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Thread: How to pronounce "tegu"

  1. #1
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    Default How to pronounce "tegu"

    So everyone, I have heard different ways of saying tegu. What do you all think? Is it..

    te-gu (tay-goo)
    or
    te-gu (teg-ew) te=like tether
    or
    te-gu (tay-ju)
    or
    te-gu (tej-ew) te=like tether

    the dictionary says this
    te-gu (t?-g??') as in t?=same sound as pit and g??'=same sound as boot

    I have never heard it pronounced like this myself

  2. #2
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    Default

    the correct way is

    TAY-GOO

  3. #3
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    I just want to fix what the dictionary said because the wierd symbols didn't work.

    the dictionary says this
    te-gu (ti-goo) as in ti=same sound as pIt, and goo=same sound as bOOt
    I think it is kind of wierd.

  4. #4
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    Things get a bit tricky here as "Tegu" comes from an Aztec/Nahuatl root (Tecohuixin/Tecoixin, meaning 'lizard')...anyone up on proper Aztec pronunciation?

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by RehabRalphy
    the correct way is

    TAY-GOO

    yup

  6. #6
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    Depends on what language you are trying to pronounciate it from. Tegu is derived from the Brazilian/Portuguese word teju, which is itself derived from the Tupi (not Aztec/Nahuatl) word teyu. The Tupi culture, or Tupinamba (anyone recognise that derivative?) were the main native group of what is now Brazil.

    In many languages it is pronounced teh-yoo. English has changed it to teh-goo or tay-goo.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by tupinambis
    ... from the Tupi (not Aztec/Nahuatl) word teyu. The Tupi culture, or Tupinamba
    OK, I am game...back up your etymology, please.

  8. #8
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    I'm assuming (perhaps incorrectly) that you are basing your information upon either this
    http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1347276
    which is little more than a bad opinion piece based on word of mouth and has not investigated the claims put forth, or this
    http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Lizard
    which is an encyclopedic entry frought with errors and typos. Word of warning, in science it is extremely bad to quote encyclopedias as they are extremely prone to errors and are usually, as well, little more than LARGE opinion publications or reinterpretations of facts (primarily, they don't tend to give sources for their info). However, it does show where the theory probably came from that "tegu" is derived from "teco-ixin". If one reads it clearly, this is not the claim. The claim is that "teguixin" comes from "teco-ixin", a somewhat different claim, but easy to see where the next conclusion came about. I do not refute that "teguixin" probably comes from "teco-ixin".

    However, dictionaries are usually quite accurate on their etymology, and a quick glance through nearly any online dictionary will point out the etymology of "tegu" as that which I presented above.
    http://www.yourdictionary.com/ahd/t/t0084350.html
    http://education.yahoo.com/reference...ary/entry/tegu
    http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tegu

    Furthermore, the very first literature appearance of these lizards appears to be Lacertus Tupinambis by B.G.E. de La V. Lacépède, 1788 in Synopsis methodica Quadrupedum oviparorum of Histoire naturelle des quadrupèdes ovipares et des serpens, wherein he introduces the lizards as scientifically named after the Tupinamba people (who live where the lizard was found) and who call the lizard teyú.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by tupinambis
    I'm assuming (perhaps incorrectly) that you are basing your information upon either this
    http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1347276
    Quite incorrectly, I used the OED (which one can assume is a mite more accurate than any online 'dictionary')....and yes, I own all 23 volumes in printed form.

    Furthermore, the very first literature appearance of these lizards appears to be Lacertus Tupinambis by B.G.E. de La V. Lacépède, 1788 in Synopsis methodica Quadrupedum oviparorum of Histoire naturelle des quadrupèdes ovipares et des serpens, wherein he introduces the lizards as scientifically named after the Tupinamba people (who live where the lizard was found) and who call the lizard teyú.
    The OED cites "Historia de Nueva España" by Sagahun in 1540 as the first known written use of "tecouixin", and suggests an Aztec origin.

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