How do you pronounce GNU?

[Eisenwinter]

I pronounce it as the letters "G-N-U", or Gee Enn You, even though according to wikipedia and the GNU website it's pronounced as "Ga-nu".

How do you pronounce it?

[SonnHalter]

the right way
"ga-nu"

[RiceMonster]

Gaa-noo

[Grez]

Isn't it pronounced "noo" like the animal?

source: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/gnu

[Chemical Imbalance]

When I'm reading it I pronounce it "new" in my head.

If I was to say it out loud, it would be "guh-new".

[RiceMonster]

Isn't it pronounced "noo" like the animal?

source: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/gnu

That's the animal, not the GNU project.

[mynameinc]

I pronounce it as an abbreviation; I pronounce the animal's common name as 'noo', rhyming with 'moo'.

[spoons]

Goo-noo.

[dragos240]

I always pronounce it guh-new.

[Pogeymanz]

Since RMS pronounces it ga-noo, that's it.

[wojox]

ga-noo

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/En-gnu.ogg

[Bölvaður]

g'nue and g'nooo (supposed to sound the same)

[JillSwift]

"Frrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeddddddddddoooooooooooommmmmmm mmmmm" a-la Mel Gibson in "Braveheart".

Unless I don't feel like being embarrassed, then it's "Guh-noo".

[heroidi]

I spell it GNU just like it's written i spell it like reading it in albanian just GNU you know like RMS spells it.

[HermanAB]

Actually, a Gnu was a (now extinct) South African Wild Beast from the Western Cape region. The FSF Gnu logo is a pencil drawing of the beast. There are other similar wild beast still in South Africa, notably the Blue Wild Beast of which there are many thousands.

As for pronunciation, Gnu was a Koi (also now extinct!) word and was pronounced with a silent 'g', so the pronunciation should really be similar to 'knew', although the FSF has a different pronunciation guide.

If you are wondering, the Gnu were very tasty and were hunted to extinction by members of PETA (People Eating Tasty Animals). The Koi mostly died of small pox and influenza a few hundred years ago and the few remaining stragglers were assimilated into other groups.

[moster]

You speak letter by letter G-N-U. Three sounds from your mouth ;D

[The Toxic Mite]

I pronounce it the way it is spelt (G-N-U) :P

[Jimleko211]

It's an acronym so I pronounce it as G-N-U, whether RMS wants it like that or not.

[Grez]

That's the animal, not the GNU project.

Oh. I didn't realise.

:wink:

[gastly]

I pronounce it G-N-U...well, I thought it's pronounced like that until I read your post :P
But still, I'll stick with G-N-U :P

[Grez]

It's an acronym so I pronounce it as G-N-U, whether RMS wants it like that or not.

I thought the difference between acronyms and abbreviations was that with abbreviations, you said the letters individually such as:

GEC
BT
ABC
BBC

etc.

An acronym is pronounced like a word such as:

UNESCO
FIFA
NIMBY
SATA
RAM

etc.

[hobo14]

Same as the animal: g-noo, where the g is very light, almost silent.

[Grenage]

It's an acronym so I pronounce it as G-N-U, whether RMS wants it like that or not

Well said.


I thought the difference between acronyms and abbreviations was that with abbreviations, you said the letters individually such as...

Abbreviations are simply any cut-down words (not to be confused with contractions), GNU is an initialism/acronym. If it's an acronym, you pronounce it as a word; if it's an initialism, you pronounce it according to it's components: G-N-U.

In this case, I'd say it's an initialism, so Gee Enn Yuu (G N U). Others may see it as an acronym, so they'll pronounce it as a word. Either way, nobody is 'really' wrong.

[starcannon]

I wonder how RMS pronounces RMS?

Would it be:

phonetic: erms

or: Are-Emm-Ess

How many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop?

[Grenage]

To be honest I find both RMS and GNU uncomfortable at best to pronounce as acronyms, they're must easier as initialisms.

[Tipped OuT]

I think I'm the only one here that pronounces it "Geh-Noo". I don't know why. That's just what pops up in my mind first.

[jespdj]

There is only one right way to pronounce it: guh-NOO.

Richard Stallman explains in this video where he got the name from and how to pronounce it: http://jennycool.blip.tv/file/253835/

So, we can stop this poll right now... :rolleyes:

[lisati]

Actually, a Gnu was a (now extinct) South African Wild Beast from the Western Cape region. The FSF Gnu logo is a pencil drawing of the beast. There are other similar wild beast still in South Africa, notably the Blue Wild Beast of which there are many thousands.

As for pronunciation, Gnu was a Koi (also now extinct!) word and was pronounced with a silent 'g', so the pronunciation should really be similar to 'knew', although the FSF has a different pronunciation guide.

If you are wondering, the Gnu were very tasty and were hunted to extinction by members of PETA (People Eating Tasty Animals). The Koi mostly died of small pox and influenza a few hundred years ago and the few remaining stragglers were assimilated into other groups.

http://members.optushome.com.au/pennywyatt/Interests/FlandersSwann/DropOfaHat/At%20the%20Drop%20of%20a%20Hat04.html



p.s. Where I'm from, "new"/"knew" doesn't exactly rhyme with "noo", it's more like "nee-oo"

[perce]

Actually, a Gnu was a (now extinct) South African Wild Beast from the Western Cape region.


Are you sure? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnu

[Grez]

There is only one right way to pronounce it: guh-NOO.

Richard Stallman explains in this video where he got the name from and how to pronounce it: http://jennycool.blip.tv/file/253835/

So, we can stop this poll right now... :rolleyes:

But it's not about how Richard Stallman pronounces it, it's about how WE pronounce it.....

:D

[.Maleficus.]

the right way
"ga-nu"
.

Also the same pronunciation as GNU Snowboards (http://www.gnu.com/).

[Len Tyree]

it is pronounced gnu, just like it is written. some people have never been to a foreign country where the language is different than english.

there are words like gnu, and ng, and ngu. just pronounce them the way they are spelled.

i had a school friend, in the u.s., whose name was spelled bigo. and it was pronounced bigo. say it fast, it works.

len

[urosg3]

g'nue and g'nooo (supposed to sound the same)

Me too

[qamelian]

Actually, a Gnu was a (now extinct) South African Wild Beast from the Western Cape region. The FSF Gnu logo is a pencil drawing of the beast. There are other similar wild beast still in South Africa, notably the Blue Wild Beast of which there are many thousands.
Citation regarding their extinction? As near as I can tell, only the white-tailed gnu may be extinct in the wild but still exists in captivity. There are still many gnus surviving in captivity including one at the Cherry Brook Zoo in Saint John New Brunswick. Also, the brindled gnu still exists in the wild in herds of anywhere from 20 to several thousands.

[coldReactive]

G-N-U here.

[Sand & Mercury]

I know the "correct" pronunciation is 'guh-noo', but I always read it as an 'gee-en-you' in my mind. The same way I still pronounce 'GNOME' the way you do referring to the garden variety.

[Tipped OuT]

I know the "correct" pronunciation is 'guh-noo', but I always read it as an 'gee-en-you' in my mind. The same way I still pronounce 'GNOME' the way you do referring to the garden variety.

Well you got the GNOME pronunctiation right. :)

[Sand & Mercury]

Well you got the GNOME pronunctiation right. :)
I thought GNOME is supposed to be pronounced as 'Guh-nome'.

[Chemical Imbalance]

I take back my earlier pronunciation.

I have decided it's actually "hoo-kairz".

:)