Is binomial nomenclature only used in western countries?

Question

I need to know for my GCSE coursework on Carl Linnaeus...

The internet throws up a load or rubbish for me... maybe i'm searching the wrong phrase.

What do you think?

Thankyou!

Rach

Answer 1

If you mean the roman practice  of using a family name and personal name to identify the individual, this practice was largely a western habit until mid to late 19th century.  The practice has spread into the middle east. But even in the west we have mostly a trinomial rather than a binomial norm in many countries.

The practice of putting the family name last is peculiarly western.

But to get into botany, or biology in general Google "binomial nomenclature Carl Linnaeus"

His use of this system has gone world wide among scientists, but it is used by non scientists more in the west.

Answer 2

No. It designed to be understood everywhere. That's why the names are in Latin, because it's a dead language and meanings of words aren't changing like they do in a living language.

Answer 3

Scientific names are designed to provide a universal common language for scientists.  Ideally there should be no confusion as to exactly what species you are referring to—in any language—when using binomial nomenclature.  If you look at random Wikipedia entries in different languages, even if you don't understand them, you can see that they use the same names we do:

黄色ブドウ球菌（おうしょくぶどうきゅうきん、Staphylococcus aureus）とは、ヒトや動物の皮膚、消化管(腸)常在菌(腸内細菌)であるブドウ...

Золотистий стафілокок (Staphylococcus aureus) — кулеподібна грам-позитивна бактерія роду стафілокок. Відкрита в 1880 році Александром Огстоном, вперше описана в 1884 році Оттомаром Розенбахом.

אריה (שם מדעי: Panthera leo), מין טורף גדול מהסוג פנתר שבמשפחת החתוליים, והשני בגודלו במשפחה זו לאחר הטיגריס. פרוותו בגווני חום - צהוב, והוא נפוץ בעיקר ביבשת אפריקה אך גם באסיה.  

Answer 4

It is the international standard for the names of organisms. Every language has common names for many species, but the Latin binomial names are the only standard understood everywhere.

Answer 5

No, it is used amongst scientists worldwide in an effort to standardize names and follow rules that are helpful in classification by name. Although not perfectly standardized and there are instances where confusion exists it is far more uniform in comparison with common names which vary widely sometimes even between regions in the same country at times.