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Regarding Uranus...
01/05/04
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Posted on 01/15/2004 4:53:06 PM PST by genefromjersey
Most of us know there are 9 planets in our solar system.....and one of them is Uranus.
This simple statement is more apt to produce a snicker than a nod of agreement : mainly because,a long time ago,English-speaking people started Anglicizing words and names borrowed from other languages.
For example: Renee is about as likely to be pronounced " REEN-ey" as " Rhen-AY " ( and I know some of you folks west of the Mississippi have probably never heard this French name pronounced "Rhen-AY" ! )
This brings us back to the problem of...well,how can I put it delicately ? Uranus.
A few years ago,the TV newspeople had the same problem-and tried to get around it by changing the pronounciation to "URINE-ous".
Not much of an improvement !
Here's my suggestion: Let's go back to the good ol' Graeco-Roman pronounciation of the name (It IS a Graeco-Roman name,after all.)
Oor-AH-us - or, if you absolutely have to have the Yoo sound (Uranium)*-pronounce it Yoor-AH-nus.
Repeat this sentence aloud,using the old pronounciation: "If you can't find Uranus with either hand,use a telescope."
Now use the corrected pronounciation: " If you can't find Oo-RAH-nus with either hand,use a telescope."
(Problem is, nobody would laugh at the second one, would they ? )
*Strictly speaking we should probably refer to Oo-RAH-nee-um, if we start fooling with Uranus.
TOPICS: Astronomy; Humor; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: uranus
To: genefromjersey
Do you think a man will ever land on Uranus?
Sorry, I had to.
2
posted on
01/15/2004 4:56:19 PM PST
by
Brett66
To: genefromjersey
No more Scotch for you tonight. LOL
3
posted on
01/15/2004 4:57:30 PM PST
by
perfect stranger
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To: genefromjersey
It IS a Graeco-Roman name,after all. I shoulda guessed that the Greeks were somehow involved in naming Uranus.
4
posted on
01/15/2004 5:35:57 PM PST
by
Gerasimov
(Oh calm down ... it was a joke. **mostly**)
To: genefromjersey
Ahem.
Uranus moons
5
posted on
01/15/2004 5:40:19 PM PST
by
Lady Jag
(It's in the bag)
To: genefromjersey
You probably won't believe this, but I swear:
I was talking to a girl at work about my telescope. Her name is Renee. I told her how Venus and Uranus appear to be close to each other.
We joked about the name of that planet.
6
posted on
01/15/2004 5:40:49 PM PST
by
baltodog
(A diamond lasts a lifetime, but a Freeper post lasts forever....)
To: baltodog
7
posted on
01/15/2004 5:50:17 PM PST
by
Lady Jag
(It's in the bag)
To: genefromjersey
Does Uranus have an aurora?
8
posted on
01/15/2004 7:03:17 PM PST
by
brityank
(The more I learn about the Constitution, the more I realise this Government is UNconstitutional.)
To: genefromjersey
I loved that episode of Star Trek where they went around Uranus wiping out Klingons.
9
posted on
01/15/2004 7:06:29 PM PST
by
DouglasKC
To: DouglasKC
Yeah, they really wrecked 'em.
10
posted on
01/15/2004 8:27:16 PM PST
by
jigsaw
(Infidel-American.)
To: genefromjersey
It IS a Graeco-Roman name, after all. Yes, it is. And as one who has studied Latin and has taught Greek, I'll try to provide a little background.
The Greek word is transliterated, ouranos, and is pronounced, "oo-rah-NOS." The word means, "heaven" or "sky."
"Uranus" is a Latinized spelling of the Greek word. A Latin pronunciation would be "oo-RAH-nus."
In neither language would there be a "Y" sound at the start.
To: genefromjersey
BTW, is there a gaseous cloud around Uranus?
To: jigsaw
Wrecked um? Darn near ruined em, from what I hear.
13
posted on
01/15/2004 8:44:15 PM PST
by
irishtenor
(If animals weren't meant to be eaten, why did God make them out of meat?)
To: irishtenor
Get Uranus in gear.
14
posted on
01/15/2004 10:11:54 PM PST
by
Snagglepuss
(The mooses say: don't refer to our legs as limbs please.)
To: Snagglepuss
But... I drive a Saturn!
15
posted on
01/15/2004 10:32:06 PM PST
by
irishtenor
(If animals weren't meant to be eaten, why did God make them out of meat?)
To: Charles Henrickson
Isn't this kinda like goin around yer AHN-us to scratch yer elbow?
16
posted on
01/16/2004 10:02:11 AM PST
by
Adder
To: genefromjersey
I looked and looked, but couldn't find Ben Stein anywhere on this thread!
17
posted on
01/17/2004 3:22:22 PM PST
by
ntnychik
To: All
When I was growing up the joke went like this:
What does the USS Enterprise and Toilet Papaer have in common?
Give Up?
They both scan URANUS looking for Klingons!
heh heh
18
posted on
01/19/2004 8:45:14 AM PST
by
Mr. C
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