Focus on the docus to say Dippy’s name right
Return to Natural History Museum leaves scientists arguing over the correct way to say ‘diplodocus’
AN ISSUE that continues to divide the world of palaeontology: how should the dinosaur genus “diplodocus” be pronounced?
The enduring question arose as Britain’s favourite dinosaur, Dippy the Diplodocus, returned to London’s Natural History Museum yesterday for a new exhibition following a Uk-wide tour.
While Brits tend to chop up the word into two distinct sounds, “diplo-docus” – pronounced “dip-low-dough-kus” – Americans will roll the two together into the softer sounding “di-ploducus” – pronounced “dip-lodicus”.
But, according to a leading dinosaur expert, neither is classically correct. Prof Paul Barrett, senior dinosaur expert at the museum, said: “Technically, it’s two Greek words so the ‘c’ in docus is actually a ‘k’ – a Greek kappa. So no one is getting it right.” If following the Greek rules, the correct version should be “diplo-docus” with a soft “o” and hard “c”– pronounced “dip-lowdock-us”.
The word diplodocus was coined by Othniel C. Marsh, a US palaeontologist in 1878, who merged the Greek words “diplos” meaning “double” and “dokos” meaning “beam” – a reference to the unusual skeleton.
However, despite its origins, the American version is quickly becoming the standard pronunciation in palaeontology circles, not least because all dinosaurs in the genus were found in North America by an American.
Many scientists hold that pronunciation in nomenclature should reflect the country of origin, or the original intonation of the finder.
“When I grew up, I always said diplodocus, and if you read kids books of that age, that’s what the pronunciation tells you,” added Prof Barrett.
“But I’ve been corrected by my transatlantic colleagues, and they don’t understand me when I say it the British way, so I’ve had to become functionally bilingual in using the American version.
“There are a few dinosaur names that are different on either side of the Atlantic, and I sometimes get a blank look from my American colleagues. It actually doesn’t matter which one is used.”
Dippy is not made from real diplodocus remains, but rather a plaster cast assemblage of bones that were found at Sheep Creek, Wyoming, Colorado, in 1898.
It was displayed in the museum from 1905 to 2017, when it was replaced by the huge skeleton of a diving blue whale, named Hope.