Don’t *Ever* Argue Again About The Pronunciation Of Linux
By Daniel Miessler on December 5th, 2006: Tagged as Culture | Debate | Geek | Linux
A while back I did a whole thing about the pronunciation of Linux. I was right then, but here’s the absolute proof that people have been waiting for. All debates stop here:
VIDEO: Linus Ending The Debate On How “Linux” Is To Be Pronounced
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THANK YOU! I’ve been having this argument for years. Note: I was right! :-)
Comment by Kevin — 12/5/2006 @ 3:37 pm
Why should we listen to Linus? He’s got a Finnish accent.
I don’t pronounce “Microsoft” with an American accent just because the guys who started it are American, and I don’t pronounce “Linux” with a Finnish accent just because the guy who started it is Finnish.
Comment by Jim — 12/5/2006 @ 5:00 pm
Jim, the pronunciation debate centers around whether to use a short or long “i” sound. This is not affected significantly by accent.
Comment by SomeDude — 12/5/2006 @ 5:11 pm
I know how it is supposed to be pronounced, but I don’t care. I’ll pronounce it the way I like it: Li (as in Little) nux (as “nucks” in the word Canucks). You know, Canadians? It just rolls off my tongue, and it feels good. Nuts to Linus. This operating system doesn’t belong to him. That is whole idea behind it. We get to change anything we want.
Comment by John W. Redelfs — 12/5/2006 @ 7:52 pm
I’m happy with letting people mispronounce Linux as Li-Nucks. It helps quickly distinguish who knows what they’re talking about and who hasn’t got a clue.
Comment by Anonymous — 12/5/2006 @ 8:01 pm
Speaking of people who haven’t got a clue. The real question is whether the g is silent or not. Lignux or Li-GNUcks might be the question after that.
Comment by Anton — 12/5/2006 @ 9:26 pm
I’m sorry this was already in the linux FAQ, with .au sound file, in 1997, http://groups.google.com/group/comp.os.linux.misc/browse_thread/thread/b25a9c19cd18aa19/1900e16a481c22be?lnk=st&q=how to pronounce linux au&rnum=1&hl=en#1900e16a481c22be
Comment by John — 12/5/2006 @ 11:18 pm
Here is the tinyurl http://tinyurl.com/ygwq76
Comment by John — 12/5/2006 @ 11:19 pm
Except that’s its pronounced LYE-nux. I cite common usage, which is of far more importance.
Comment by Mithel — 12/5/2006 @ 11:54 pm
Some of you evidently haven’t watched the damn video [RTFA]. He says exactly how it should be pronounced by everyone; he doesn’t just describe how he says it. They are two different things.
This isn’t a nebulous issue regarding Finnish, Sweedish, English, accent, or no accent. There is an actual correct way (every single time) to say the word. This is true because he made the bloody word up himself.
Does this matter in the grand scheme of the universe? No. But I like using language correctly when possible, so it matters to me. If it matters to you as well then you have your answer. If it doesn’t matter to you then that’s fine too. Feel free to ignore the issue. ;)
Comment by Daniel Miessler — 12/6/2006 @ 3:11 am
Um, have you guys actually watched the video? He says Linux is always “Li (as in Little) nux (as “nucks” in the word Canucks)”.
Comment by Levi — 12/6/2006 @ 7:48 am
@Mithel: You cite common usage? Where do you live, canada? I work in the tech industry and everyone I know says it exactly like he does.
I’m also fairly sure none of them needed a video to show them how to pronounce it either.. I sure didn’t.. Interesting about his own name though =)
Comment by Nick — 12/7/2006 @ 9:10 am
I used to know some asshole that would correct me every time I mentioned linux. Turns out, I was pronouncing it right. Me:1 Asshole:0
I think I’m gonna e-mail him now.
Comment by dylan — 12/12/2006 @ 6:38 pm
[...] So I’m watching a PGP training video and the instructor busts out with “Oh Es Ex” (his way of saying OS X). This irks me. Maybe it shouldn’t, but it does. Some would argue that you can say it either way — that it’s a matter of preference. But I disagree. It’s OS X because the X is a roman numeral. [...]
Pingback by dmiessler.com | grep understanding knowledge — 1/11/2007 @ 6:36 am
http://suseroot.com/misc/torvalds-says-linux.wav
Funny thing is that Linus himself seems to change his mind… listen to him saying:
“Hello, this is Linus Torvalds and I pronounce “Linux” as “Linux”.
He pronounces his name AND Linux as: leenuks (li as in leeway, leeward).
P/.
Comment by Pieter — 6/1/2007 @ 7:16 am
Bill Gates would have us pronounce “Linux” as “Windows”!
So, instead of arguing over how Linux is pronounced, I simply loaded it onto my computer. It doesn’t mind what I call it, and it works wonderfully.
Imagine a world without Linux: rather like the early earth - unstable. Now that Linux exists the world has settled down. I may not be able to run Linux at work because of narrow minded IT people, but I am in bliss now that I have a stable OS that simply does not let me down.
Comment by LinuxUser — 6/22/2008 @ 11:34 pm