Saturday, September 11, 2010

Maybe Latin ain't such a bad idea

I hate Latin- it is one of the reasons I'm not a biologist. And I love the multicultural way in which geology incorporates technical terms from all around the world. Forgot your vocab? That's fine; the Norwegian sounding words are more likely to relate to ice than the Arabic ones. Still, there are a few terms that make me wonder. After the eruption earlier this year, everyone knows about Eyjafjallajökull. But at the opposite end of the time scale, Nuvvuagittuq ain't much easier. Of course, there are alternatives, as was demonstrated at post-conference beers:
Me:
How do you pronounce Noov- Nuff- Nuvatta- That really old metamorphic belt northeast of Hudson Bay?
Canadian professor:
It is pronounced "Porpoise Cove."

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