Ubantoo (name spelling reform suggestion)

[ZankerH]

I feel that the name, "Ubuntu", should be re-spelt in order to appeal to the wider market. Here's my justification:

-It feels like too foreign a word, unless you happen to speak African-American.
-In the majority of European languages (English included), it's not pronounced the same way as it is in African-American, therefore, can lead to name and brand confusion when used in spoken language, as opposed to written media.
-If spelt "Ubantoo", it would comply perfectly with the pronunciation rules of the English languages and some others.
-Many potential users I've spoken to find the name, along with the default African-American themed look, downright revolting.

Therefore, I suggest the name be spelt as "Ubantoo", which addresses all of the above points besides the default look, which can be changed easily.

Ubantoo - Time for Change! Yes we can!

[chris4585]

umm.. no

[KiwiNZ]

This Distro is not just for the English speaking

No need for a change

[ZankerH]

This Distro is not just for the English speaking

No need for a change


Please, compare the list of languages in which "Ubuntu" is pronounced the same way it is in African-American, to the list of those in which it is not.

[ddarsow]

That, my dear sir, is a most preposterous assertion.
LOL

[KiwiNZ]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu_(philosophy)

also from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu

Ubuntu (IPA: [uːˈbuːntuː] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA) in English,[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu#cite_note-1) [ùɓúntú] in Zulu (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zulu_language)) is a free (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gratis) computer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer) operating system (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operating_system) based on Debian GNU/Linux (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debian_GNU/Linux). Its name comes from the Zulu (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zulu_language) word "ubuntu (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/en:ubuntu)", loosely translated as "humanity", describing the ubuntu philosophy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu_%28philosophy%29): "I am who I am because of those around me," a positive aspect of community (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community). Ubuntu's goals include providing an up-to-date, stable operating system for the average user (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_%28computing%29), with a strong focus on usability (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usability) and ease of installation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Installation). Ubuntu has been rated as the most popular Linux distribution (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_distribution) for the desktop, claiming approximately 30% of desktop Linux installations in a survey by desktoplinux.com.[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu#cite_note-Market_Survey_2007-2)

[/URL]

[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu#cite_note-Market_Survey_2007-2"] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu#cite_note-Market_Survey_2007-2)

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu#cite_note-Market_Survey_2007-2)

[joninkrakow]

In Polish, it's pronounced "oo BOON too". To my ear, "ubantoo" sounds rather odd. Furthermore, the name and colors have nothing to do with African Americans, but rather come from South Africa. And the colors are human colors, not just "African American" as you claim. Since Canonical is a South African company, I highly doubt they would ever listen to your advice, nor should they, IMO...

-Jon

[heikole]

And, honestly, wouldn't be Ubantoo way too close to Gentoo? You know, one is intended for the n00b, the other for the l33t. That might confuse daring users in the end ;)

[Pasto]

I feel that the name, "Ubuntu", should be re-spelt in order to appeal to the wider market. Here's my justification:

-It feels like too foreign a word, unless you happen to speak African-American.
-In the majority of European languages (English included), it's not pronounced the same way as it is in African-American, therefore, can lead to name and brand confusion when used in spoken language, as opposed to written media.
-If spelt "Ubantoo", it would comply perfectly with the pronunciation rules of the English languages and some others.
-Many potential users I've spoken to find the name, along with the default African-American themed look, downright revolting.

Therefore, I suggest the name be spelt as "Ubantoo", which addresses all of the above points besides the default look, which can be changed easily.

Ubantoo - Time for Change! Yes we can!

Disagree.

"Ubuntu" sounds perfect in spanish, which is one of the three most spoken languages in the world.

[tuxsheadache]

*shakes head*
Ubuntu is good for me.

[Kingsley]

I feel that the name, "Ubuntu", should be re-spelt in order to appeal to the wider market. Here's my justification:

-It feels like too foreign a word, unless you happen to speak African-American.

I stopped reading after that.

[solitaire]

In Polish, it's pronounced "oo BOON too". To my ear, "ubantoo" sounds rather odd.
...
...
...
-Jon

I agree

In Scotland I pronounce it the same way! Oo-boon-tu the other way sounds a bit off to my ear...

to each to their own i guess :D

[kevin11951]

I stopped reading after that.

yes, that was a little... um... you get the idea.

[namegame]

unless you happen to speak African-American.

This shows your ignorance on the subject. As far as I know "African-American" isn't a language. It could be argued that an African-American dialect of English exists, but it's hardly a separate language.

[tuxsheadache]

Permission to point out:

What does Ubuntu mean?

Ubuntu is an African word meaning 'Humanity to others', or 'I am what I am because of who we all are'. The Ubuntu distribution brings the spirit of Ubuntu to the software world.

At the bottom off http://www.ubuntu.com/products/whatisubuntu

If you are going to try and sound clever, some research is needed. I recommend the said subjects website would be a good suggestion, just my opinion though..

[-grubby]

I didn't know African American was a language. Also, why would you want to change the spelling? It'd be a completely different word then

[K.Mandla]

Weird thread. Not particularly enthused with it.

I'm putting this one with all the other discussions about pronunciation, spelling or naming that occassionally reappear.

[pp.]

Ubuntu is an existing word which has a meaning while the proposed string is not and has not.
There aren't any Linux distributions that I am aware of which sound the same in every language or even in the most frequently spoken languages.
Ubuntu appears to be the distro with the most rapidly growing user base. Changing the brand at this point in time is not sound marketing.

[Giant Speck]

Yes. Let's change Ubuntu to Ubantoo because that is how you think it is pronounced.

Next, we can change Los Angeles to Las Anjelis, Earth to Urth, and Antarctica to Antartica. You know, because it's phonetic to us English-speakers.

And to add to the languages where Ubuntu is pronounced as it's spelled: Russian. (у-бун-ту)

[mdsmedia]

I pronounce it "oo-bun-too" ...How does your oo-ban-too...or however you think it should be pronounced....make any sense at all.

My pronunciation may not be in line with the Zulu pronunciation, which I believe is something like oo-boon-too, but it's closer than what I think the OP's is.

[transmition]

I agree with the proposition to change the spelling, as many people pronounce ubuntu incorrectly. Although I think we should only change the spelling so that it is phonetic.

So instead of ubuntu, we change it to ooboontoo. (or something along those lines.)

[fballem]

When I worked in London, I used to have a lot of fun editing my colleagues documents for consumption at the Canadian head-office. I had to change 'amongst' to 'among' and 'whilst' to 'while'. I had forgotten about 'spelt' and other terms that should (to my ear) end in 'ed' not 't'.

English has, as one of its strengths, the ability to absorb words from other languages and make it ours as well. Whether it's 'pyjamas', 'kimonos', or 'resumé', we manage to absorb many words into our language and not corrupt them too much. Ubuntu as a word is a wonderful addition to our lexicon.

It doesn't seem to matter to most that it is pronounced differently in different places. Apparently one of the ways that a Canadian can be distinguished from an American is in the pronunciation of certain words, such as 'about' and 'roof'.

Besides, do you really see Mark changing the brand name. I wouldn't in his shoes, and I don't think anyone else really wants to either.

[jeyaganesh]

Windows, Sony, Samsung, Hyundai, Canon, Nikon, Ikea, Mercedes, Ferrari, Nokia, Google.... these are all sounds foreign word to people around the world. Yet these names are familiar and known through out the world.

Ubuntu is a good name. It wont affect this distro.

[bgs100]

Man, ubuntu isn't just the name of the OS. It's the name of the philosophy.
If you think it looks to African-American, change the theme.
Plus, "Ubantoo"? Really, man, come on. I think you could do better than that
KiwiNZ (administrator)
This Distro is not just for the English speaking

No need for a change
heikole
And, honestly, wouldn't be Ubantoo way too close to Gentoo? You know, one is intended for the n00b, the other for the l33t. That might confuse daring users in the end
Please, listen to the administartors and heikole. "Ubuntu" is fine the way it is.

[cardinals_fan]

I sincerely hope this was a joke thread. Talking about people "speaking african-american" is incredibly disturbing.

[tuxsheadache]

I sincerely hope this was a joke thread. Talking about people "speaking african-american" is incredibly disturbing.

I agree.
Can we close this thread since the matter of changing the name for sake of mispronunciation is hardly a reason to change a whole operating system name?
Considering half the publicity for the OS is done on the Internet the phonetics seems pretty irrelevant, and will only lead to conversations of which language is most dominant, while the name and it's meaning seem perfect as it is.

[lisati]

In Polish, it's pronounced "oo BOON too". To my ear, "ubantoo" sounds rather odd. Furthermore, the name and colors have nothing to do with African Americans, but rather come from South Africa. And the colors are human colors, not just "African American" as you claim. Since Canonical is a South African company, I highly doubt they would ever listen to your advice, nor should they, IMO...

-Jon
With my ear accustomed to Polynesian pronunciation, my inclination is towards something like the "oo BOON too" idea.
Even allowing for regional variations, our English spelling doesn't always reflect the "correct" pronunciation of a word.

Get this: the Samoan word "pisupo" (corned beef/bully beef), when correctly pronounced, sounds a bit like "pea soup, oh". This probably reflects its origins in the days when English-speaking missionaries opened the tins of pea soup, and eventually the word got applied to "bully beef" (heaps of fat, don't tell my cardiologist)

[Giant Speck]

Ubantoo sounds odd to me, and I'm assuming that I'm from the same country as the OP.

I pronounce it u-bun-too, where the first two "u"s sound like the u in put.

[dizzy1kenobi]

OK, that's enough. You all know you have better things to do.

[lisati]

OK, that's enough. You all know you have better things to do.

You're right - it's nearly time to get dinner ready. Now where did I put the pisupo (http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=6155343&postcount=27)?

[Ozor Mox]

I agree that the name should be changed, but not to what the OP is proposing. I think the name 'Ooooobooooonnntoooooo' more clearly expresses the pronunciation required to get the word right.

[Mr. Picklesworth]

I think the more important question at this point is:
When did Africa move 4000km to the west? That is, since when do Africans live in "America"? You don't exist in some parallel universe do you?

On another topic, I have always thought the word Ubuntu looks really attractive in our alphabet. It isn't 100% symmetrical (which would be super cheesey), but it has a very smooth, rounded and even appearance. Everything about it is quite beautiful :)

[Tomatz]

I feel that the name, "Ubuntu", should be re-spelt in order to appeal to the wider market. Here's my justification:

-It feels like too foreign a word, unless you happen to speak African-American.
-In the majority of European languages (English included), it's not pronounced the same way as it is in African-American, therefore, can lead to name and brand confusion when used in spoken language, as opposed to written media.
-If spelt "Ubantoo", it would comply perfectly with the pronunciation rules of the English languages and some others.
-Many potential users I've spoken to find the name, along with the default African-American themed look, downright revolting.

Therefore, I suggest the name be spelt as "Ubantoo", which addresses all of the above points besides the default look, which can be changed easily.

Ubantoo - Time for Change! Yes we can!

Think of all the other brands we have than aren't pronounced the way they are spelt in English...

SEAT (car manifacturer) pronounced say-at

Nestle pronounced ness-lay

Peugot pronounced Per-show (kind of lol)

Renault pronounced ren-oh


Mark thread as SOLVED please :lolflag:

[2Perfect]

Without looking for the actual pronunciation, my initial thought was Ubuntu can either be "oo-BOON-too" or "YOU-boon-too". Nothing close "oo-BAN-too".

Although one of my friends saw me booting up Ubuntu and they read it as "oo-BAN-too", so you might have a point.

In any case, I think it's too late for a name change. Ubuntu is good, as it has meaning.

[bapoumba]

The thread has been reported several times. I'm closing it for now, and for Staff review.

Edit: the thread will remain closed.