313 lines
10 KiB
HTML
313 lines
10 KiB
HTML
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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN">
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<META NAME="generator" CONTENT="lgazmail v1.3E.e">
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<TITLE>The Answer Gang 58: question</TITLE>
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<H1><A NAME="answer">
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<img src="../../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" alt="(?)"
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border="0" align="middle">
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<font color="#B03060">The Answer Gang</font>
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<img src="../../gx/dennis/bbubble.gif" alt="(!)"
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border="0" align="middle">
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</A></H1>
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<BR>
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<H4>By James T. Dennis,
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<a href="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com">linux-questions-only@ssc.com</a><BR>
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LinuxCare,
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<A HREF="http://www.linuxcare.com/">http://www.linuxcare.com/</A>
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</H4>
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</center>
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<p><hr><p>
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<H3 align="left"><img src="../../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif"
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height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
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>question</H3>
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<p><strong>From Lady Wistfulee on Wed, 6 Sep 2000
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</strong></p>
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<p align="right">Answered by:
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Mike Orr, Heather Stern, Dan Wilder, Don Marti
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</p>
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<!-- begin 4 -->
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</BLOCKQUOTE>
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<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
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HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
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>
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I know this is a very newbie question, but a link to your URL came up in the
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HTML Writers' Guild List today & from the looks of your site, you MUST be
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experts on Linux & I "should" be able to get a straight answer from a
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"definitive" source.
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</STRONG></P>
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<P><STRONG>
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How the heck does one pronounce "Linux"? I have heard "line-ux" & "len-ux".
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Which is it??
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</STRONG></P>
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<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
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HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
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> [Mike Orr]
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There are at least three common pronunciations, and none are
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authoritative. Because Linus is an ethnic Swede from Finland, he
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pronounces it with a short "ee" sound we don't have in English.
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Some people pronounce it "Line-ix" like the English version of Linus.
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Others pronounce it "linnix", trying to imitate the Swedish.
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</BLOCKQUOTE>
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<BLOCKQUOTE>
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(The last vowel, being unstressed, can sound like a short i, short u,
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or schwa, as is normal rules of English.)
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</BLOCKQUOTE>
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<BLOCKQUOTE>
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Now that Linus has been in the US a few years, he's starting to adopt
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an American pronunciation. When I saw him speak at LinuxWorld in 98,
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he pronounced his name "Line-us" and his OS "linnix". Even when he
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used both in the same sentance.
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</BLOCKQUOTE>
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<BLOCKQUOTE>
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However, he has said he doesn't care how people pronounce it. He just
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wants people to use it.
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</BLOCKQUOTE>
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<BLOCKQUOTE>
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Mike Orr, Editor, Linux Gazette
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</BLOCKQUOTE>
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<!-- sig -->
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<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
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HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
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>
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Please settle this if you can, I have two "gurus" arguing over it & they
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have me completely confused.
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</strong></p>
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<p><strong>
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Thank you.
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</strong></p>
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<p><strong>
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C<EFBFBD>line Kapiolani
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<br><em>"He who asks is a fool for 5 minutes.
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<br>He who doesn't ask remains a fool forever."</em>
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</strong></p>
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<!-- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -->
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<HR WIDTH="40%" ALIGN="center">
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<p><em>Please, let us <strong>definitively</strong> argue over it...
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This is the point where everyone chimes in.</em></p>
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<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
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HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
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> [Heather]
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A reasonable case could be made for the 3 following:
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<dl>
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<dt>
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line-ux
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<dd>per English standard rules for the spelling.
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<dt>lin-ix
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<dd>rhymes with "minix" which it was designed to resemble
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</dl></blockquote>
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<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
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HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
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> [Mike Orr]
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I forgot about this. Yes, that was the original reason Linux was
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pronounced that way in 1991. Minix was a Unix-like operating system
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that ran on PCs (XTs in those days), which Linux was based on.
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</BLOCKQUOTE>
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<BLOCKQUOTE>
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I have long disliked this pronunciation (linnix) because I don't see
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why Linux should be tied down to the name of an OS that is inferior,
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not free, and practically ceased to be used by 1993 or so.
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</BLOCKQUOTE>
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<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
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HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
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> [Heather]
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<dl>
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<dt>lin-ooks
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<dd>rhymes with Linus, its core man but by no means its only programmer,
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even for the kernel.
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</dl>
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</BLOCKQUOTE>
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<BLOCKQUOTE>
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There is a definitive soundbite record by Linux Torvalds, available from
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kernel.org:
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<A HREF="http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/SillySounds"
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>http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/SillySounds</A>
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</BLOCKQUOTE>
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<BLOCKQUOTE>
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It's available in either English or Swedish, and he says "My name is Linus
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Torvalds, and I pronounce Linux, Linux." Thus it's also definitive for
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how his own name is pronounced. Some of the major distributions also come
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with a .wav of the sound, as a sample.
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</BLOCKQUOTE>
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<BLOCKQUOTE>
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Hope this made Linux a little more fun!
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</BLOCKQUOTE>
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<BLOCKQUOTE>
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* Heather Stern *
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</BLOCKQUOTE>
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<!-- sig -->
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<p><em>Around the same time...</em></p>
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<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
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HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
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> [Dan Marti]
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Linus' reluctance to
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be the pronounciation police (quite consistent with his pragmatic
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character), and his move to the US and subsequent inconsistencies in
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his own pronounciation.
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</blockquote>
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<BLOCKQUOTE>
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When I met him, he introduced himself as LINE-us. And in his talks,
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he says LIN-ucks (last I heard anyway.)
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</BLOCKQUOTE>
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<BLOCKQUOTE>
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The "Hello this is LEE-nus Torvalds, and I pronounce LEE-nucks as
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LEE-nucks" (as heard on the old .au file) does not match current
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practice.
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</BLOCKQUOTE>
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<!-- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -->
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<HR WIDTH="40%" ALIGN="center">
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<p><em>And...</em></p>
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<p><strong>
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Dear Mike,
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<br>This morning I received an email in response to the email I sent yesterday:
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</strong></p>
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<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
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HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
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> [Dan Wilder]
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If you can play an .au file:
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<blockquote>
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<code>
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<A HREF="http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/SillySounds/english.au"
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>http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/SillySounds/english.au</A>
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</code>
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</blockquote>
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Has Linus Torvalds himself explaining how to pronounce "linux".
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<br>And the answer is, "lee-nooks".
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<br>The nearest common English is "li-nucks"
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<br>with a short "i". It certainly isn't "line-ux" with a long "i"
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or "len-ux" like the water heater manufacturer, either!
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</BLOCKQUOTE>
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<!-- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -->
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<HR WIDTH="40%" ALIGN="center">
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<p><em>Summing up... </em></p>
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<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
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HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
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> [Mike Orr]
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I should tread lightly here because Dan's my boss
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<IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=":)"
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height="24" width="20" align="middle">, but this sound
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was recorded many years ago, around 1992 or 93, and a lot has happened
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since then. For instance, the entire period of Linux ascendancy,
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the loud debates about how to pronounce Linux, Linus' reluctance to
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be the pronounciation police (quite consistent with his pragmatic
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character), and his move to the US and subsequent inconsistencies in
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his own pronounciation.
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</BLOCKQUOTE>
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<BLOCKQUOTE>
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After 1 1/2 years of working at a company that officially pronounces it
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"linnix", I've been half browbeaten into submission. Now I end up
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saying "line-ux" and "linnix" inconsistently in the same sentance. For
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instance, "This month's Linnix Journal has an article about Line-ix
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sound drivers."
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</BLOCKQUOTE>
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<!-- sig -->
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<!-- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -->
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<HR WIDTH="40%" ALIGN="center">
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<p><em>...but she says it best herself.</em></p>
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<p><strong><IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
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HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
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>Now I am still confused...but at least no one truly cares how it is
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pronounced, so all is well & good.
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</strong></p>
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<p><strong>
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Thanks for your quick response!
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<br>much alohas,
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<br>C<EFBFBD>line Kapiolani
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</strong></p>
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<p><strong><em>
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"You have the right to remain silent.
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Anything you say will be misquoted, then used against you."
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</em></strong></p>
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<!-- sig -->
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<!-- end 4 -->
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<!--startcut ======================================================= -->
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<P> <hr> </p>
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<H5 align="center"><a href="http://www.linuxgazette.com/copying.html"
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>Copyright ©</a> 2000, James T. Dennis
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<BR>Published in the <I>Linux Gazette</I> Issue 58 October 2000</H5>
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<H6 ALIGN="center">HTML transformation by
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<A HREF="mailto:star@tuxtops.com">Heather Stern</a> of
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Tuxtops, Inc.,
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<A HREF="http://www.tuxtops.com/">http://www.tuxtops.com/</A>
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</H6>
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<P> <hr>
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<table width="100%" border="0"><tr>
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<td align="right" valign="center"
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><IMG ALT="" SRC="../../gx/navbar/left.jpg"
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WIDTH="14" HEIGHT="45" BORDER="0" ALIGN="middle" border="0">
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<A HREF="../lg_answer58.html"
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><IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/answertoc.jpg" align="middle"
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ALT="[ Answer Guy Current Index ]" border="0"></A></td>
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<td align="center" valign="center"><A HREF="../lg_answer58.html#greeting"><img align="middle"
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src="../../gx/dennis/smily.gif" alt="greetings" border="0"></A>
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<A HREF="1.html">1</A>
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<A HREF="2.html">2</A>
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<A HREF="3.html">3</A>
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<A HREF="4.html">4</A>
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<A HREF="5.html">5</A>
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<A HREF="6.html">6</A>
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<A HREF="7.html">7</A></td>
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<td align="left" valign="center"><A HREF="../../tag/kb.html"
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><IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/answerpast.jpg" align="middle"
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ALT="[ Index of Past Answers ]" border="0"></A>
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