A case for pronunciation guides for place names in scientific publications

Abstract

The correct pronunciation of a word in English is not always straightforward, and this is particularly the case for place names and other proper nouns that are prominent in geoscience research. For example, sedimentary deposits in former coal strip-mining pits in northern Illinois, USA, bear an assemblage of well-preserved Carboniferous fossils, including the enigmatic Tullimonstrum, an extinct soft-bodied vertebrate^1,2. The assemblage is referred to as the Mazon Creek fauna, named for the small river that runs through the area. Locals pronounce the name of the river and nearby town ‘muh-ZON’, yet many geoscientists pronounce the name of the fauna ‘MAY-zon’.

This leads to the question: what is the correct pronunciation of a place name? In his dictionary of 1803, Noah Webster wrote “the true pronunciation is that which prevails in and near the place”³. Confusion over pronunciation of place names can be exacerbated by regional idiosyncrasies. For example, the city of Charlotte in Michigan, USA, is ‘shar-LOTT’ to residents, but the city Charlotte in North Carolina, USA, is ‘SHAR-let’ to its citizens. The name ‘Mazon’ has its origins in an indigenous Algonquin word for nettle, plants that grew in abundance in the area, and the word is pronounced ‘muh-ZON’⁴. Indeed, ‘muh-ZON’ is the pronunciation that “prevails in and near the place” and is the official pronunciation used by the state of Illinois⁵.