Newsgroups: comp.os.linux
Path: sparky!uunet!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!
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From: npn...@solomon.technet.sg (Ng Pheng Siong)
Subject: How to pronounce "Linux"?
Message-ID: <1992Apr23.044317.3916@nuscc.nus.sg>
Sender: use...@nuscc.nus.sg
Organization: National University of Singapore
Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1992 04:43:17 GMT
Lines: 10
I apologize if this is considered trivial, but what is the
proper pronunciation for "Linux"?
Li lee or lie?
Nux nuks or nerks? Nooks?
Anyone?
PhengSiong
Singapore (Which schools teach English not American.)
Path: sparky!uunet!mcsun!news.funet.fi!hydra!klaava!torvalds
From: torva...@klaava.Helsinki.FI (Linus Benedict Torvalds)
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux
Subject: Re: How to pronounce "Linux"?
Message-ID: <1992Apr23.123216.22024@klaava.Helsinki.FI>
Date: 23 Apr 92 12:32:16 GMT
References: <1992Apr23.044317.3916@nuscc.nus.sg>
Organization: University of Helsinki
Lines: 25
In article <1992Apr23.044317.3...@nuscc.nus.sg> npn...@solomon.technet.sg
(Ng Pheng Siong) writes:
>I apologize if this is considered trivial, but what is the
>proper pronunciation for "Linux"?
>
>Li lee or lie?
>Nux nuks or nerks? Nooks?
Oh god. We just hashed this through on alt.os.linux. It /definitely/
needs to go into the FAQ.
'li' is pronounced with a short [ee] sound: compare prInt, mInImal etc.
'nux' is also short, non-diphtong, like in pUt. It's partly due to
minix: linux was just my working name for the thing, and as I wrote it
to replace minix on my system, the result is what it is... linus' minix
became linux.
I originally intended it to be called freax (although buggix was one
contender after I got fed up with some of the more persistent bugs :)
and I think the kernel makefiles up to version 0.11 had something to
that effect ("Makefile for the freax kernel" in a comment). But arl
called the linux directory at nic.funet.fi pub/OS/Linux, and the name
stuck. Maybe just as well: freax doesn't sound too good either (freax
is obviosly free + freak + the obligatory -x).
Linus