Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!wugate!uunet!convex!tchrist@convex.COM From: tchrist@convex.COM (Tom Christiansen) Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards Subject: Re: Pronunciations (was: And how do you pronounce "csh"?) Message-ID: <2375@convex.UUCP> Date: 25 Oct 89 13:53:02 GMT References: <929@uakari.primate.wisc.edu> <4305@csd4.csd.uwm.edu> <3598@frame.UUCP> <440@nixba.UUCP> Sender: news@convex.UUCP Reply-To: tchrist@convex.COM (Tom Christiansen) Organization: CONVEX Software Development, Richardson, TX Lines: 55 In article <440@nixba.UUCP> mike@nixba.UUCP (Mike Lyons) writes: |[ I'm already wearing my flame-retardant suit for this one... :-) ] | |As you can see from my header, I work here in Germany. I'm always debating |with my colleagues over what the "correct" pronunciation for various UNIX |things are. Here's a short list of the way some things are said here, and I'd |like some feedback (e-mail of course!! :-) on what the One True Pronunciation |for each item is: There must be a better group for this. If I could think of it, I'd put a followup line there. Oh well, here goes. My basic tendency, and those of most (although not all) around me is to say the UNIXism in the easiest possible way, that is, with the fewest syllables. Thus I nearly never spell out a command I could otherwise pronounce. The first three in Mike's list are some of these. Yes, and that means I say "vye" as well, but tough noogies. Paul Dubois and I just share that distinctive Madisonian accent. It's true that this introduces an ambiguity with "ex" and "X11", but context always seems sufficient to differentiate them. That said, on the list... | sed = ess - e - dee nope, just "sed", as in "joe said". | ed = e - dee ditto, just "ed", as in "mr. ed, the talking horse". | awk = a - w - k again, just "awk", like "auks", the northern diving birds. | ioctl = i - o control i've always sais "i - octal", but i've heard others say "i - o - cuddle", which sounds nice and warm but takes 4 syllables. | fcntl = f - control agreed. | strrchr = stir - recker this we pronounce "rindex". :-) | tty = t - t - y yes, or "titty", which can be fun. | uucico = you - you - kee - ko agreed. | HUPCL = hoop - sell got be handing. what's that? | mkdir = m - k - dir no -- 'makedir'. | mknod = m - k - node no -- 'makenode' or others: 'makenod'. | pg = p - g again, we pronounce this "less". :-) --tom Tom Christiansen {uunet,uiucdcs,sun}!convex!tchrist Convex Computer Corporation tchrist@convex.COM "EMACS belongs in : Editor too big!"