The Life or Death of Harry Potter

It irks me when names are mispronounced—especially when it’s easy to figure
out the right way to say it. Some examples include “line-ix”,
“oh-es-ex”, or “you-bun-too”.

The mispronunciation of
Ubuntu
is becoming more common now. As it gets more popular more are getting the
opportunity to mangle it. When I first saw the name I proceeded to mess it
up myself, but I immediately sought out the right way to say it. I found a
video clip of
Nelson Mandela
pronouncing it. It was most informative and quite clear.

oo-boon-too

Ah, but people still want to argue.

Shure. Kep one beeleeving thate.

Just because someone can figure out what you mean doesn’t make it
right. If that were the case then what would be the point of syntax at all?
Why not just gesture wildly and grunt until the other person gets the idea?

It’s a name. And there’s a right way to say it. Put the effort in.

Ooo. Boon. Too.

[ Updated May 2014: Updated for brevity. ]

Notes

1. We’re not talking about varying pronunciations of common things. These
   are names that have explicitly defined ways for pronouncing them
   as determined by an accepted authority. Linus Torvalds is a Linux
   authority and he says very clearly that Linux is
   always pronounced “Lih-nucks”. That means something. Apple
   explicitly says that it’s “OS *TEN*”. And it’s the same with Ubuntu.
   They told us how they want us to pronounce these things because it
   matters to them, so it should matter to us as well.

2. I’m not advocating an anal enforcement of static language (that would be
   stupid). Language changes; it always has and it always will. The point
   is simply that all pronunciations of well-defined names are not equal.
   Calling the capital of the U.S. WAY-Chang-TONE (Washington) is not a
   different type of correct. And the fact that someone could figure out
   what you meant doesn’t make it so

3. There is a slider between promoting accuracy in communication using
   syntax and allowing the natural evolution of language. Either extreme is
   wrong. My simple point here is that when we have an explicit and
   authoritative example to follow in the case of a name we should embrace
   it and promote its proper usage.

4. So, ultimately, is this as important as our next elections in the U.S.
   or solving the energy crisis? Of course not. But it’s just a website
   talking about language and geek stuff. Relax. 🙂