Page 10 - Astronomy - October 2017 USA

STRANGEUNIVERSE

BY B O B B E R M A N

Say Betelgeuse

How do you pronounce that star, that constellation,
or that astronomer’s name?

etelgeuse is return- Sumerians saw the constellation
ing to the morning of Orion not as a hunter, but as
sky, but few can a sheep — so “the armpit of the
pronounce it. That’s sheep” is the correct meaning.
Bbecause almost none His research first appeared
of our friends know the stars in 1944 in Popular Astronomy
and constellations, so we rarely and was reprinted in 1971 by
hear them spoken. But even Sky Publishing Co. I bought it
during star parties, mispronun- in 1972 and have treasured that
ciations abound. yellowing 24-page booklet all
A red supergiant star, Betelgeuse (or Bet’l’jooz) stands out as the shoulder of Orion the
Gibberish is nobody’s fault. these 45 years. Nowadays, you Hunter. Its name, however, is derived from a time when the Sumerians envisioned its
In the case of Orion’s alpha star, can find it online at http:// constellation as a sheep. © PERESANZ | DREAMSTIME.COM
the movie Beetlejuice, starring articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/
Michael Keaton, permanently full/1944PA.....52....8D. then add an “is” sound? No! When observing the deep red
implanted that pronunciation Bottom line? Bet’l’jooz is You must change every syllable! star Mu (μ) Cephei, do you say
in everyone’s mind. Looking it indeed the most mispro- Betelgeuse is pronounced “Moo” or “Myoo”? I prefer
up in the dictionary is of little nounced bright star, but run- (Alpha) oh-ree-OH-nis. ZAY-tuh and THAY-tuh, but
help — even its meaning varies ners-up include Vega and Spica Now go ahead and learn the some pronounce them ZEE-tuh
with each reference book. Grab (say SPY-kuh, not SPEE-kah). genitives of all 88 constellations! and THEE-tuh. Happily, as
the nearest dictionary, and Constellations can be trou- Those with two words, like Ursa with Jupiter’s moon Io (say
you’ll find that the word blesome, too. Seven years ago, Major, have both changed, mak- either EYE-oh or EE-oh),
Betelgeuse means “the shoulder our own Michael Bakich cre- ing it UR-see mah-JOR-is. increasing numbers of celestial
of the giant,” “the armpit of the ated an extremely helpful online Fortunately, no one can force objects are now greenlighted for
sheep,” “the House of the pronunciation guide, though I you to memorize all this. I multiple “correct” pronuncia-
Twins,” or one of several other regard cah-RYE-nuh as the pre- obsessively learned them in the tions. A few modern dictionar-
contradictory things. ferred way to pronounce the ’70s when I started lecturing, to ies even obscenely allow
The final judge? My favorite yor-AY-nis for the seventh planet.
authority was the late George I rarely correct people
Davis of Buffalo, New York, an Gibberish is nobody’s fault. because it’s obnoxious, and I
attorney, avid amateur astrono- want to be liked. Also, many
mer, and noted Arabic scholar. mispronunciations ultimately
Starting in the 1930s, he spent Southern constellation some- avoid the embarrassment of say- prove transient: If you wait long
seven years researching star times listed as cah-REE-nuh. ing things wrong. But there are enough, your articulation may
names, traveling to the East to But it’s the Latin genitive issues even today, because the eventually be deemed OK. Even
seek original sources. Most star form that really throws people. British and Americans often transient, which everyone
names come from Arabic, but Stars within constellations are utter genitives (and other things) started pronouncing with three
that language, like all others, labeled using the Latin genitive differently, like with antennae syllables in the 1970s, and
has changed over the centuries. form of the constellation, pronounced an-TEN-ee versus which still bugs me because it
That’s one reason why so many denoting possession or associa- an-TEN-nay versus an-TEN-nye. classically has two (TRAN-
myths and false ideas appear in tion. Vega is also known as So if you’d like to discuss the shent), is now sometimes listed
print. To get at the truth, Davis Alpha (α) Lyrae; add an “e” to amazing irregular supernova as acceptable with three.
started with 2,000-year-old the constellation of Lyra to form and nebula named Eta Carinae, Maybe all this is an argu-
Arabic and then traced those the genitive. But how to say it? you could say either cah-REE- ment for solitary observing.
star names to their roots from This one’s simple: You change nay or cah-RYE-nee, though I Then any heated dispute would
the even earlier Sumerian. LY-ruh to LY-ree. prefer the latter. occur only in your mind —
Davis managed to document The genitive often seems Even the Greek letters are which is never a good sign.
that, yes, Vega is pronounced easy, like with Betelgeuse’s des- controversial. Probably 20 per-
VEE-gah, which meant “the ignation as Alpha (α) Orionis. cent of the letters are ambigu- Contact me about
falling eagle.” As for Bet’l’jooz, But should you simply say ous. Returning to Eta Carinae, my strange universe by visiting
the name derives from when the “Orion” the normal way and you can say EE-tuh or AY-tuh. http://skymanbob.com.
BROWSE THE “STRANGE UNIVERSE” ARCHIVE AT www.Astronomy.com/Berman.

10 ASTRONOMY • OCTOBER 2017