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veryverycold
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Psilocybe pronounciation (Stamets)
#26357428 - 12/02/19 03:30 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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Hi team,
Paul Stamets (and therefore Michael Polan) pronounces "psilocybe" like sil-LOSS-a-bee, but that doesn't seem to make sense given that the active compound "psilocybin" is pronounced sil-oh-SYYY-bin. So I had always assumed that the genus name was similar i.e. SIL-oh-sybe.
Got any thoughts/sources? And if you'd like to vote, we can see what portion if this community uses which.
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bloodycarcass
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Re: Psilocybe pronounciation (Stamets) [Re: veryverycold]
#26357459 - 12/02/19 03:54 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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I use the latter. But its latin so who really knows. Either way you say it most peole know what your talking about
-------------------- Back at it like a crack addict, with asthmatic lung disease
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daysbetween
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Re: Psilocybe pronounciation (Stamets) [Re: bloodycarcass]
#26357520 - 12/02/19 04:41 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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Stamets is correct. It's the first.
Pronounced the same way for Conocybe, Inocybe, Hygrocybe, colonoscopy, etc.
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Duggstar



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Re: Psilocybe pronounciation (Stamets) [Re: bloodycarcass]
#26357523 - 12/02/19 04:41 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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Just use whatever pronunciation you like, I'm sure most people will know what you are talking about anyway. Unless you are fluent in Latin it would be almost impossible to know how to pronounce the name of each individual mushroom correctly anyway. Sil-loss-a-bee is in fact the correct pronunciation, but when referring to Clitocybe you should probably use the correct pronunciation, Clit-oss-a-bee, otherwise it sounds a bit naughty!
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Anglerfish
hearing things



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Re: Psilocybe pronounciation (Stamets) [Re: Duggstar]
#26357542 - 12/02/19 04:52 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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I usually pronounce the -cybe species like I would pronounce the word philosophy.
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Duggstar



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Re: Psilocybe pronounciation (Stamets) [Re: Anglerfish]
#26357565 - 12/02/19 05:10 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
Anglerfish said: I usually pronounce the -cybe species like I would pronounce the word philosophy.
That's interesting. Just out of curiosity, is that because that is the way words ending cybe are pronounced in Norwegian? Because in English words with ph in them are normally pronounced with an f sound, so I'm not sure where you're getting the f sound from.
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Grosbeak
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Re: Psilocybe pronounciation (Stamets) [Re: Duggstar]
#26357753 - 12/02/19 07:05 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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This is a great post for a newbie like me. I'd always felt certain that I was looking for "SILL-oh-sybe... sy-an-es-sens" but then I watched a youtube where Stamets says Sil-LOSS-a-bee.
Similarly, I've been telling people that the honey bee on their shirt is "APE-iss melifera".... but I think it's really "APIS melifera." Can life get any more complicated??
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Stosch
Student



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Re: Psilocybe pronounciation (Stamets) [Re: Grosbeak]
#26357908 - 12/02/19 08:20 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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It was always sill o sibe. I'm sticking to that they have an idea but no one knows what Latin sounded like.
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Magic Badger
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Re: Psilocybe pronounciation (Stamets) [Re: bloodycarcass]
#26357961 - 12/02/19 08:53 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
bloodycarcass said: I use the latter. But its latin so who really knows. Either way you say it most peole know what your talking about
not Latin - ancient Greek.... a medical dictionary has the pronunciation listed as Psilocybe - sī'lō-sī'bē , which represents SY-lo-SY-bee
-------------------- Disclaimer - I'm just a hobbyist and cannot absolutely guarantee any ID offered. I'm most familiar with the species found in the Pacific Northwest - those found in other parts of the world may vary considerably, so always do your own research to find out what grows in your area and what lookalikes you need to be aware of. Understand that many mushroom species cannot be 100% reliably identified by photographs alone, even by an expert, so it may not be possible to go beyond suggesting a probable genus.
Edited by Magic Badger (12/02/19 08:59 PM)
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ToxicMan
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Re: Psilocybe pronounciation (Stamets) [Re: Stosch]
#26357962 - 12/02/19 08:53 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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Actually, guys, this one is from Greek, not Latin.
Psilos means bald Cybe means head
From the Greek, it means they're bald-headed.
As far as pronouncing it, all of the mycology PhDs (from the US) I know pronounce it sigh-loss-uh-bee, with the emphasis on the second syllable (loss). The ones trained in other countries pronounce a lot of mushroom names is ways that are really weird sounding to us.
Since psilocybin and psilocin are named after the genus, they should probably be pronounced in a similar way, but the MDs all seem to pronounce it sill-oh-sigh-bin.
Oh, well...
-------------------- Happy mushrooming!
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breeg89
i'll tell ya hwhat

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Re: Psilocybe pronounciation (Stamets) [Re: ToxicMan]
#26357969 - 12/02/19 08:58 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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One of my former bosses (a chemist) pronounced psilocybin as sil-LOSS-a-bin, so that fits with how mycologists tend to pronounce Psilocybe as sil-LOSS-a-bee.
But it's latin, so it doesn't really matter.
Oh, I see it's Greek. Maybe it does matter then, but either way people will know what you mean.
Edited by breeg89 (12/02/19 10:14 PM)
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Stosch
Student



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Re: Psilocybe pronounciation (Stamets) [Re: breeg89]
#26358056 - 12/02/19 10:05 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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i stand corrected. Learn something new every day.
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Anglerfish
hearing things



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Re: Psilocybe pronounciation (Stamets) [Re: Duggstar]
#26358413 - 12/03/19 05:25 AM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
Duggstar said:
Quote:
Anglerfish said: I usually pronounce the -cybe species like I would pronounce the word philosophy.
That's interesting. Just out of curiosity, is that because that is the way words ending cybe are pronounced in Norwegian? Because in English words with ph in them are normally pronounced with an f sound, so I'm not sure where you're getting the f sound from. 
I'm talking about the intonation of the syllables, thus I'd intonate 'psilocybe' as I would 'philosophy'.
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Tangich


Registered: 10/28/09
Posts: 8,723
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Re: Psilocybe pronounciation (Stamets) [Re: Anglerfish]
#26358446 - 12/03/19 05:55 AM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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They are both very wrong, the P is not silent!! It is a Greek root word, but the genus name itself is written in, and therefore follows the rules of Scientific Latin. I recorded a bunch of names for the site here several years ago, I think they are still there in species' descriptions.. The pronounciations may have my accent, but the sillables are pronounced according to Latin rules.
P.S. the first one is horribly wrong, while the second is only slightly wrong, add a P in front, and replace that last s sound with a c, and that's pretty much it.
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Anglerfish
hearing things



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Re: Psilocybe pronounciation (Stamets) [Re: Tangich]
#26358465 - 12/03/19 06:03 AM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
Tangich said: They are both very wrong, the P is not silent!! It is a Greek root word, but the genus name itself is written in, and therefore follows the rules of Scientific Latin. I recorded a bunch of names for the site here several years ago, I think they are still there in species' descriptions.. The pronounciations may have my accent, but the sillables are pronounced according to Latin rules.
In Norwegian we pronounce the 'p' in 'psilocybe', as we do in 'psathyrella' or 'pseudogracilis'.
It's typical of those lazy English speaking people to modify original words to fit their use. Like 'Naples', 'Vienna', 'Lisbon'...
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Tangich


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Re: Psilocybe pronounciation (Stamets) [Re: Anglerfish]
#26358499 - 12/03/19 06:19 AM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
Anglerfish said:
It's typical of those lazy English speaking people to modify original words to fit their use.
This seems to be endemic to American speakers, most British scientists pronounce Latin properly, in fact, most private schools and universities teach Latin, and it seems that many highly educated people know Latin, not just how to pronounce it, but actually SPEAK it.
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JesusOnAdderall
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Re: Psilocybe pronounciation (Stamets) [Re: Tangich]
#26358977 - 12/03/19 12:03 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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wacky shiitake would work if we can get everyone to agree on how shiitake should be pronounced
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Doc9151
Mycologist


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Potatoe potata it's regional pronunciation and it could be argued either way until the cows come home, but we all still get the gist of it.
--------------------
  Psilocybe cubensis data collection thread. please help with this project if you hunt wild cubensis. https://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=26513593&page=0&vc=1#26513593
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ToxicMan
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Shiitake is an easy one, since it's Japanese.
She-ee-talk-eh should be close enough.
As with all Japanese, there should be *no* emphasis on any syllable.
-------------------- Happy mushrooming!
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bloodycarcass
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Re: Psilocybe pronounciation (Stamets) [Re: Doc9151]
#26359344 - 12/03/19 03:10 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
Doc9151 said: Potatoe potata it's regional pronunciation and it could be argued either way until the cows come home, but we all still get the gist of it. 
Im with you. We know what you mean either way its said.
-------------------- Back at it like a crack addict, with asthmatic lung disease
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Anglerfish
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Re: Psilocybe pronounciation (Stamets) [Re: ToxicMan]
#26359388 - 12/03/19 03:26 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
ToxicMan said: Shiitake is an easy one, since it's Japanese.
Yeah, curiously enough single Japanese words are pretty easy to say when you know them, but understanding the language... oh my.
Quote:
As with all Japanese, there should be *no* emphasis on any syllable.
Usually ending up with a slight emphasis on "ta" in my case.
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shroomguy087
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Re: Psilocybe pronounciation (Stamets) [Re: Anglerfish]
#26360032 - 12/03/19 09:26 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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Regardless of the vote, either are acceptable & interchanging them is alright in my experience.
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    ~ Love All For Being ~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DGnWzr5hXc
  
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mu5h13
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Quote:
JesusOnAdderall said: wacky shiitake would work if we can get everyone to agree on how shiitake should be pronounced
I'm so gonna change how I pronounce shiitake just to make that work
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nooneman


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Loc: Utah
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Re: Psilocybe pronounciation (Stamets) [Re: veryverycold]
#26365378 - 12/06/19 03:58 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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sill - oh - s eye b. Which is I assume how "SILL-oh-sybe" is pronounced. There's no real right or wrong linguistically in this situation, and I like the way this one sounds best. Especially when pared with the names of the species like sill - oh - s eye b - cube - en - sis. Just sounds the best to me.
Pronouncing the ee on the end always sounds a little silly to me.
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Tangich


Registered: 10/28/09
Posts: 8,723
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Re: Psilocybe pronounciation (Stamets) [Re: nooneman]
#26365387 - 12/06/19 04:03 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
nooneman said: There's no real right or wrong linguistically in this situation
Oh, there most certainly is.
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nooneman


Registered: 04/24/09
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Re: Psilocybe pronounciation (Stamets) [Re: Tangich]
#26365399 - 12/06/19 04:09 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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No, there's not. One way to pronounce any word is not inherently any better than any other way to pronounce a word. Otherwise all the different accents and ways people pronounce words would be fighting each other, and there is no objective basis on which to make the determination that one is better than another, because there is no one correct way to pronounce things, there's just a lot of different ways people pronounce things.
Language is always changing and moving and the way we pronounce things today is not even the same as the way that people pronounced things in the past. It is a social construct that develops fluidly over time and has no established or set rules other than the rules that exist in the minds of the people who speak the language in a given area. And since there is no way to say that one area is any more "correct" or "right" in its pronunciation (especially considering that even within a given area the way that words are said changes over time) there is also therefore no way to judge one way to pronounce things as better than another.
Unless you want to say that one is objectively better than another for no good reason, in which case I propose that my way to pronounce things is better, but that's obviously crazy and subjective. So is the whole thing.
Edited by nooneman (12/06/19 04:11 PM)
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Tangich


Registered: 10/28/09
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Re: Psilocybe pronounciation (Stamets) [Re: nooneman] 1
#26365415 - 12/06/19 04:17 PM (4 years, 1 month ago) |
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So you can pronounce any language the way you like? You can pronounce French words like English? Spanish words like English? And you'd be perfectly fine if a Serbian speaker pronounced English words like they were in Serbian? Yeah, I bet not. Each language follows it's general rules, grammar, pronounciation etc. Accents are one thing, but other speakers of the same language must be able to understand you. Being an arrogant American (not saying you are, but in general) is no excuse for butcheeing a language the way you want.
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