Most of us know that Latin is a dead language, and there’s no definitive way of pronouncing latinized scientific names, but I’ve heard Castilleja pronounced several ways and was wondering if there is a “correct” way to pronounce it. Here are things to consider:
Latin originally had no letter J but was later added to include the J sound from other languages.
As a plant native to the Americas, many people assume a Spanish origin of the name, and pronounce the J as in Spanish (more like an H). So the most common pronunciation I hear is cas-till-AY-haw.
If we assume a Spanish origin, shouldn’t we also pronounce the LL like in Spanish (more similar to a Y)? I’ve only heard it pronounced cas-tee-YAY-haw a couple times.
I’ve also heard it completely Anglicized as cas-till-AY-jaw, but this seems wrong.
How do you pronounce Castilleja, and do you think there’s a “right” way to pronounce it?