CLEMatiS, cleMAHtis, cleMAYtis

[sagehen]

>I grew up in Utah saying cle MA tus ("a" as in "hat").
> I also learned pee O nee instead of PEE @ nee for
>peony.
>
 ~~~~~~~~~
It could be that these instances of retarding the accent on plant common
names that are closely derived from the Latin, are simply using the rules
for Latin pronunciation taught in American schools.
I once heard a prescriptively-inclined Brit lamenting the deplorable
vulgarization of the language represented by the tendency to move the
accent away from the first syllable.  His view was that Yankees were
particular sinners in this respect.  (On the other hand, *he* said
"laBORatry" while *we* were still saying "LABratory.")
A. Murie

A&M Murie
N. Bangor NY
sagehen at westelcom.com