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Pronunciation
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by shawnfraser on November 10, 2006
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I realize that people will pronounce scientific names differently, however I was curious as to the correct pronunciation of the genus Naja. Is it "Nah-jah" or "Nai-yah"? I have heard it pronounced both ways. It is my understanding that 'Naja' is a derivative of the Indian (Sanskrit?) word "naga", which means 'snake'. Any input would be appreciated.
Shawn
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RE: Pronunciation
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by GREGLONGHURST on November 10, 2006
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You surmise correctly that Najah comes from naga...but not directly. The genus before it became Najah was Naia.
It is my understanding that when the spelling changed, the pronunciation did not.
As I remember, the change came at the same time that the king cobra's genus was changed to Ophiophagus (snake eater). Before that, it was Naia. Hence, the name of Bill Haast's daughter, Naia Hannah Haast.
~~Greg~~
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RE: Pronunciation
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by Chris_Harper on November 10, 2006
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Wolfgang Wuster wrote the most definitive reply about this a while back. It's somewhere in this forum. The bottom line however, is that it SHOULD be pronounced "NY-AH". The "J" is pronounced as a "Y" as Greg has also indicated. I hear a lot of professionals pronounce it Nah-juh, but when we were at the the Snakebite Symposium in Omaha, Dr. David Warrell pronounced it Ny-ah. And he's quite the scholar.
~CH
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RE: Pronunciation
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by Cro on November 10, 2006
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Here is the old thread from Wolfgang Wuster:
http://www.venomousreptiles.org/forums/Experts/9685
Best Regards JohnZ
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