Sunday, April 11, 2010

How to Pronounce Linux


Ever wonder how to pronounce Linux? Ever wonder why so many people pronounce it differently? Well, you can stop wondering.

There are three common pronunciations of Linux. All three are quite acceptable, because everyone knows what is being talked about when you use any of them, and that's all that is important. However, if you are wondering what truly is the "proper" way, it will be explained here.

The only proper pronunciation is the one used by Linus Torvalds himself. The name Linux is a derivative of his name, and thus is pronounced like his name. Linus pronounces his name "Lee-noos", so Linux is properly pronounced "Lee-nooks".

A linguistically acceptable pronunciation is based on the Anglicized pronunciation of Linus, which is "Lie-nus". Hence, an acceptable Anglicized pronunciation of Linux is "Lie-nuks".

However, there is a third common pronunciation of Linux, which is "Lin-icks" (or sometimes "Lin-ucks"). This pronunciation has no basis as a linguistic derivative. It does, however, sound more like "Unix", which is probably the reason it came about.

In the end, it is irrelevant. You say to-mah-to, I say to-may-to. Who cares? Either way,

. How you pronounce Linux is far less important than whether you use it or not!...








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