How to pronounce "sidereal"

[Moonshane]

this leads me to request that astronomers use dim red torches of about fork handle power.

[BinocularSky]

Forget sidereal; get yer knickers in a twist about Ronchi, Foucault, Chrétien, Boötes, & Szczepanski (and shake yer head condescendingly at those who struggle with columnation, Telerad, aperature and reticule)

(On the batphone with Tapatalk)

[Mr Flibble]

I tend to say sidder-ree-al.

This reminds me of things like Sony and Sega. I used to have a Say-gah Master System when I was in my teens but my mate used to have a See-gah MS. The consoles looked the same and we could swap games so I think they were the same machines . Although that's nothing compared to some of the drug names I hear in work, people crack me up when they ask for their Clop-a-dog (clopidogrel) and Ah-my-ass (amias)

[Astro Imp]

this leads me to request that astronomers use dim red torches of about fork handle power.

Must give this the prize for best post I've seen to-day.

[astrodingbat]

Ref: Sidereal time and the constellation Bootes (with an umlout (dodgy spelling) somewhere..)

I usually play it safe... i.e proper time & the herdsman.

I have a sidereal watch!!! or it might just need the battery replacing?

[astrodingbat]

PS forgot to say: on pronunciation - doesn't matter how I say it ... I am originally from the black country so nobody understands me any road! :-)

[badgerchap]

Cider Eel. But I have no idea how to pronounce "sidereal". I hate all the bickering there is about pronunciation of astronomical terms. Who cares?! The universe is unendingly complex and intriguing, so who give a rat's bum whether it's Beetle-juice or beh-tel-jeu-ze or whatever.

[badgerchap]

OK, further to my comment above, it comes from the Latin "siderus" (star). The first syllable has a short vowel ("sid"). Strictly, then, I think it should be something like "sid-EER-ial" (which, being a pedantic git, is how I usually pronounce it). However, almost all experienced British astronomers I know say either "SIGH-DEER-ial" of "SIDDER-eel". But also, as I said above, nobody misunderstands any of these pronunciations unless s/he actively wants to.

I think.

Going by this method then, the icy moon of Saturn should be pronounced 'en-K-eladus',( named after Enkelados) but is usually pronounced En-Sel-adus@. I think the right way is the way you feel comfortable saying it. I am now ducking instinctively for my old headmaster to throw a board rubber....

[steppenwolf]

reticule

Now that is an interesting one! There are many contradicting discussions on this so is it 'Reticle', 'Reticule' or either?

[Naemeth]

Wait, there are other pronunciations? I thought it was just side-real.

The troubles of self-learning in astronomy, eh?

[JamesF]

Going by this method then, the icy moon of Saturn should be pronounced 'en-K-eladus',( named after Enkelados) but is usually pronounced En-Sel-adus@.

I have decided to pronounce it "enchiladas" because I like the idea of a moon being named after an item of Mexican cuisine.

James

[JamesF]

Now that is an interesting one! There are many contradicting discussions on this so is it 'Reticle', 'Reticule' or either?

Either, though the latter form is less common and also means a sort of net bag. Isn't it nice to know you can use whichever you like without becoming an object of ridicule? (Or should that be ridicle?

James

[brantuk]

On University Challenge they say Sid ear real - and Bo oh tees is like the kids shoe's bootees. According to the ancient greeks the story goes that the constellation of bootees is there kicking the proverbial behind of any constellation that can't pronounce sid ear real lol

[steppenwolf]

Either, though the latter form is less common and also means a sort of net bag. Isn't it nice to know you can use whichever you like without becoming an object of ridicule? (Or should that be ridicle?

That's the camp I'm in and despite the 'lady's purse' connection (no sniggering at the back please ...) I use Reticule.

[Dipper]

saɪˈdɪəriəl

SImon + oh DEAR! + cerEAL

[Mr Spock]

The correct word, reticule, is from reticulum (sound familiar?). 'Reticle' is an abberation which needs to be dispensed with

[glowjet]

Pronunciation yes, stars / sidereal, they happen to be given Greek letters on our star maps, everything is reasonably ok till you reach the 14th letter Xi, so what do we all call this one then ? sorry if I am side tracking the issue, but it is all star related

John.

[BinocularSky]

Going by this method then, the icy moon of Saturn should be pronounced 'en-K-eladus',

Yup, in classical Latin, all Cs are "hard" (as in "iceberg"? :grin: ) -- hence Ketus, Kepheus, et ketera.

Now that is an interesting one! There are many contradicting discussions on this so is it 'Reticle', 'Reticule' or either?

Either. (It was my attempt at a "trick question" )

Xi, so what do we all call this one then ?

"{almst-a-glottal-stop}KS{EYE}"

saɪˈdɪəriəl

The OED has səidĭ^{ə .} rĭăl But, curiously, it has for other word of the same etymolygy, such as Sideral, both "si" and "səĭ",

[JBadger]

Loads of good replies here guys & gals, although I now have more words to worry about than when I first posted

And, to those who recommended liberal application of cider to the problem, I salute you!

[Jessun]

Gleen Chaple has an article on 'Astronomese' in the July issue of Astronomy. Greek, Latin and Arabic in the mix does seem to complicate things.

[umadog]

Bootes is another funny. Boo oh teas?

Yes, you could say it that way but "Boh oh tease" is closer to the Greek pronunciation (which is actually "Voh oh tis").

[glowjet]

The story goes a foreigner to London years ago was desperately trying to learn and pronounce the English language and was getting more and more depressed because of its complexity, when he saw " Oklahoma " pronounced success in large letters down the side of a bus, he jumped off the next bridge

John.