hibiscus

[Tdol]

Originally Posted by hibiscus

Good idea, tdol, that you'll check with a keen gardener! or maybe a horticulturist?

I just rang my mother, who is a keen gardener and fascinated by language. She said that she would use the short 'i', as would her friends, but she has heard the pronunciation that rhymes with 'cry', so it is in use, but probably not that common among gardeners. There are plants where pronunciation is divded, like 'clematis', but she says that she mostly hears the short 'i', so it is probably the majority that use the short sound in the UK.

PS, The SOED (Shorter Oxford English Dictionary) only give the short sound. So, it would appear likely that the other sound is used by a minority of BrE speakers.

[Avalon]

can´t these dictionaries reach a consensus?I swear that mine says it´s "hai" as in cry, hibiscus found both to be listed, tdol found "hi"...

[Ouisch]

Originally Posted by Janaina Volker

can´t these dictionaries reach a consensus?I swear that mine says it´s "hai" as in cry, hibiscus found both to be listed, tdol found "hi"...

Plant tulips instead. Problem solved!

[hibiscus]

I'd love to have tuplips...you mean 'tulips'? The problem is the weather. Tulips grow well in cold climates, like in Springtime in Holland, England...Canada .
But I'm in the tropics and hibiscus is one of the most beautiful flowers here.

Most Malaysians would pronounce 'hy or 'hai' biscus. I've asked around, and all said 'hai' biscus. So, maybe we've learnt it all wrong those past decades eversince English came into use here?!

Which ever pronunciation, I would suppose, all here agree to the usage of both.
No one's wrong, right? It's just usage. I wouldn't insist on 'hai' and those who pronounce it as 'i' , that's alright too. So, my son's teacher shouldn't insist that on the students.

thanks tdol, Janaina , Ouisch

[Ouisch]

Tulips, right. Didn't notice my typo at first, sorry.

I don't know a lot about different types of flowers, although I do love to look at them when they're in full bloom. I'm in the Midwest US, and tulips grow here in the Spring, they're usually one of the first flowers to start sprouting once Winter has ended. It's one of the few flowers I can identify on sight, along with roses and lilies. (I'm not much of a gardener/)