bin@primate.wisc.edu (Brain in Neutral) (10/21/89)
Ok, ok, ok, you can stop the flood of mail now. Little did I realize what I hornet's nest I would stir up. Anyway, my mail indicates that vee-eye is indeed the more prevalent pronounciation, over vye (as in "curl up and die for pronouncing vi that way" :-). There appears to be some evidence that there are regional preferences, though of course the notorious mobility of computer professionals would tend to mitigate that a bit. A number of people pointed out that the vi manual says vee-eye is correct. Actually, I've known that for over a decade, and have known it since shortly after I heard of vi, having dug out the manual and read it cover-to-cover. Since everyone I knew said vye (this included instructors, computer lab personnel, etc.), I guess I imprinted to that pronounciation. A few made scurrilous and brazen attacks, impugning the intelligence and/or wizard-ness of those wizards I know who pronounce vi as vye. I suppose this makes them feel big. Whoopie. Paul DuBois dubois@primate.wisc.edu
swirsky@olivee.olivetti.com (Robert Swirsky) (10/24/89)
> A number of people pointed out that the vi manual says vee-eye is correct.
Perhaps a better way to tell a wizard is from the way he/she pronounces
"gigabyte." If a person pronounces it with a *soft* "g" (as in gigantic)
that person knows what he/she's talking about.
Every dictionary in the universe says that a soft g is preferred/correct.ok@cs.mu.oz.au (Richard O'Keefe) (10/24/89)
In article <49631@oliveb.olivetti.com>, swirsky@olivee.olivetti.com (Robert Swirsky) writes: [says that wizards pronounce "gigabyte" with a soft g"] > Every dictionary in the universe says that a soft g is preferred/correct. The Concise Oxford says that both hard and soft are allowed. Never occurred to me that gamma-iota-gamma-alpha might come across with a soft g; must keep an ear out for it and maybe I'll hear it some day.
ahl@saussure.technix.oz.au (Tony Landells) (10/24/89)
In article <49631@oliveb.olivetti.com> swirsky@olivee.olivetti.com (Robert Swirsky) writes:
Perhaps a better way to tell a wizard is from the way he/she pronounces
"gigabyte." If a person pronounces it with a *soft* "g" (as in gigantic)
that person knows what he/she's talking about.
Every dictionary in the universe says that a soft g is preferred/correct.
Except the Oxford, which says that not only may the g be soft or hard,
but the 'i' may be either as in 'bite' or as in 'bit'. I love people
making REALLY exorbitant claims :-]
Tony.blm@6sigma.UUCP (Brian Matthews) (10/25/89)
In article <49631@oliveb.olivetti.com> swirsky@olivee.olivetti.com (Robert Swirsky) writes: |> A number of people pointed out that the vi manual says vee-eye is correct. |Perhaps a better way to tell a wizard is from the way he/she pronounces |"gigabyte." If a person pronounces it with a *soft* "g" (as in gigantic) |that person knows what he/she's talking about. |Every dictionary in the universe says that a soft g is preferred/correct. Actually, my Alpha Centauran dictionary says it's pronounced [&@)-3#~y, but then what do those Alpha Centaurans know anyways? :-) -- Brian L. Matthews blm@6sigma.UUCP
shankar@hpclscu.HP.COM (Shankar Unni) (10/25/89)
> Perhaps a better way to tell a wizard is from the way he/she pronounces > "gigabyte." If a person pronounces it with a *soft* "g" (as in gigantic) > that person knows what he/she's talking about. > > Every dictionary in the universe says that a soft g is preferred/correct. Nope. Both hard and soft are listed as acceptable pronunciations. The hard "g" is far more prevalent in my opinion. I don't know how many wizards *you* know: most of the ones *I* know say it with a hard "g". Did you learn your pronunciation from a computer, by any chance? ----- Shankar.
ath@prosys.se (Anders Thulin) (10/25/89)
In article <49631@oliveb.olivetti.com> swirsky@olivee.olivetti.com (Robert Swirsky) writes: >Perhaps a better way to tell a wizard is from the way he/she pronounces >"gigabyte." If a person pronounces it with a *soft* "g" (as in gigantic) >that person knows what he/she's talking about. > >Every dictionary in the universe says that a soft g is preferred/correct. Utterly irrelevant to computer wizardry, of course: ``There is something to be said for retaining the hard sound of the g even before e, i, and y, in such Greek-derived words as are not in popular but only in learned, technichal, or literary use. To those who know some Greek the sound of '-oji' in pedagogy or 'jeri-' in geriatrics or 'jini-' in gynaecology either obscures the meaning, which they would catch with the aid of the hard g, or, if they happen to be prepared for it and so do not miss the meaning, is still repulsive. To those who do not know Greek the sound of the words is immaterial, and they might allow the other party the indulgence of a harmless pedantry that affects after all but a few words. [ ... ]'' Fowler: A Dictionary of Modern English Usage: Article 'Greek g'. -- Anders Thulin, Programsystem AB, Teknikringen 2A, S-583 30 Linkoping, Sweden ath@prosys.se {uunet,mcvax}!sunic!prosys!ath
maujt@warwick.ac.uk (Richard J Cox) (10/25/89)
In article <2511@munnari.oz.au> ok@cs.mu.oz.au (Richard O'Keefe) writes: >In article <49631@oliveb.olivetti.com>, swirsky@olivee.olivetti.com (Robert Swirsky) writes: >[says that wizards pronounce "gigabyte" with a soft g"] >> Every dictionary in the universe says that a soft g is preferred/correct. > >The Concise Oxford says that both hard and soft are allowed. > >Never occurred to me that gamma-iota-gamma-alpha might come across with a >soft g; must keep an ear out for it and maybe I'll hear it some day. The Colins English (2nd ed) says hard g, as in 'gig'. - RC /*------------------------------------------------+-------------------------*/ JANET: maujt@uk.ac.warwick.cu |"I want it all, and I ARPA: maujt@cu.warwick.ac.uk | want it now" UUCP: ...!mcvax!ukc!warwick!maujt | ~ Queen BITNET: maujt%uk.ac.warwick.cu@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk | /*------------------------------------------------+-------------------------*/ Richard Cox, Undergrad, Applied Maths, University Of Warwick, Coventry, UK
pjh@mccc.uucp (Pete Holsberg) (10/26/89)
In article <2511@munnari.oz.au> ok@cs.mu.oz.au (Richard O'Keefe) writes: =In article <49631@oliveb.olivetti.com>, swirsky@olivee.olivetti.com (Robert Swirsky) writes: =[says that wizards pronounce "gigabyte" with a soft g"] => Every dictionary in the universe says that a soft g is preferred/correct. = =The Concise Oxford says that both hard and soft are allowed. A related question is on pronounciation of the "i". Is it "eye" or "ee"? I.e., jee-ga or jeye-ga, pee-co or peye-co?? -- Pete Holsberg UUCP: {...!rutgers!}princeton!mccc!pjh Mercer College CompuServe: 70240,334 1200 Old Trenton Road GEnie: PJHOLSBERG Trenton, NJ 08690 Voice: 1-609-586-4800
fyl@ssc.UUCP (Phil Hughes) (10/26/89)
In article <929@uakari.primate.wisc.edu>, bin@primate.wisc.edu (Brain in Neutral) writes: > Ok, ok, ok, you can stop the flood of mail now. > Little did I realize what I hornet's nest I would stir up. > > Anyway, my mail indicates that vee-eye is indeed the more prevalent > pronounciation, over vye (as in "curl up and die for pronouncing vi that > way" :-). There appears to be some evidence that there are regional Actually, we commonly receive a much worse pronunciation. We sell references and tutorials for vi and it is quite common for a buyer to call us to place an order. They generally ask for a "6" reference. This is a dead giveaway that we won't be able to talk them into some other products. Or, that they are Roman. :-) -- Phil Hughes, SSC, Inc. P.O. Box 55549, Seattle, WA 98155 (206)FOR-UNIX amc-gw!ssc!fyl or uunet!pilchuck!ssc!fyl or attmail!ssc!fyl
swirsky@olivee.olivetti.com (Robert Swirsky) (10/28/89)
In article <291@orchid.warwick.ac.uk> maujt@warwick.ac.uk (Richard J Cox) writes: >>Never occurred to me that gamma-iota-gamma-alpha might come across with a >>soft g; must keep an ear out for it and maybe I'll hear it some day. > Flame, flame, flame. I'll think of you next time I see something "gigantic" or perhaps when I dance the "gigue." How do *you* pronounce "gigolo" or "gigot?" Anyway, there's only one pronunciation in all my American dictionaries for "gigas" which clearly has the same root as "gigabyte." This only proves one thing: I'm just a Unix jock and not a wizard. Let's get back to business....
bill@twwells.com (T. William Wells) (10/28/89)
In article <49631@oliveb.olivetti.com> swirsky@olivee.olivetti.com (Robert Swirsky) writes:
: > A number of people pointed out that the vi manual says vee-eye is correct.
:
: Perhaps a better way to tell a wizard is from the way he/she pronounces
: "gigabyte." If a person pronounces it with a *soft* "g" (as in gigantic)
: that person knows what he/she's talking about.
:
: Every dictionary in the universe says that a soft g is preferred/correct.
Not true. Webster's Ninth Collegiate says that the giga- prefix
is pronounced both ways.
---
Bill { uunet | novavax | ankh | sunvice } !twwells!bill
bill@twwells.comsanders@sanders.austin.ibm.com (Tony Sanders) (10/31/89)
>Actually, we commonly receive a much worse pronunciation. We sell >references and tutorials for vi and it is quite common for a buyer to >call us to place an order. They generally ask for a "6" reference. If vi were to be pronounced 6, then one must pronounce rm, 86 :-) Shame on me, but for a joke I created these alias a long time ago just so I could confuse people :-) fortune: Command not found. -- sanders