How do I pronounce "vaginarius"?

[Helmet]

A vaginarius is a maker of sheathes and scabbards--a profession during the Middle Ages. I've looked and looked, but I can't find the pronunciation on the internet.

I'm guessing it's pronounced vah JINN air ee us. But it might have a hard G, or a long A, or who knows what.

Anybody know?

 

[kenobi65]

So many wise-ass remarks I could make...but none would be Eric's grandma-friendly.

 

[Blackrat]

But it might have a hard G, or a long A, or who knows what.

Actually it would be both. VA-(hard G)i-n(half-long A)-rius. I don't know the how you write pronounciation in english so that unfortunatily the best I can do to help.

 

[Helmet]

Ooo! THANKS!

Hm, that's a little tricky to pronounce. I have been pronouncing it wrong far too long and my tongue doesn't want to re-learn it.

Just to clarify...

VAY...rhymes with bay.
gih...as in the word "gift," but without the "ft."
NAY...rhymes with bay.
ree...rhymes with bee.
us...rhymes with bus.

The second A is long, but spoken quicker than the first. And the 1st and 3rd syllables are accented.

Is that right?

 

[Relique du Madde]

Beavis and Butthead would pronounce it "heh heh heh heh that was cool"

Now, I'm not Italian, so I have no clue on how it would be pronounced although I do think I know how the stereotypical English speaking Italian would pronounce it. But since the rat lives in Europe, I'll trust his pronunciation.

 

[Blackrat]

No. Let's see.

Va - the first A is short. It would rhyme with bay but without y and more soft.
Gi - as in gin (the alcohol) but without the n.
Naa - a long A, but not very long. Somewhat half-long. Hard to explain .
re - rhymes with "bee" but much shorter.
us - rhymes with "use" without the ending.

Oh, and this is totally based on how it would be pronounced in modern understanding of latin. I'm only amateur linguist so I can't promise that this is 100% correct.

 

[Helmet]

Awesome. Thanks for the extra pronunciation guide. I think I'm pronouncing vaginarius right, at long last.

Much thanks for your help!

 

[Dioltach]

Here's an easier way: it's like Sagitarius, but with some different consonants.

 

[Helmet]

Here's an easier way: it's like Sagitarius, but with some different consonants.

That's how I was pronouncing it originally, but Blackrat's posts indicatad that the As are wrong. They need to rhyme with bay, not bag, if I'm understanding him correctly.

 

[Alzrius]

My natural inclination is to pronounce it "vah-jin-AIR-ee-us."

I understand that the Latin pronunciation may be different, but that doesn't necessarily correlate to an English reading.