Data

How do you pronounce it?

[webfoo]

I haven't been on WebmasterWorld in a while, but I had this nagging question I wanted to ask you all.

How do you pronounce the word "data"?

1) DAY-tuh (long A as in the word "day")
2) DAH-tuh (short A as in the word "apple")

I use the long A (#1 above). Microsoft Sam does also. The dictionary says it can be pronoucned either way.

I can't stand hearing the short A (#2 above). How do you pronounce it?

[BeeDeeDubbleU]

Funnilly enough I tend to pronounce it differently according to my mood. ;)

How do you pronounce "modem". Is it Mo dem as in the word more or mo dem as in the word model?

[phranque]

long a, webfoo.

bdw, interesting!
i use moe-dem.
both syllables are pronounced wrong since it is derived from its function as a modulator/demodulator, so it should be pronounced mahd-deem rather than moe-dehm.

even more geeky - how do you pronounce mysql?

[ronin]

My S..Q..L

But how do you pronounce Cuil?

[Old_Honky]

The correct English way to pronounce Data is in clipped 1940's Noel Coward like tones e.g. "Dah Tah"

Personally, I prefer the unconventional pronunciation "Aardvaark" :~)

[Demaestro]

Like in Star Trek Next Generation of course.

Day-tah

[lawman]

Ditto on TNG pronunciation.

[BeeDeeDubbleU]

My sequel.

mahd-deem

?
Do you call it a Mahdulator? ;)

[nicknick]

tomatoe

stussy

i use dar-ter (Republic of south africa ) ...

[Paul Bedford]

nicknick we at the bottom of Africa have strange ways of pronouncing a lot of things.

[rocknbil]

I can't stand hearing the short A

My top peeve is Ca-RIBB-ean. This is how most people pronounce it. It sounds so much more melodic pronounced car-ri-BBE-an.

My second peeve is "My sequel." Do we call SQL "Squell?" Haven't heard that one. Just say the letters. :-) My-S-Q-L.

I pronounce data DAY-ta.
Toe-MAY-toe.

[phranque]

Do you call it a Mahdulator?

that was intended to be a phonetic spelling.
i certainly don't call it a moe-dulator!

from [dev.mysql.com...]

The official way to pronounce “MySQL” is “My Ess Que Ell” (not “my sequel”), but we don't mind if you pronounce it as “my sequel” or in some other localized way.

but for some reason i hear people pronounce "SQL Server" mostly as "sequel server".

[rocknbil]

A thought about "DAH-ta:" Does anyone remember the art movement dada? The artistic movement that opposed everything that art represented at that time. It was a movement against anything ("If every instinct you've ever had is wrong, then surely the opposite must be correct." - Seinfeld) You say white, then surely I must argue black . . . Dah-ta reminds me too much of dada, which is ironic in that data is information, so Dah-ta much be a complete absence of information . . . :-)

[webfoo]

I pronounce "Caribbean" both ways. When it comes to the cruise line, it's "Royal Ca-rahb-EE-an" but in many other situations I say "Car-RIBB-ean".

It's most definitely ess-cue-ell, and for certain it's MOE-dem. Would someone look at you funny for saying "mahd-deem"? What the heck is he talking about?

[lawman]

How about "giga" as in gigabytes or gigawatts?

[phranque]

hard g's, short 'i', shwa 'a'

[BeeDeeDubbleU]

Would someone look at you funny for saying "mahd-deem"?

It's the difference between UK and US pronunciation. To me when most Americans say Scotland it sounds like "Scahtland".

[ronin]

Psssst, BDW...

That's 'cuz they do say "Scahtland".

Even worse, lots of them pronounce "United Kingdom" as... "England" - nearly all their newsreaders do it! (Larry King, thank heavens, does not). When was the last time you heard a US American say: "London, UK" ?

They also say "Mum" (near enough), like we do, but, oddly enough, they spell it "Mom" which, when you say it, sounds like Blackadder swallowing.

Hehehehe.

I wonder if any of our American English speaking friends know how to pronounce "Featherstone Haugh".

[Tastatura]

"Featherstone Haugh" -> Featherstone H-y-u-u

[digitalghost]

Does anyone use datum for the singular? And does it rhyme with Tatum? ;)

[Old_Honky]

I wonder if any of our American English speaking friends know how to pronounce "Featherstone Haugh".

Or even "Cholmondley" ,"Mainwaring","Marjoribanks" or "Belvoir"

[piatkow]

Magdalen?
Caius?

[BeeDeeDubbleU]

I was once driving in New England near Boston and we passed a sign for Billerica. I mentoned to an American colleague that we had a Billericay in the UK. He was surprised, he thought it was a native American name. :)

[phranque]

Does anyone use datum for the singular?

i do when i'm feeling pedantic.
how about fora for plural?

[lawman]

What's the plural of "lice"?

[Marshall]

What's the plural of "lice"?

Lice!

Marshall

[Samizdata]

I like the idea that MySQL should rhyme with "bicycle".

I have never heard "database" pronounced with a short vowel, but derivation becomes irrelevant as language evolves, and regional variations are to be expected (possibly even cherished) so I don't go "nuclear" when I hear a quaint pronunciation of a word such as "aluminium".

More important in the internet age would be standardised spelling, though the term "British English" seems inappropriate given that Scotland, Wales and Ireland all have their own languages.

Otherwise my advice is to never get "bum" and "fanny" mixed up, wherever you are.

You say "tomato" - and I say "tomato".

...

[phranque]

What's the plural of "lice"?

lice is the plural form.
louse is singular.
you know, just like mouse/mice?
and then there's house...

[lawman]

Ding ding ding. phranque is the winner. Just for that, you get to host the Gizmo Quiz on Saturday. ;)