The subject of pronouncing scientific jargon came up more than once today. Perhaps it was just coincidence, but it started me thinking--especially one student's comment that indicated in no uncertain terms that she thought one instructor was an idiot for not knowing how to say a particular scientific term. I don't agree with her assessment because of one caveat: the instructor's field of specialization was not the same as the field from which the term came from. Would you completely dismiss someone because he was a chemist who didn't know how to pronounce an obscure physics term or a psychologist flubbing the enunciation of some genetics vocab? It's like a non-native speaker's attempt at English--sure, they're going to make mistakes because they're not familiar with all the nuances. But they'll learn--and that's sufficient reason for not getting angry or annoyed because they don't have things down the first time around.
