Poll: Sequel or S-Q-L? • Hacker News Board

Re: Poll: Sequel or S-Q-L?

#81

Post by ojbyrne » Mon, Sep 13, 2010, 6:59 PM UTC

P-N-G vs "ping" is another one I've heard recently.

Re: Poll: Sequel or S-Q-L?

#82

Post by smallegan » Mon, Sep 13, 2010, 7:15 PM UTC

Sequel for the same reason I say Nasa and not N-A-S-A or Scuba not S-C-U-B-A.

Re: Poll: Sequel or S-Q-L?

#83

Post by Scriptor » Mon, Sep 13, 2010, 7:21 PM UTC

smallegan wrote: post #82

Sequel for the same reason I say Nasa and not N-A-S-A or Scuba not S-C-U-B-A.

But by the same logic, USA is pronounced "yousa", URL is "uhrl", and HN is "hun".

Re: Poll: Sequel or S-Q-L?

#84

Post by gojomo » Mon, Sep 13, 2010, 7:30 PM UTC

I think "yew-are-ell" and "earl" for URL are similar: both are in wide use, with the figurative/fewer-syllables variant gaining over time.

Re: Poll: Sequel or S-Q-L?

#85

Post by sabat » Mon, Sep 13, 2010, 7:31 PM UTC

lusis wrote: post #39

sabat wrote: post #23

Like Leenoox vs. Lih-nux vs. Lie-nux, or v-i vs. "vigh" (rhymes with "high"), it's just preference. There is no clearly "correct" pronunciation. However, the first "a" in Nevada is like the "a" in "cab". That's not negotiable. ;-)

Ummm. There absolutly is a correct pronunciation for Linux. Any person who's been involved with it for more than 10 years will remember the AIFF file floating around: "My name is Leenus Torvalds and I pronounce Leenux, Leenux" And while there's some slack on how to pronounce SQL (because of the origins (QUEL from Stonebraker and then the whole SEQUEL/SQL issue), it's understandable and acceptable that people could pr…

I would say that you're absolutely right: "Hello, this is Leee-nooos Torvalds, and I pronounce Linux as 'Leee-noox'."

However: most English-speakers, Americans in particular, are not going to adopt Linus' accent when pronouncing the name -- although, as I said, I completely agree with that logic. There is no logical justification I've ever heard for the pronunciation of Linux as "Lih-nux".

On the other hand: it doesn't matter how you pronounce it. It's just a name. We have more important problems to solve! :-)

Re: Poll: Sequel or S-Q-L?

#86

Post by gojomo » Mon, Sep 13, 2010, 7:33 PM UTC

castis wrote: post #53

seiji wrote: post #35

Do you say "URL" as "You are ell" or as "Earl?"

I have some odd sort of deep seeded hatred for people who pronounce that as "Earl".

If you're talking about URLs all the time, 'earl' saves a lot of time/syllables.

Re: Poll: Sequel or S-Q-L?

#87

Post by sigzero » Mon, Sep 13, 2010, 7:33 PM UTC

randallsquared wrote: post #47

drv wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm pretty sure PostgreSQL is intended to be pronounced "post-gress-q-l", given its relationship to Ingres ("in-gress").

I usually pronounce PostgreSQL "post-greh-see-quel", though sometimes I use the pronunciation you give, just as sometimes I pronounce MySQL as "my-s-q-l". Partly it depends on the conversation, since I tend to fall into whatever the other person is calling it.

They used to have a sound bite on the Pg site. They do not pronounce it that way. They pronounce it...ah here you go:

http://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/FAQ#What_is_PostgreSQL.3F_Ho...

Re: Poll: Sequel or S-Q-L?

#88

Post by sabat » Mon, Sep 13, 2010, 7:34 PM UTC

lr wrote: post #51

sabat wrote: post #23

Like Leenoox vs. Lih-nux vs. Lie-nux, or v-i vs. "vigh" (rhymes with "high"), it's just preference. There is no clearly "correct" pronunciation. However, the first "a" in Nevada is like the "a" in "cab". That's not negotiable. ;-)

Unless you live in Nevada, IA, where the first "a" is pronounced like the letter A. :-)

LOL, who knew?!

Re: Poll: Sequel or S-Q-L?

#89

Post by lusis » Mon, Sep 13, 2010, 7:36 PM UTC

sabat wrote: post #85

lusis wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ummm. There absolutly is a correct pronunciation for Linux. Any person who's been involved with it for more than 10 years will remember the AIFF file floating around: "My name is Leenus Torvalds and I pronounce Leenux, Leenux" And while there's some slack on how to pronounce SQL (because of the origins (QUEL from Stonebraker and then the whole SEQUEL/SQL issue), it's understandable and acceptable that people could pr…

I would say that you're absolutely right: "Hello, this is Leee-nooos Torvalds, and I pronounce Linux as 'Leee-noox'." However: most English-speakers, Americans in particular, are not going to adopt Linus' accent when pronouncing the name -- although, as I said, I completely agree with that logic. There is no logical justification I've ever heard for the pronunciation of Linux as "Lih-nux". On the other hand: it doesn…

Actually, no. this is the most important problem I have to solve today ;) Thanks for not taking it too personal heh

Re: Poll: Sequel or S-Q-L?

#90

Post by Legion » Mon, Sep 13, 2010, 7:36 PM UTC

S-Q-L without question.

* It works in all contexts ("sequel" gets clunky with names like PostgreSQL)

* It's not some aircraft company's trademark

* MySQL officially states their product's name is My S-Q-L (though they don't mind MySequel, but it's not the real name)

* Unlike "ARP" or "BIOS", "SQL" doesn't map to just one pronunciation. "Squeal", "Squirrel", and others are just as "valid" as "Sequel". Frankly, if I had never heard of SQL/Sequel and you put those three letters in front of me and made me pronounce them, "Squeal" is probably what I'd go with.