[aklug] on pronouncing 'Ubuntu' and other Linux distros

I had to look it up for myself, so I thought that I'd share. From

http://www.ubuntu.com/aboutus/faq:

[start of snippet]

*How do you pronounce Ubuntu?*

Ubuntu, an African word from Zulu and Xhosa, is pronounced "oo-BOON-too".

[end of snippet]

Note that it's definitely not 'oo-BUHN-too', the prevalent alternative.

That second long vowel does make it harder to say. In everyday usage,
short vowels usually win out over longer ones (cf. "LIHN-ux" vs. "LYE-nux").

Sometimes I imagine what it would sound like if a Jawa was saying it,
all high-pitched yet gutteral (like "u-tee-nee", but "ooo-boon-too"). :-)

Interestingly, lots of folks want to say DEEEEB-ian instead of DEHB-ian
(named after Ian and his then-girlfriend Debbie), which seems to violate
the 'short vowels always win' rule.

Some other quick ones:

CentOS: SENT-oss (as in "ostrich")
    http://centos.org/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=925&forum=18
MEPIS: MEHP-iss (as in "memphis" with extra characters removed)
    https://www.mepis.org/node/1272
SUSE: SUE-sah (in the German, anyway, but see discussion):
    http://suseroot.com/about-suse-linux/how-do-you-pronounce-suse.php
FreeBSD:
    Just kidding. :-)

We now return you to your regularly-scheduled geeking - and my lunch
break is over. :-)

Royce

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Received on Fri Nov 20 12:43:47 2009