
sort of like.. Medical terminology.. still accents come into play when you don't think about it and just say it... and i will always say BAY ta no mater waht becasuse Bet-ah just sounds to darn yankee for me..

You're right. Bet-uh does sound a bit more yankee than bay-ta. LOL :clown: Regardless, for many of us the way this is prounounced is almost a preference rather than a pursuit of phonetical correctness (pc!). :lol: LOL! :)soap: Though I do think there is a "correct" way to say things even across accents! -- --- linguistics major here :mrgreen: ). Maybe we've kind of beaten ("BEE-ten") this to death about betta fish? :lol: :smilecolros:

For us interested folks and for the sake of fun :multi: , AshlyNicole, there is a way to test if your "bayta" is a genuine difference in dialect or if it isn't. (well, sort of test... it's like the difference between a poor dip test and a master test kit "chemistry" style test -- so not to be taken as extremely accurate :p ) Anyway, are there other words where you say it with a long "a" (as in "say") rather than a short "e" (as in "head")? If so, then you are correct.

For you...
Is weather = wethr or wayther?
Is bed = bed or is it bay-ed?
Is better = bedr or betr or baydr?
Is fester = festr or faystr?
Is guest = gest or gayst?
Is pecker = pekr or paykr? (as in wood pecker)

I always said "bay-ta" myself because the fish was always labeled "beta" (as in the 2nd letter of the greek alphabet). In my dialect (midwest accent) though "betta" and "beta" have different pronouniations (short "e" vs. long "a"). So I learned it wrong :shocked!: and I'm trying to get myself changed over.

HTH.
coolchinchilla :pepsi: :popcorn:
 
ok, well i don't have as strong as a southern accent as some people in my family do (especially the older people)
I use a short E for all of those words... so maybe i am just saying betta wrong.. LOL.
actually, when i go up north, people say i have a southern accent, but its not anything like how my great grandma used to talk. Anyway, i think the long A's is a differnet kind of southern. I think my southern is more what you would call "Redneck" :lol: Not that im un "edjumacated" I just like to use shortucts like "fixin" "aint gonna" and "Yall"

ok, my argument is null and void, does that mean i have to say Bet-a now???
 
I say plek-o and most people have no clue what I'm talking about. But I say it anyways because its shorter. :D
 
Isn't there an internet based superstition that if you type all the letters of pleco then you jinx your tank and the fish will die? 8O In print it should be pl*co.

I just say plec. No "oh" at the end.

coolchinchilla
 
There's something like that. But I don't believe it. I've been saying Pleco for a long time online and I've only had 2 die. One was before I joined AA and the other was because of tank conditions. But yeah, some people believe if you say Pl*co, they won't have the "curse"
 
Ive been saying pleco and mine has never died.. same old guy for going on ... well how long ive been a member here thats how long ive had him
 
Oh... I think the pleco superstition is just silly but it's kind of funny.

coolchinchilla
 
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