I'm going to compile a list of animals in which the first word is capitalized and the second is not. African elephant would be an example.
Thompson's gazelle
Kodiak bear
Indian elephant
What are some others?
Sumatran, Siberian, Bengal Tiger. Javan rhinosceros
Roosevelt elk
Douglas squirrel
Olympic marmot
Trowbridge shrew
Pacific water shrew
Townsend's mole
Keen myotis
Townsend's chipmunk
Olympic chipmunk
Townsend vole
Oregon vole
California sea lion
Northern elephant seal
Dall's porpoise
Pacific white-sided dolphin
Olympic torrent salamander
Cope's giant salamander
Ensatina salamander
Van Dyke's salamander
Pacific tree frog
Cascades frog
Wow! I just woke up and went online immediately to see whether anyone had entered anything. Thanks to you both for these--I'll use them all in class very soon. As I sleepily waited for my computer to boot up, I thought, "Oh, I can add Maine lobster..." But, let me tell you, what a great surprise to have all of these.
Many thanks--and if anybody else can think of others, please do add them here. I'm trying to compile some interesting separate lists of examples of when we flat don't capitalize animal names (naturally that's very easy to put together), when we capitalize the first word, as in the list I'm asking about, and then genus and species, which is also seemingly endless and very easy to compile. It's the one here that is a bit more of a challenge. Many thanks.
Canada goose
American robin
American kestrel
Cooper's hawk
Virginia rail
Baltimore oriole
Arabian horse
Morgan horse
Siamese cat
German shepherd
Chilean dolphin
Arctic fox
Grant's zebra
Przewalski's horse (wild horse of asia, the only true wild horse.)
Thanks, Jackie and of troy, for the additions.
This morning in one of my AHDs I checked out what is now becoming the master list. None of Father Steve's made it into that edition, but I'll check those out on onelook.com tonight.
However, in searching for Father Steve's, I found some others, so that search went well overall.
Jackie, I can use Arabian horse as a noun, but I can't use Morgan horse. The Morgan is generally referred to as Morgan and is listed in the AHD as such. It's a different case for the Arabian, which is listed as 'Arabian horse' (n.). English is fascinating. There are many breeds of horses that would work, however, such as American saddle horse. I have no idea why 'Morgan horse' is not shown, but only Morgan is.
of troy, your 'Przewalsky's horse' didn't make it into my AHD, but that, too, I'll check tonight on onelook.com--especially to retrieve the pronunciation. The 'Prz--' combination entices me.
None of the specific tiger species were included, but I do want those on the list. AHD surprises me here. The Kodiak bear was included, but the Bengal tiger wasn't? Go figure. The Siberian husky was included, but the Siberian tiger wasn't. Grant's zebra wasn't included--I thought that was surprising--but Grant's gazelle was. I've never heard of Grant's gazelle. Oh, well.
The word 'northern' is problemmatical and I'm not sure how I'll develop an explanation for understanding when to capitalize it and when not to. For instance, the 'Northern prickly ash' has 'Northern' capitalized; however, the northern oriole and northern pike have no capital letters. I think I could explain easily why northern lights aren't capitalized, but the Northern Cross is and, related, aurora borealis isn't, but Corona Borealis is. But why the Northern prickly ash is and the northern pike isn't? That's a bit trickier--one being region (capitalized) and the other simply being directional. I think that would be harder to both teach and for my kids to understand.
Here's a good example of strictly direction (not capitalized) lower case usage from things you all have sent me. Someone above submitted 'Arctic fox.' I checked it, as I did all entries, including my own, in the AHD. Well, lo and behold, the entry should have been spelled 'arctic fox'--strictly directional reference and not regional or specific reference to the Arctic Ocean itself. This was true, also, for arctic tern and arctic char--stictly direction references. What's cool, I think, is how these words function as nouns and not as 'adj. + n.'
Thanks to all. There's still some research to do in order to make some working lists that will be interesting (I hope). Onelook.com should fill in the gaps.
Just checked it out on MW online, and the little guy who pronounces words pronouned it like this:
shuh-VALL-skeez horse
Here's the paste from that webpage:
Pronunciation: psh&-'väl-skEz-, sh&-, "p&r-zh&-'väl-
Function: noun
Etymology: Nikolai M. Przhevalskii died 1888 Russian soldier & explorer
Date: 1881
: a small stocky bay- or dun-colored wild horse (Equus caballus przewalskii syn. E. przewalskii) of central Asia having a large head and short erect mane -- called also Prze·wal·ski horse \-skE-\
[MW online]
The word 'northern' is problemmatical and I'm not sure how I'll develop an explanation for understanding when to capitalize it and when not to.
Well, if you do, would you explain it to me? I wondered about something like the northern flicker. Morgan, and arctic fox surprised me also, esp. Morgan. I'll bet that if most of us, out of the blue, announced to a friend that we were going to buy a Morgan, very few would immediately know we were referring to a horse.
The Przewalski's horse is now, usually just called a wild horse.
It it the only true wild horse, (very few are left in asia) from which domesticated horse were bred.
American wild horses (Mustangs) are really horses that have escaped and live wild... Feral would be a better word for them, not so the Przewalski's --
i too always had to puzzle of the how to say the name. the Bronx Zoo has a breeding stock, and 50 or so acres for them to run in, not the wilds, but not caged at any rate (the whole of the Zoo is about 350 acrces... pretty big for a city zoo!
None of Father Steve's made it into that edition, but I'll check those out on onelook.com tonight.
Unthinkable!
Take, for example, the Roosevelt elk (first on my list, none of which "made it" past the AHD test). The critter is recognized zoologically as Cervus elaphus roosevelti. They inhabit the high forests and mountains of the West and are often seen at timberline in the Olympic National Park. They are to be distinguished from the Rocky Mountain Elk, which is found to the other side of the Cascade Divide. The Native Americans hereabouts called them "wapiti" which is a reference to the white on their bottoms.
See generally "Field Guide to North American Mammals", National Audubon Society, Chanticleer Press, Inc. New York, New York (1996-1997)
And toss out any cheap horribly-abridged dictionary which fails to note the exitstence of this noble critter.
Likewise the Olympic marmot, which also did not make the AHD cut.
While all sorts of marmots are found in all sorts of places, the Olympic marmot (Marmota olympus) is found only in and around the Olympic National Park in Washington State. Closely related to the hoary marmot, they are distinguished zoologically.
See generally Richard Van Gelder. Mammals of the National Parks. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 1982; William Burt. A Field Guide to the Mammals. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1976.
Steller blue-jay.
and not to be kiboshian®, but aren't most animals' names capitalized as such?
Most animal names are not capitalized--and then there are the thousands upon thousands of exceptions.
For instance, take a look at a list of seafood names--animals that commonly appear in grocery stores:
1. cod
2. flounder
3. grouper
4. haddock
5. halibut
6. octopus
7. mackerel
8. mahimahi
9. ocean perch
10. pickerel
11. pike
12. porgy
13. sockeye red salmon
14. salmon
15. sardine
16. tilefish
17. weakfish
18. white perch
19. whitefish
20. sea trout
21. shad
22. sturgeon
23. abalone
24. albacore
25. bluefish
26. carp
27. catfish
28. herring
29. rainbow trout
30. red snapper
31. sailfish
32. shark
33. silver perch
34. smelt
35. snapper
36. squid
37. swordfish
38. yellow perch
None of those are capitalized--along with thousands upon thousands of other animal names that are not capitalized.
But throw in an animal that has been named by some explorer or biologist, such as Thompson's gazelle. Well, things change, of course. Animal names associated with geographical places (proper names only need apply) or people who named a new species take capitalization of the first, but not the second part as in Thompson's gazelle or the Bengal tiger, which I'm still reeling over not having been included in my edition of AHD.
Then there's genus and species, of course: genus capitalized, but species lower case.
So you have to be pretty careful with some animal names, especially those tricky ones like arctic fox and northern pike. The only way to really know is to check the dictionaries, and even dictionaries are contrary at times. This morning I found MW listing one entry one way and AHD listing the same entry another. I should have made a note of it because I've forgotten the entry.
Dalmatian was interesting. I had no idea that the Dalmatian was named after Dalmatia--because I'd never heard of Dalmatia, I'm ashamed to admit. However, even more interesting, in AHD it was noted that the Dalmatian could be spelled both capitalized and lower case. It's all very interesting, I think.
I will certainly tell my kids about Faldage's indignation over the Roosevelt elk not having been included in that edition of the AHD. I haven't checked the most recent edition to see whether any of these have been added.
Won't it be exciting if my kids find all of this very interesting as we begin our study this year with the good old nouns--but perhaps considered as not being quite as humdrum as one might think.
Oh, and one of our biology teachers today told me that 'sea bass' is a name that used for any fish in the restaurant business that would have an otherwise disagreeable name--sheep's head or something like that he mentioned would be served as sea bass. He mentioned a couple of others that are served as sea bass that are actually disagreeable-sounding fish names. Mahimahi, he said, is actually the fish dolphin--but so much hoopla was made over serving the mammal at restaurants (people assumed incorrectly) that the restauranteurs changed the fish dolphin's name to mahimahi. I haven't confirmed anything he told me, so I don't know how true this is. I think we might have had some discussion on AWAD a while back about the fish dolphin, however--didn't we?
But throw in an animal that has been named by some explorer or biologist,sorry, I was having a spell of ronycism.
there does seem to be very little rhyme or reason, just generalizations. an interesting study, WW!
but I think it was Father Steve, not Faldage...
In reply to:
a name that used for any fish in the restaurant business that would have an otherwise disagreeable name--
Dub-Dub, are you saying that the restaurants changed these fish names on porpoise?
Somebody had to say it since TEd's too busy
consuelo: Haaaaaaaaaaa!
et': I stand corrected. It was Father Steve. I'll tell my kids about Father Steve. I'm sure I'll mention Faldage, too, at some point this year, probably earlier than later.
Jackie...
The interesting problem here is whether Morgan horse is an adjective plus noun function or a compound noun function. If Morgan horse doesn't appear to be identified in any dictionary as a noun, then you'd use it as an adjective plus a noun--and it would be diagrammed differently from American saddle horse (all on one line functioning as a noun).
I'll check onelook right now to see whether any dictionary identifies 'Morgan horse' as a noun--and will return if there is one that so lists it.
Edit: Tough call. Three more encyclopedia-like references do list 'Morgan horse' on onelook--and that's out of over 800 references, including MW and AHD--but none of the three name 'Morgan horse' as a noun, as is true of other breeds of horses we've discussed above. Even though it's not recognized by the standard dictionaries as a compound word that functions as a noun--doesn't it follow suit from other horse breeds that function as nouns? I figure if Shetland pony, American saddle horse, Arabian horse all function as nouns, then Morgan horse should, too, whether it appears as such in a dictionary. Otherwise, it would just be too exceptional of an exception.
It was Father Steve
I was in a different thread. Black spots on a black body.
Faldage's jaguar
Attually© it was the leopard. AKA black panther. Never seen no black jaguar.
damn. I knew I would louse it up if I didn't check the source...
call it Etaoin's louse.
no, don't.
Never seen no black jaguar.
'course not, Fong - it's dark in there <g>
Never seen no black jaguar.I've seen a black jaguar, but personally, I like them in English racing green better.
English racing green better
Agreed! btw, how does everyone pronounce that word? I can still remember the shock of my jaw hitting my collar the first time I heard an (Eastern Seaboard) Merrycan say sumtin like "Djag~waahr".
"Djag~waahr"
and the alternative?
That's about how I say it. My jaw drops everytime I hear the Brit pronunciation, likewise Nicaragua
Have you not seen the new commercial for Jaguar? Guy and his co-worker are standing in the hallway at work and a jaguar (the big cat) tears down the hall between them. The guy says, "That reminds me, I've been wanting to get the new Jaguar" or sumpin like that. That's a Brit pronunciation.
In Spanish, the pronunciation is haag-waarr(purring)
EDIT
Source: The Collins English Dictionary © 2000 HarperCollins Publishers:
jaguar ['dʒægjʊə]
noun a large feline mammal, Panthera onca, of S North America, Central America, and N South America, similar to the leopard but with a shorter tail and larger spots on its coat
[ETYMOLOGY: 17th Century: from Portuguese, from Tupi jaguara, Guarani yaguara]
Jag-wahr. You know--the same as wire. Hmm, maybe not...maybe it's more Ja...gwahr. (Aside-- puh-leeze, don't tell me you want it said the way I'm afraid you do: then, I might say, "What a jag you are".)
Yep, a fairly typical Brit version will be something like JAG-yew-uh ~ that final sound in some mouths is more like "er" and in others more like "ar", and in many it's another jag you schwa :)
I guessed you gussies would prolly be equally surprised but wondered if there's any regional USn variation? and variation in our topside down and Canuck mates?
JAG-yew-uh and in many it's another jag you schwa :)]
Either of the above here up South.
Consuelo, the essential part of your post, the pronunciation of the word according to the dictionary just appears as apostrophe, d, box, ae ligature, g, j, box, box
Bingley
Dub-dub, would it be too confusing or corrupting for the young minds in your charge, just to say capitalisation is inconsistent even among dictionaries, so do what you want?
Bingley
Sorry, Bingley. That's the way it transfered but I must say it didn't look much better in the original. Maybe those of you that know what the symbols mean can translate from the original. I can't.
http://www.wordreference.com/english/definition.asp?en=jaguar
Bingley,
I will defiitely show some of the inconsistencies, but these are ninth graders who need to realize a few consistencies. And they should also be encouraged to use dictionaries--I'll try to get them turned onto onelook.com where they'll have lots to choose from and many inconsistencies. However, they'll be tested in the state examination on grammar, spelling and mechanics--and those test makers like to throw a few monkey wrenches into the works. The kids have to be able to spot errors in sentences--and spelling/capitalization is fair game. Besides, I think it's interesting to take a look for a day in English class at the inconsistencies. I'll tell them that when it comes to words like:
northern
southern
eastern
western
arctic...
I'd definitely check the dictionary to see whether a capital letter is required before the given bird or fish or anything-named-biological.
I'll tell my kids about Father Steve.
I recommend waiting until they are old enough to understand.
Dalmatian was interesting. I had no idea that the Dalmatian was named after Dalmatia--because I'd never heard of Dalmatia, I'm ashamed to admit.
Where else would one find growing Linaria dalmatica (L.) P. Mill.. Trifolium dalmaticum Vis., and/or Dianthus dalmaticus Celak?
Or see someone wearing a dalmatic?
Or, for that matter, see Dalmatians (the people, not their dogs) in their native habitat?
Or hear Dalmatian spoken (except that nobody has spoken it since 1898)?
Or buy Dalmatian insect powder, made from the pyrethrum flowers which grow there?
Where, I ask you?
>Or hear Dalmatian spoken (except that nobody has spoken it since 1898)?
I would guess that it was still being spoken here in Zild until around that time. The Far North of Zild (the tail of the fish), has a sigbificant number of people descended from Dalmatians who came here in the late 1800s to mine for kauri gum.
"...1800s to mine for kauri gum"
And why did they want this kauri gum?
Thanks, Father Steve, for the information about Dalmatia. Must go look up 'dalmatic' right now.
From August National Geographic...Georg Wilhelm Stellar's was Vitus Bering's naturalist on the Russian expedition that discovered Alaska in 1741. ... Along with the Stellar's jay, Stellar also "discovered" a slew of other creatures to which he added his name...
Stellar sea lion, Stellar's eider and Steller's sea cow.
=================
Just as an aside...I love how countries can be "discovered" when there are already folks who inhabit the place. They should come up with an other word, don't you think? Anything to suggest?
Oh, bel--it is SO GOOD to see you back here!!! HUGGGGGG!!!!
The salmon names - sockeye, coho, chum - are probably not capitalized becuase they are neither place names nor people's names, they are attempts at transliterating Aboriginal names for the fish.
I don't think "whitefish" is actually a fish, it's just a description. (DON'T QUOTE ME ON THIS!) In my part of the world, whitefish is probably cod, but it can also be haddock or any of a bunch of white [space] fish.
some more for your list:
Richardson's ground squirrel
Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua)
Oof, I had more, but I've forgotten them.