Did anyone look for the Sabine's Gull today? Any reports would be appreciated!
Also, my co-worker and I have been discussing the "proper" pronunciation of
this species. I have always heard it called suh-been (emphasis on the second
syllable). She recently heard it pronounced as though it rhymed with "cabin". I
did a little bit of internet sleuthing and found a blogger who had done the
real sleuthing for me! From birdaz.com:
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In 1953, William Henry Waldo Sabine published his Sabin(e): The History of an
Ancient English Surname...on page 84, we have exactly what we're looking for:
"The correct pronunciation of SABINE in England is: SAB' (short as in 'cab')
and INE (long as in 'wine').... The accent is placed on the first syllable, as
marked."
W.H.W. Sabine goes on to add a note demonstrating abundantly the depth of his
own feelings in the matter:
"It is unfortunately necessary to insert here some remarks on the disagreeable
practice of pronouncing Sabine as "Sabeen." So far as this compiler knows, no
Sabine in England does this, but it is very frequently done by other people....
If the people concerned would pause to think the matter over for a while, they
might perceive that it would be just as reasonable for them to speak of the
"feen Alpeen cleember who carried a carbeen on his shoulder and a bottle of
ween in his pocket." ... In short, to borrow a phrase from H.W. Fowler, the
pronunciation "Sabeen" shows ignorance of English more conspicuously than
knowledge of French or Latin."
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Since Sabine's Gull is named after an Irishman, Sir Edward Sabine, I'm assuming
the pronunciation described above was probably correct. Not sure I can
actually make myself say it that way, though!
Kendra Kocab, Naturalist
Kleb Woods Nature Center
281-357-5324
Harris County Precinct 3
Steve Radack Commissioner
www.pct3.com<http://www.pct3.com/>
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