# mbuna pronunciation



## RTAGUE (Jun 20, 2007)

So guys, how do pronounce Ps acei.
Is it AC as in air conditioner or ack ee :-?


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## remarkosmoc (Oct 19, 2005)

I've always heard it pronounced A C I but that doesn't mean that's right../


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## Teddy (May 7, 2008)

Hi, RTAGUE think everyone has their own way of pronouncing it not sure but think it's Acei - A see eye, best way I can put it


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## CICHLUDED (Aug 4, 2006)

Iâ€™ve always pronounced it as a-see-eye...


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## Laurel (Jun 17, 2007)

I used to call them Ah-Say-Ee, but then I heard that that was wrong, and picked up Aye-Sye, but then I recently met a few people who have gone to the Lake(malawi) and hung out with Stuart Grant, and they call them Ay-See-Eye.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

A-C-I like you pronounce the letters of the alphabet or ay-see-eye (two ways of attempting to say the same thing). You always say the "i" on the end of a fish name as "eye". Demasoni. Solocoli. Same thing.


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## RTAGUE (Jun 20, 2007)

Thanks guys,very interesting,no doubt Im butchering the names of many other species too,lol.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I butchered the spelling...it's Socolofi.


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## gaqua (Apr 11, 2008)

I found out I was mispronouncing Demasoni the other day.

I pronounced it DEH-muh-SO-nee.

Turns out it's pronounced Duh-MACE-uhn-EYE


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## TheeMon (May 11, 2004)

i have demasoni, and around "fish people" ill pronouce it de-mason-eye (demason is the guy there named after) but when im alone its demon-sigh(because they really are demons)

fyi *** found that once you know the name the fish was named after, ie. demason its much easier to pronounce the rest


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

Acei is probably named after somebody called "Ace", but I agree that "a-see-eye" sounds cooler. It is a made up name, so hobbysits can call it whatever they like I suppose.


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## Joea (May 25, 2004)

I LOVE when this question comes up because I get to post my way cool Greek letters!! The question has really already been answered correctly but I'm gonna re-post this anyway. :thumb:

Nomenclature has always used Latin for classification. Not all the words or parts of words used in scientific names for living things are derived from Latin. Some are derived from Greek, some from languages local to the places where the organisms are found, and many from the names of the people who first described a species or other taxon. However all are treated grammatically as if they were Latin words. In particular this means that to indicate possession, the endings -_a _and -_us _turn into -_ae _and -_i _respectively, and non-Latin names of people add -_i _if male and -_ae _if female. This means that the "i" at the end of a species taxon is a pronounced as long "i" as in "night".

The species name "acei" is derived from the Latin word _acer _meaning sharp - referring to their teeth. In Greek spelling it's επίθ. The letter ε or "Epsilon" is a long "a" as in "pay".

Ay-see-eye.

Keep in mind, Latin is a dead language and there's really no _correct _way to pronounce it, just the most common.


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## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

My LFS doesn't have a clue as to the names of most mbuna so I can go in there and butcher the names bad...and do. I just didn't realize how bad until this post lol.
Ohhh is this correct...in mbuna the m is silent ( I think I read that one time)?


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## Joea (May 25, 2004)

No, the "m" is pronounced but there is debate as to whether it's "mm" or "um" or another variation. I think only a Malawian speaking the language will pronounce it correctly.

I still have trouble with pronunciation of many species. I much prefer to type them out.


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## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

Ahhhh thanks, Joe. Yeah, I prefer to type the names out. Shoot, I still have to look up cyaneorhabdos even to type it  . 
A member in here one time told of going into a LFS throwing these fish names around in his "southern" american accent. It was a hoot to read :lol: but I sure can relate.


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## RTAGUE (Jun 20, 2007)

God bless ya Joe :thumb:


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## nikelodeon79 (Nov 27, 2007)

While we're at it...

I'd really like to know the correct way to pronounce the two species I currently keep:

Pseudotropheus saulosi
Cynotilapia sp. white top hara

Thanks!


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## Joea (May 25, 2004)

There is a pronunciation guide on each of the species in our profiles.


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