very difficult questions about life

Boring answer: 'mongooses' is the 'correct' plural.

'Przewalski' is roughly pronounced 'shuh-val-ski' - that won't quite be a native Polish pronunciation but will be close enough for most purposes!
shouldn't that be shuh-vahl-skee?
 
shouldn't that be shuh-vahl-skee?

It depends how much of a slightly-pretentious-accent you're putting on at the time. ;)

According to my Polish phrasebook, a native Polish speaker would very slightly sound the 'p' in 'prze-' as well (we could do with Rhinopithecus or nikola to confirm!).

I'm not sure what difference you're hearing between 'ski' and 'skee' (ski as in -ing (or -Sunday, or - Yoghurt*).)

Realistically, for English-language purposes, the trouble's all in the 'Przew' - any sensible pronunciation of the 'alski' will be close enough.




* your cultural reference points may vary, and could go down as well as up.
 
It depends how much of a slightly-pretentious-accent you're putting on at the time. ;)

According to my Polish phrasebook, a native Polish speaker would very slightly sound the 'p' in 'prze-' as well (we could do with Rhinopithecus or nikola to confirm!).

I'm not sure what difference you're hearing between 'ski' and 'skee' (ski as in -ing (or -Sunday, or - Yoghurt*).)

Realistically, for English-language purposes, the trouble's all in the 'Przew' - any sensible pronunciation of the 'alski' will be close enough.




* your cultural reference points may vary, and could go down as well as up.
the "skee" vs. "ski" point was because if you are using "ski" as a pronunciation guide then it could easily be read as "sky" (due to the sound of a stand-alone "i") which would mess up your entire word. Same with "vahl" vs. "val": in "val" it looks like a hard "a" (as in "apple").



*I don't understand the ski-Sunday or ski-Yoghurt.....what's that about?
 
the "skee" vs. "ski" point was because if you are using "ski" as a pronunciation guide then it could easily be read as "sky" (due to the sound of a stand-alone "i") which would mess up your entire word. Same with "vahl" vs. "val": in "val" it looks like a hard "a" (as in "apple").

I do use 'a' as in 'apple' when I say 'Przewalski'.

I've heard both 'a' sounds used interchangeably in an English context (particularly in Britain, where that pesky letter means we can't agree how to say 'bath' let alone 'Przewalski'). In my natural (Northern-vowelled) accent, saying 'vahl' really makes me sound like I'm putting an over-the-top accent on, because I have to very deliberately lengthen the vowel! So I sound much more of a fool that way than just sticking to the 'apple' 'a'.

It's akin to saying bah-LENTH-ee-a or BEAR-leen - you're getting closer to the local pronunciation but in the middle of an English sentence you risk looking a bit daft when your accent suddenly goes on the Grand Tour mid-thought.

(It honestly never occurred to me that anyone wouldn't read 'ski' as 'ski'. :D )



*I don't understand the ski-Sunday or ski-Yoghurt.....what's that about?

Ski Sunday is a TV programme about, well, skiing, and Ski Yoghurt is a brand of, well, yoghurt. They were cultural references that you never really stood a chance of getting, hence the * to indicate I knew very well what I was doing. :p
 
I know the name 'Przewalski' is used for a few species but for the horse you can just call it 'Mongolian Wild Horse' when saying it if you don't know how to pronounce 'Przewalski' (I always thought it was pronounced 'pres-wall-ski').

If a vampire sucks the blood of someone with AIDS, does the vampire get AIDS?

~Thylo:cool:

I don't think mosquitoes get AIDS; vampires are undead and heal rapidly, so no, they will not get AIDS. In fact, if you suck the blood of someone with AIDS, you will not become HIV positive unless you have stomach ulcers or cuts in your mouth.
 
I don't think mosquitoes get AIDS; vampires are undead and heal rapidly, so no, they will not get AIDS. In fact, if you suck the blood of someone with AIDS, you will not become HIV positive unless you have stomach ulcers or cuts in your mouth.
you can also drink snake venom without coming to harm so long as you have no cuts in your mouth or (presumably) ulcers in your stomach.
 
Do the carnivorous fish eat the other fish in aquariums? I always wonder how come the sharks and smaller fish appear to get along so well in aquariums. That, to me, is like putting a fox in a hen house. :D
 
Do the carnivorous fish eat the other fish in aquariums? I always wonder how come the sharks and smaller fish appear to get along so well in aquariums. That, to me, is like putting a fox in a hen house. :D

I've never seen a shark in an aquarium with fish that weren't too big for them to eat. They may be smaller but they get along with the shark species and they don't have confrontation.

~Thylo:cool:
 
I've never seen a shark in an aquarium with fish that weren't too big for them to eat. They may be smaller but they get along with the shark species and they don't have confrontation.

~Thylo:cool:
I read somewhere that it is a simple process. The animals aren´t placed at the same time. First the smaller fish, with enough time to adapt and to form a shoal. When they are ready, predatory fish are placed. When they see the smaller fish in a big group, they are afraid to attack. That´s why many times when smaller fish are placed in aquariums they are eaten by larger ones. Other factor is feeding. When the animals are well fed they do not tend to attack.
 
Does anyone know if the Amur Tigers at Bronx have ever had a move against the Giant Gourami (or is it Tinfoil Barb?) in their pond?

~Thylo:cool:
 
Mammals (let's use cheetahs or domestic cats for example) from the same litter are considered twins (non-identical) if they have the same father?
 
Mammals (let's use cheetahs or domestic cats for example) from the same litter are considered twins (non-identical) if they have the same father?

Wouldn't they have to have the same father if they were in the same litter?

But yes, they would be twins, assuming there were only two in the litter.
 
Right, so if they have the same father and mother, then the babies in the litter would be twins, triplets, quadruplets etc depending on the litter size. Cheers.

There have been ocassions (or so I think I have read) of 'twins' having different fathers because the human mother slept with different men around the same time. Many other mammals are quite promiscuous, so I thought that it would also be possible for a litter to have babies from different fathers. Or I could be wrong.
 
Right, so if they have the same father and mother, then the babies in the litter would be twins, triplets, quadruplets etc depending on the litter size. Cheers.

There have been ocassions (or so I think I have read) of 'twins' having different fathers because the human mother slept with different men around the same time. Many other mammals are quite promiscuous, so I thought that it would also be possible for a litter to have babies from different fathers. Or I could be wrong.

I've heard of this. It's extremely rare and it could occasionally occur in other mammals but regardless on whether they share the same father, if they're two of them and they're born at the same time then they are still twins.

~Thylo:cool:
 
Back
Top