# Megalodon should be pronounced similar to iguanodon and pteranodon **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 24, 2025, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megalodon-should-be-pronounced-similar-to-iguanodon-and-pteranodon/1014745 "2025-02-24T20:02:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megalodon-should-be-pronounced-similar-to-iguanodon-and-pteranodon/1014745/21 "2025-02-25T13:27:13Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > It _looks_ like the “ph” glyph for the “f” sound, but that’s a common mistake. Elephino… [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/dhUL1Afir_w/maxresdefault.jpg "Muppets Tonight - Pepe and Seymour's Elephino Joke (BEST QUALITY, AUDIO, AND JOKE EVER)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhUL1Afir_w) ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megalodon-should-be-pronounced-similar-to-iguanodon-and-pteranodon/1014745/22 "2025-02-25T13:50:20Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > 14 posts in and as far as I can tell the OP has yet to explicitly state the pronunciation they prefer. > > They’ve talked around the pronunciation, made comparisons to other words, but skipped the actual punchline. Which should have been in the OP. Yeah, that. I’m confused. I have however pronounced all three of those words (due to a kid with a massive dinosaur fixation) and I’m not feeling any disconsonance. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megalodon-should-be-pronounced-similar-to-iguanodon-and-pteranodon/1014745/23 "2025-02-25T14:43:19Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > My version of the OP’s complaint is the word “Quixotic”. > > It’s pronounced kwĭk-sŏt′ĭk, and seems wrong to me. Dude’s name was Don Key-ho-tay, which, to my ear, means we should pronounce it key-ho-tic. But I’m not a Spanish speaker. This is one of my personal crusades. I insist that it should be pronounced Kee-hoh-tic, not Kwix-oh-tic. The “correct” pronunciation only makes sense if you follow the British fashion of pronouncing names as they would be if they followed the usual english-language pronunciation rules. In the US, which has Spanish place names all over the place (like La Jolla – pronounced “La Hoya”-- this makes no sense. I similarly refuse to pronounced “primer”, meaning a beginning reader’s book, as if it were spelled “primmer”. Not only do we pronounce “primer” with a long “I” when we’re taking about a painting pre-coat, but the term clearly is associated with “prime”, being a first book. And our usual pronunciation rules would imply a long “I”. So I will willfully mispronounce “Quixotic” and “Primer” and other words that appear incorrect in an effort to change the norms. It’s gotta start somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megalodon-should-be-pronounced-similar-to-iguanodon-and-pteranodon/1014745/24 "2025-02-25T16:09:53Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > So I will willfully mispronounce “Quixotic” and “Primer” and other words that appear incorrect in an effort to change the norms. It’s gotta start somewhere. Kind of meta, right? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megalodon-should-be-pronounced-similar-to-iguanodon-and-pteranodon/1014745/25 "2025-02-25T16:17:17Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Kind of meta, right? Quixotic, actually. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megalodon-should-be-pronounced-similar-to-iguanodon-and-pteranodon/1014745/26 "2025-02-25T16:22:04Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > Tig-Watty, or T’-_gwat_-y? I prefer Tig Watty, the other sounds like a Klingon name. > [@TriPolar](#): > > Kind of meta, right? “MEE ta”? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megalodon-should-be-pronounced-similar-to-iguanodon-and-pteranodon/1014745/27 "2025-02-25T16:57:31Z")
Another word – **impious** I have to admit that I’ve never heard this one used in the way disapprove of. I was surprised to read that the accepted American pronunciation is IM-pee-us, which seems calculated to confuse the unfamiliar about the meaning and root of the word. In this case, I agree with the British pronunciation: im-PIE-us, dammit. > **[How to pronounce IMPIOUS in English](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/pronunciation/english/impious)** > > How to pronounce IMPIOUS. How to say IMPIOUS. Listen to the audio pronunciation in the Cambridge English Dictionary. Learn more. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megalodon-should-be-pronounced-similar-to-iguanodon-and-pteranodon/1014745/28 "2025-02-25T17:00:54Z")
I still struggle with “epitome”, which I pronounce like a book: EPPY tome. If they wanted “e PIT o mee” they could have spelt it “epitomy”. (I am serious. It’s a stupid spelling.) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megalodon-should-be-pronounced-similar-to-iguanodon-and-pteranodon/1014745/29 "2025-02-25T18:23:12Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > (I am serious. It’s a stupid spelling.) How about Synecdoche? ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megalodon-should-be-pronounced-similar-to-iguanodon-and-pteranodon/1014745/30 "2025-02-25T18:27:28Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I was surprised to read that the accepted American pronunciation is IM-pee-us Wait, what? I have never heard anybody pronounce it that way. Does anybody actually say it that way? ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megalodon-should-be-pronounced-similar-to-iguanodon-and-pteranodon/1014745/31 "2025-02-25T18:29:12Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I was surprised to read that the accepted American pronunciation is IM-pee-us, which seems calculated to confuse the unfamiliar about the meaning and root of the word. Huh? impious: IM-pee-us pious: PEE-us piety: PEE-it-ty They match perfectly. Of course, I also say EE-ther, not EYE-ther. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megalodon-should-be-pronounced-similar-to-iguanodon-and-pteranodon/1014745/32 "2025-02-25T18:32:43Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I insist that it should be pronounced Kee-hoh-tic, not Kwix-oh-tic. There is no Spanish word “quixotic”, it’s a word coined by English speakers. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megalodon-should-be-pronounced-similar-to-iguanodon-and-pteranodon/1014745/33 "2025-02-25T18:34:18Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > How about Synecdoche? ♫ Toe bone synecdoche foot bone Foot bone synecdoche heel bone Heel bone synecdoche ankle bone Ankle bone synecdoche leg bone Leg bone synecdoche knee bone Knee bone synecdoche thigh bone … ♫ ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megalodon-should-be-pronounced-similar-to-iguanodon-and-pteranodon/1014745/34 "2025-02-25T18:34:46Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > IM-pee-us If I heard someone say that out loud, I think I’d think they were discussing someone acting in the manner of an imp, but who didn’t want to say “_real_ imp-like”, like some old timey western guy. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megalodon-should-be-pronounced-similar-to-iguanodon-and-pteranodon/1014745/35 "2025-02-25T18:36:36Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > t **ough** thr **ough** c **ough** b **ough** d **ough** ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megalodon-should-be-pronounced-similar-to-iguanodon-and-pteranodon/1014745/36 "2025-02-25T18:37:45Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > pious: PEE-us What in the what? > **[Definition of PIOUS](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pious)** > > marked by or showing reverence for deity and devotion to divine worship; marked by conspicuous religiosity; sacred or devotional as distinct from the profane or secular : religious… See the full definition Click to hear the pronunciation. Pi-ous, as in “Pi is 3.1415…” ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megalodon-should-be-pronounced-similar-to-iguanodon-and-pteranodon/1014745/37 "2025-02-25T19:20:38Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > How about Synecdoche? I actually am not sure how to pronounce that! For years I thought it was “Sigh-ny doch”. If someone would be so kind… ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megalodon-should-be-pronounced-similar-to-iguanodon-and-pteranodon/1014745/38 "2025-02-25T20:04:24Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > Wait, what? I have never heard anybody pronounce it that way. Does anybody actually say it that way? Yeah, that’s the way I learned it, and that’s how I say it. But then, I also learned “primmer” and “quix-otic”. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megalodon-should-be-pronounced-similar-to-iguanodon-and-pteranodon/1014745/39 "2025-02-25T20:08:30Z")
Patterns in English are not rules. They’re barely even suggestions. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megalodon-should-be-pronounced-similar-to-iguanodon-and-pteranodon/1014745/40 "2025-02-25T20:23:16Z")
If you consider English as compared with, say, Latin or Greek, it’s sort of amazing that it works at all. A hodgepodge mix of a bit of vestigial inflections, positional information and mangled loanwords. Any computer language standards committee would reject it immediately. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megalodon-should-be-pronounced-similar-to-iguanodon-and-pteranodon/1014745.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megalodon-should-be-pronounced-similar-to-iguanodon-and-pteranodon/1014745.md?page=3)