Correct Pronunciation of 'Ubuntu"

[dniMretsaM]

Ok, quick question about the correct pronunciation (correct emphasis actually) of Ubuntu. Is it OO-boon-too or oo-BOON-too? When I first saw the word Ubuntu (a few months ago), I thought is was You-bin-too. Lol not even close.

[BlouBlou]

I knew it because I am spanish and "u" it's like "oo" in english :-)

[dniMretsaM]

I knew it because I am spanish and "u" it's like "oo" in english :-)

Cheater! :lolflag:

[grahammechanical]

So, it is the same as Li-noox. Yes? Oh, I give up. Pronunciations change from language to language. Or is that pronounciations? See, the mess that you are getting me into?

Regards.

[fballem]

Fading memory, but is there not a short video clip in the Examples folder of Nelson Mandela talking about ubuntu?

[Lucradia]

So, it is the same as Li-noox. Yes? Oh, I give up. Pronunciations change from language to language. Or is that pronounciations? See, the mess that you are getting me into?

Regards.

Nooks?

lol.

[timZZ]

I thought Ubuntu was a African word not a Spanish word.


Ubuntu (Zulu/Xhosa pronunciation: [ùɓúntʼú]; English: /ʊˈbʊntuː/ uu-BUUN-too) is an ethic or humanist philosophy focusing on people's allegiances and relations with each other. The word has its origin in the Bantu languages of southern Africa. Ubuntu is seen as a classical African concept.[1]

[Hyporeal]

The stress is on the second syllable. The first two vowel sounds are the sounds in "look" and "book", not the sounds in "boot" and "food", (and certainly not the sounds in "fun" and "run"). The last vowel sound is as is "boot" and "food".

[Dustin2128]

I pronounce it uh-buhn-too.

[krapp]

Likewise Debian/Dibian.

Language isn't the hacker's strong point.

Witness the outrage over Libre/Liber(!).

[dniMretsaM]

So, it is the same as Li-noox. Yes? Oh, I give up. Pronunciations change from language to language. Or is that pronounciations? See, the mess that you are getting me into?

Regards.

It's not Li-nooks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IfHm6R5le0

[Macskeeball]

Likewise Debian/Dibian.

Language isn't the hacker's strong point.

Witness the outrage over Libre/Liber(!).

It's "Deb" as in Debra and "ian" as in Ian Murdock, Debian's creator. Debra is his wife.
Source: About Debian (http://www.debian.org/intro/about#history)

[Lucradia]

It's "Deb" as in Debra and "ian" as in Ian Murdock, Debian's creator. Debra is his wife.
Source: About Debian (http://www.debian.org/intro/about#history)

Looks like De - bi - (schwa)n

[CraigPaleo]

oo-BOON-too

That's how I say it - with the accent on the second syllable.

[dniMretsaM]

It's "Deb" as in Debra and "ian" as in Ian Murdock, Debian's creator. Debra is his wife.
Source: About Debian (http://www.debian.org/intro/about#history)

That's interesting. I always pronounced it DAY-be-an.

[Macskeeball]

Looks like De - bi - (schwa)n

Oh, what the heck, I'll just say it (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3629205/debian.mp3).

[Melophonic]

There isn't supposed to be an emphasis on that word, it's supposed to be plain, but yeah the emphasis actually occurs on "bun". My pronunciation is the following: "oo-BOON-too" exactly like the OP. Funny, isn't it?

[Blasphemist]

So tell me about Gnome :)

[Gone fishing]

Living in southern Africa as I do

Dustin2128 is about right with
I pronounce it uh-buhn-too.

[Macskeeball]

Living in southern Africa as I do

Dustin2128 is about right with

Are you sure about the "uh" part, as in "I um.. err.. uh... I didn't do it! I swear!" Isn't it more of an "ooh" sound? Like this? (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3629205/ubuntu.mp3)

Here's what I found by Googling for ubuntu pronunciation: http://danielmiessler.com/blog/this-is-how-you-pronounce-ubuntu

[krapp]

That's interesting. I always pronounced it DAY-be-an.

See what I mean.

[dniMretsaM]

See what I mean.

Lol yeah. Pronunciation isn't my strong point anyway. I said DAY-be-an long before I knew it was a Linux distro.

[Macskeeball]

Well in your defense, "de" is pronounced "day" en español y otros idiomas (in Spanish and other languages). Maybe that's where you got that pronunciation from: people's names, etc. "de Luna," "de la Rosa," etc.

[cgroza]

I just read it like Latin, cause that it's how people should read in the first place.

[Rasa1111]

I say it like oo-boon-too. (the way I hear Afrikans say it)

Im always annoyed when I hear it said as "you-bun-too" (how I hear shuttleworth say it)
or "ooh-bun-too". lol

or worse yet...
You-ban-too or oo-ban-too. :lol:

Say how the creators of the word say it!

ooo-booon-too - ubuntu

[standingwave]

The way Nelson Mandela pronounces it (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGox0EKqiaE).

[Dustin2128]

Living in southern Africa as I do

Dustin2128 is about right with uh-buhn-too
Hooray, I win the thread! Where's my celebratory taco?

[fballem]

The way Nelson Mandela pronounces it (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGox0EKqiaE).

Thanks for finding this - I knew it existed. I'm not going to try and phonetically write it the way that Mr. Mandela pronounces it, but I don't think I'm going very far out on a limb to suggest that this is probably the correct way to pronounce the word, "ubuntu".

Thanks,

[krapp]

Well in your defense, "de" is pronounced "day" en español y otros idiomas (in Spanish and other languages). Maybe that's where you got that pronunciation from: people's names, etc. "de Luna," "de la Rosa," etc.

This is one of the greatest lies the American textbook industry has managed to foist upon unsuspecting middle schoolers. "De" in Spanish is not pronounced "day" nor is "Jose" pronounced "Ho-say". I have really no idea where they come up with this stuff, but I've seen it, and I'm not surprised to see it reiterated here.

[krapp]

Living in southern Africa as I do

Dustin2128 is about right with

I think by -buhn- he means "bun" as in hamburger buns. That sounds a lot more like a northern European accent than an African one.

[wewantutopia]

This is one of the greatest lies the American textbook industry has managed to foist upon unsuspecting middle schoolers. "De" in Spanish is not pronounced "day" nor is "Jose" pronounced "Ho-say". I have really no idea where they come up with this stuff, but I've seen it, and I'm not surprised to see it reiterated here.

What? That's how any Latino I've ever spoken to says it (here in Chicagoland and elsewhere). How are you suggesting it's pronounced?

[Macskeeball]

What? That's how any Latino I've ever spoken to says it (here in Chicagoland and elsewhere). How are you suggesting it's pronounced?

Agreed. The "d" sound is pronounced softer in Spanish and "j" is pronounced with a more guttural "h" sound, but other than that I find it a good enough written approximation.

I'm in the Houston area, and I've been told by many that I have have very good Spanish pronunciation. Here's a recording of me (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3629205/spanish-de_y_jose.mp3) saying "Hola, Raquel. De dondé es usted? Mi nombre no es José. Me llamo Pablo, de Tejas." What do you think krapp?

(Translation: "Hello, Rachel! Where are you from? My name isn't Jose. I'm Paul from Texas.")

[sffvba[e0rt]

At the end of the day, no matter your pronunciation, as long as the other person(s) receive your message and understands it communication was successful :)


404

[krapp]

I don't know if non-speakers have a hard time hearing it but look here if you don't believe me:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_phonology

[wewantutopia]

I don't know if non-speakers have a hard time hearing it but look here if you don't believe me:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_phonology

Perhaps the difference is between Spanish in Spain and in Central/South Americas?


At the end of the day, no matter your pronunciation, as long as the other person(s) receive your message and understands it communication was successful :smile:

404

This!!

[Swagman]

lol

When I see Jose I have to remind my self it's not Josie

In about year 2000 I used to pronounce Debian as Dee bee an until I learnt it was the name of the creator and his girlfriend. (reversed)

as for Ubuntu

oo Buhn 2

[krapp]

Perhaps the difference is between Spanish in Spain and in Central/South Americas?

Nope, vowels are vowels in this case, and pretty standard across the globe.

Oh and the other one that bugs me: Juan is very often (on national television for instance) pronounced as "wan".

[krapp]

lol

When I see Jose I have to remind my self it's not Josie

To be fair, Spanish is much more a part of American culture than of British. However, if you follow soccer at all you should ashamed of yourself!

[CraigPaleo]

What? That's how any Latino I've ever spoken to says it (here in Chicagoland and elsewhere). How are you suggesting it's pronounced?

"Day" is probably the best approximation we have in English but there is a slight diphthong there that isn't in the Spanish word "de."

[rich52x]

i pronounce it uh-buhn-too.

+1