myers@hpfcdj.HP.COM (Bob Myers) (09/12/90)
>What is the accepted standard pronunciation of the prefix "giga"? Is >it jig'@ or gig'@? Both are in use, but I believe that "jiga" is regarded as the more "correct." Bob Myers KC0EW HP Graphics Tech. Div.| Opinions expressed here are not Ft. Collins, Colorado | those of my employer or any other myers@fc.hp.com | sentient life-form on this planet.
pjt@cpac.washington.edu (Larry Setlow) (09/12/90)
In article <4474@qip.UUCP> john@qip.UUCP (John Moore) writes:
In the computer biz, I have always heard the term pronounced Giga.
My father, a EE professor, insists it is pronounced "jiga" - apparently
in the radar world where he works, that is the normal pronounciaiion.
That's interesting; in the radar world where I work, I (and everybody
I've asked over the years) haven't heard more than two people use the
soft g. Which is to say, everybody I've encountered in the radar
profession (whatever the hell that's supposed to mean) pronounces it
'giga'.myers@hpfcdj.HP.COM (Bob Myers) (09/13/90)
>Not to incite a flame war over trivial stuff, of course. The "accepted >standard pronunciation" is another question entirely... :^) God, no! We've already got one going just because some poor soul piped up and asked a perfectly innocent question about what "superheterodyne" meant! :-) Bob M.
commgrp@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (BACS Data Communications Group) (09/13/90)
In article <29352@netnews.upenn.edu> depolo@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Jeff DePolo) writes: >What is the accepted standard pronunciation of the prefix "giga"? Is >it jig'@ or gig'@? Maybe it depends on the rest of the word, e.g., JigaJoule, GigaGauss... (Has anyone ever made a gigagauss? Bet it would be dangerous!) Giga caught on before Hertz. First time I heard the term "jigacycle" I thought of a Harley Hog with garish accessories. :-) :-) -- Frank Reid W9MKV reid@ucs.indiana.edu "Hams do it 'til their Gigahertz."
asmith@acorn.co.uk (Andy Smith) (09/13/90)
In article <17660104@hpfcdj.HP.COM> myers@hpfcdj.HP.COM (Bob Myers) writes: >>What is the accepted standard pronunciation of the prefix "giga"? Is >>it jig'@ or gig'@? > >Both are in use, but I believe that "jiga" is regarded as the more "correct." > In the Oxford English dictionary Giga is the only correct version, Jiga is not even listed (Jigger is a no. 4 golf club). "America and England are two countries seperated by a common language." T. Hardy. Andy
markz@ssc.UUCP (Mark Zenier) (09/14/90)
In article <29352@netnews.upenn.edu>, depolo@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Jeff DePolo) writes: > > What is the accepted standard pronunciation of the prefix "giga"? Is > it jig'@ or gig'@? The dictionary says Ji'g@ with jig'@ as secondary. (ji rhymes with sigh). markz@ssc.uucp
edw@cbnewsc.att.com (Edwin.D.Windes@ATT.COM) (09/14/90)
In article <3104@acorn.co.uk>, asmith@acorn.co.uk (Andy Smith) writes: >>>What is the accepted standard pronunciation of the prefix "giga"? Is >>>it jig'@ or gig'@? ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ >>Both are in use, but I believe that "jiga" is regarded as the more >>"correct." >In the Oxford English dictionary Giga is the only correct version, >Jiga is not even listed (Jigger is a no. 4 golf club). "giga- \`jig-@, `gig-@\ _comb_form_ [ISV, fr. Gk _gigas_ giant]: billion <gigaton><gigivolt>"
rick@ofa123.fidonet.org (Rick Ellis) (09/14/90)
On <Sep 10 14:44> Jeff DePolo writes:
JD> Is it jig'@ or gig'@?
I have NEVER heard it as jig'@.
--
Rick Ellis
Internet: rick@ofa123.fidonet.org
--------------------------------------------------------------------------myers@hpfcdj.HP.COM (Bob Myers) (09/14/90)
>>Both are in use, but I believe that "jiga" is regarded as the more "correct." >In the Oxford English dictionary Giga is the only correct version, Jiga is >not even listed (Jigger is a no. 4 golf club). Uh, Andy, I was talking *pronunciation*, not spelling! Bob Myers | "Creative thinking may simply mean the realization that myers@fc.hp.com | there's no particular virtue in doing things the way | they have always been done." - Rudolph Flesch
depolo@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Jeff DePolo) (09/14/90)
In article <226@ssc.UUCP> markz@ssc.UUCP (Mark Zenier) writes: >The dictionary says Ji'g@ with jig'@ as secondary. >(ji rhymes with sigh). ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I hope that was a mistake. j-eye-guh? -- -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Jeff DePolo N3HBZ Twisted Pair: (215) 386-7199 depolo@eniac.seas.upenn.edu RF: 146.685- 442.70+ 144.455s (Philadelphia) University of Pennsylvania Carrier Pigeon: 420 S. 42nd St. Phila PA 19104
brad@optilink.UUCP (Brad Yearwood) (09/15/90)
Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary in its pronunciation for the
entry "giga-" shows \'jig-@, 'gig-@\. Their Guide to Pronunciation
states:
Variant pronunciations are separated by commas... The order of variants
does not mean that the first is in any way preferable to or more acceptable
than the others. ... If evidence reveals that a particular variant is used
more frequently than another, the former will be given first. ... In many
cases the numerical distribution of variants is equal but one of them, of
course, must be printed first.
This dictionary indicates that "giga-" is derived from the Greek, without
having passed through old French or Latin (as "giant" has). Greek, to my
knowledge, has no "j" sound, so "jiga-" is a pronunciation not very faithful
to the nearest origin of the word. But it is a pronunciation natural at first
sight for an English speaker more familiar with "giant" than with words closer
to the Greek. The dictionary records "jiga-" because people use it, and not
because it is in some sense either superior or (as I believe) inferior.
Brad Yearwood {uunet, pyramid}!optilink!brad Petaluma, Californiadon@zl2tnm.gp.govt.nz (Don Stokes) (09/15/90)
edw@cbnewsc.att.com (Edwin.D.Windes@ATT.COM) writes: > In article <3104@acorn.co.uk>, asmith@acorn.co.uk (Andy Smith) writes: > >>>What is the accepted standard pronunciation of the prefix "giga"? Is > >>>it jig'@ or gig'@? > > >In the Oxford English dictionary Giga is the only correct version, > >Jiga is not even listed (Jigger is a no. 4 golf club). > > "giga- \`jig-@, `gig-@\ _comb_form_ [ISV, fr. Gk _gigas_ giant]: > billion <gigaton><gigivolt>" To put my tuppence worth in, the New Zealand Pocket Oxford states: *giga* /`gig@, `gaig@/ _prefix_ one thousand million. [Gk (GIANT)] I have never heard the soft G form of the prefix in NZ. Here, there's no confusion 8-). Note also the absence of the term "billion" in the definition -- although the North American use of the term meaning a thousand million has pretty much superseded the "correct" usage of the term meaning a million million. (To be fair, the N.A. usage is more useful in everyday conversation, but I prefer to use the term "thousand million" to avoid ambiguity.) Don Stokes, ZL2TNM / / Home: don@zl2tnm.gp.govt.nz Systems Programmer /GP/ Government Printing Office Work: don@gp.govt.nz __________________/ /__Wellington, New Zealand_____or:_PSI%(5301)47000028::DON
markz@ssc.UUCP (Mark Zenier) (09/16/90)
In article <29560@netnews.upenn.edu>, depolo@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Jeff DePolo) writes: > In article <226@ssc.UUCP> markz@ssc.UUCP (Mark Zenier) writes: > >The dictionary says Ji'g@ with jig'@ as secondary. > >(ji rhymes with sigh). > I hope that was a mistake. j-eye-guh? Like the I in Ice. (I've never heard it that way either, but that's what Random House says.) markz@ssc.uucp