62 THE entomologist's IlECORD. 



lias. iicvi'i'tliL-less, as tixt'il and settled rules for ijroiiouucing tbciu as 

 any other. I have so far discussed the two methods of pronouncing 

 Latin as contrasted Avith each other, but wish now to call attention to 

 the confusion of them which is not unfrequently heard in the pro- 

 nouncing of a word partly in accordance with one method and partly 

 with the other. The errors most common are sounding the / like our 

 e, and the consonants c and g hard irrespective of the vowel that 

 follows tliem ; for example, dentin<i and hlandina are pronounced as if 

 wiitten denteena and hlandeena, but the error is not consistently per- 

 })etuated in aprdina, sohrina and pit^tacina, the latter names apparently 

 not lending themselves so easily to the practice. Again, take Lycaena ; 

 according to the English method the y is long, the c is soft, and the 

 dipthong is sounded like a long c ; in the Continental method the y is 

 also long, but the c is hard, and the sound of the dipthong is like our 

 long a. In the one case the pronunciation would be li.seena, in the 

 other Ukayna, but by pronouncing the Avord likeena, as is often done, 

 the two methods are mixed, and this pronunciation is incorrect. 

 Another instance is the familiar /«j// ; in the English method the j/ is 

 soft and the pi'ojier pi'onunciation rhymes Avith magi ; in the Conti- 

 nental method the g is hard and the word is pronounced fdhgee ; but 

 if the English vowel sounds are retained, whilst at the same time the 

 g is sounded hard, the two methods are mixed, and the rules of the 

 English method violated. The cause of this, in a great measure, is the 

 inference that is improperly drawn that, because the g is hard in the 

 nominative case, fngits, it must continue hard throughout the declension, 

 irrespective of the vowel that folloAvs it ; but this is erroneous. 



To the best of my belief, the causes of a great deal of this confusion 

 are to be found in these facts : — 1. There is no letter c nor j in Greek ; 

 2. There is no k in Ijatin ; '3. The Greek letters k and y are invariably 

 sounded hard in that language ; 4. When a name (Latinised of course) 

 which comes from a Greek root is given to an insect and contains the 

 Greek k, the letter c has to be substituted for the latter ; 5. The letters 

 c and g in English, have both a hard and a soft sound, and which of 

 the tAvo is to he used depends upon the A'OAvel that folloAvs them. Re- 

 fei'ence to an English dictionary will rcA'cal the fact, that Avhene\'er the 

 consonant c is immediately followed by either of the a'oavcIs a, o or », 

 the r is hard ; but Avhen c is followed by e, i, y, en or o?, it is soft. Good 

 illustrations of the hard and soft sounds of c are to be found in our 

 Catalogues of Lepidoj^tera. Among the Bomhycidae Ave find B. qnercm 

 and L. querci/olia ; in the former the consonant is hard, because followed 

 by H ; in the latter soft, because folloAved by /, although the latter name 

 is deri\'ed from the former Other exami)les of the hard c are found in 

 cassiope and conspicnata, of the soft in ccntoaalix, cytherea, nrticac and 

 Coenonyinplta. 



The letter g is in the same categor}^, and is sounded hard or soft in 

 accordance Avitli the same rules. There are several exceptions to the 

 rule in the English language, Avhen g is folloAved by e or /, as for 

 example, get and give ; I)ut in Latin there are none — the rule nnist be 

 observed strictly. Examples of the hard and soft g are also numerous, 

 especially among the Khopalocera. In gidatca, aegoii and exigua, tlie g 

 is hard ; in agestis, crataegi, argiolus, Jithargyria and megaera, it is soft. 



These tAvo consonants seem to me to be the chief stumbling-blocks 

 in the pronunciation of Latin, by persons Avho have not had efficient 

 instruction in the language. Such persons do not seem to realise the 



