names

*On 24/01/17, Frank O’Connor wrote:*

>*>> Jacana by the way is Portuguese (might be Spanish?) as the type*
>*>> specimen was named from Brazil. So it should be pronounced ‘yasana’ I*
>*>> think, but I can’t see that happening in Australia.*

Jacana as we now know it (it used to be a Lotusbird in Australia) is a
Tupi-Guarani indigenous name from Brazil, transliterated into Portuguese
(Jaçanã) and then stripped of accents to English (Jacana).

So therefore ‘yasana’ is fairly close to the correct pronunciation, but the
nasal ‘ã’ on the end of a word is tricky for English speakers! –
‘yas-a-nown’.

In the field call ’em what you like to some extent, but consistency is
always useful in the permanent record.

++++++++++++
Dr Lawrie Conole
Tylden Vic 3444
Australia

lconole [at] gmail.com