Live data from Hacker News

Common pronunciations of Linux directories, commands, etc. (2017)

linux.org

11–20 of 266 posts

Re: Common pronunciations of Linux directories, commands, etc. (2017)

#12
post #6

> chmod: as one syllable.. rhymes with 'nod' This is easy to do for many? In my experience, Anglo-Saxons can seldom pronounce “ GNU ” in one syllable, but they can this?

Yup. It’s /shmod/!

That's... two syllables.

Re: Common pronunciations of Linux directories, commands, etc. (2017)

#17
post #14
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's... two syllables.

It isn’t. There’s no vowel sound between sh and m. Think schmear. Onset: shm. Nucleus: o. Coda: d. One syllable.

Forgive me, but I don't understand how you can pronounce it as one syllable. I would have to pronounce /shmod/ as either /sh-mod/ or /shm-od/, making it two syllables. I'm happy to be corrected, I just physically can't understand how to pronounce it as one syllable.

Re: Common pronunciations of Linux directories, commands, etc. (2017)

#18
post #10

> chmod: as one syllable.. rhymes with 'nod' This is easy to do for many? In my experience, Anglo-Saxons can seldom pronounce “ GNU ” in one syllable, but they can this?

I have no idea how to pronounce this as one syllable, it's always been che-mod to me. Chown is one syllable though, I agree there.

I refuse to break my tongue and just say change-mod. But I have heard other variations. Chown on the other seems straight forward as one syllable.

Re: Common pronunciations of Linux directories, commands, etc. (2017)

#19
post #7

To me etc is pronounced "etch".

Heh, that was the only one I disagreed with too, but I always spell it out e-t-c

For me it’s less etsy and more et-cee; the sound may be the same but the second is clearly E T C with the first two elided.

Re: Common pronunciations of Linux directories, commands, etc. (2017)

#20
post #15
post #3

I’ve never heard anyone say “F stab” for fstab.

I say f-stab in my head, but F S tab to others.

I do the same. I also say et cetera in my head but E T C to other people, and soo dough in my head but soo do to others.

I wonder how many other people code-switch in this way to try make themselves better understood, when actually we would still understand one another if we just used our internal pronunciation?

Post reply on HN