To settle this "raging" controversy....

Hello there.
I have a young relative who works at our local university in the computer department tending their linux network. He's continually trying to correct me in the pronunciation of Ubuntu when we "try" to discuss computers. He pronounces it "you-bun (as in hamburger)-two. Well, Josh, if you ever happen to read this (you big weenie), once again, it's correctly pronounced "oo-boon (as in Daniel Boone)-too...as stated at Ubuntu's FAQs...

http://www.ubuntu.com/aboutus/faq

Silly, I know, but I just had to post this. .

How many of you have been mispronouncing it?

Later...

 

almost everyone and who cares

 

Probably just people who can only speak English, or use it as their first language.

 

Mispronouncing foreign names and words is a national pastime .

Even professors routinely mispronounce them.

When in Rome....

 

Obviously your friend has never heard Africans speak in their own language. If he had, he would know that not everyone in the world pronounces the alphabet like Americans. Actually the africans are quite sharp and clear with their sounds. The american ones are often too elaborated compared to the african ones.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftjdDOfTzbk&feature=related

Tell your friend to watch the Shaka Zulu tv miniseries. It will give him a non traumatic approach to african sounds, since it's filmed in english.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZkSju6VElw&feature=related

He will hear some "weird" "u" out there, that's for sure. Their "a" is also very clean.

 

Not to mention us Finns. Our language is pronounced as it's written. Ubuntu is simply pronounced as 'U-bun-tu' by the locals here, no you's no a's no two's etc.

 

I must admit that at first glance I would have pronounced it as you-bun-two as well.

 

english is my native language but ive always said it as u say is correct .

 

I came in here to see the raging controversy. Where is it?

 

I stand guilty of over-hyping the thread title. OK? I blame it on television. .

Later...

 

When I say OO-boon-Too sounds like I trying to put on a fake Queens-English posh accent.

I will stick my U-bun-too, matches my Yorkshire accent better.

 

U-bun-too, you-bun-two, U-bun-tu all get by in my part of the world.

I think the name should be changed to something everyone can pronounce correctly. Ubrown2

 

I pronounce Paris as par iss and not par ee because I speak English and not French. Same goes for you bun two. I don't speak Swahili either.

 

As a South African, I think I can help.

The word Ubuntu has its origins in the Bantu languages of Southern Africa of which for instance Zulu, Xhosa and the other 7 Bantu based languages spoken
here are part of.
Ubuntu means 'a person is a person through a person'. We all know that here.

It has nothing to do with Swahili at all.

Pronounced ' OO-BOON-TWO ' ... Some of you have got that right

Hope it's all clear now.

 

I don't speak Bantu either. I'll still pronounce it you bun two. And I don't really care what the word means in Bantu.

 

I don't speak 'Bantu' either; firstly because it's a collective term for certain languages in these parts, and secondly because my home language is a mixture of English and German.
I don't care who cares what Ubuntu means or how it is pronounced.
Obviously my smidgeon of background info. is totally superfluous.

 

Not at all. For me it was an interesting piece of trivia, and if you ask me I'd also say it's a safe bet that the majority of the Wilders population aren't so close-minded and dismissive of other cultures/languages.

 

Same here. I found Ocky's post very interesting.

BTW, I'm a bit surprised by the attitude displayed by a few of the responders. You can continue to pronounce Ubuntu whichever way you wish. My intent was to say "Hey! This is the correct way to pronounce it!" firstly to my relative, Josh (yes....my own special way of venting), and to whomever might find it interesting. I'm sure Josh will continue to pronounce Ubuntu "you-bun-two" even after learning the truth since he's just "that" way (an "I say black he says white" type of person). Such is life, I guess.

 

But that is the point. It isn't the correct way to pronounce it if you are speaking English. The accepted English pronunciation is u bun tu. I know how Mexicans pronounce Mexico and how the French pronounce Paris. But I don't use those pronunciations because I speak English.

To me, it would be disrespectful and pretentious to mimic another culture's pronunciation. Not the other way around.

 

Well, I'm convinced. you-bun-two it is since I speak English solely as well. Thanks for your train of logic. .

No, seriously. I'm sure there are many words I mispronounce on a daily basis (linux for example...I pronounce it "line-ex" while Josh pronounces it "lynn-ex"), but since Ubuntu is by far my favorite distro I decided something like four years ago to find out what was the correct pronunciation. I choose to pronounce it correctly...not how it appears to be pronounced. But, it's your option to speak it whichever way you please.

Have a good one, everybody.

Later...

 

You chose to pronounce it correctly? And just what "authority" did you use to determine what was correct? THE authority on the English language, the Oxford English Dictionary, doesn't list the word. So the only legitimate "authority" would be what is the most common or accepted pronunciation.

In fact, I've tried several dictionaries and NONE of them list the word. Even the wkipedia doesn't attempt to give the pronunciation. So, what did you use to determine "the correct pronunciation?"

In fact, I challenge anyone if this forum to cite a legitimate, verifiable authority to back up the contention that oo boon tu is the "correct' pronunciation.

 

Right where one would expect.. mentioned in the first post.

http://www.ubuntu.com/aboutus/faq

 

A Zulu dictionary perhaps? -

 

Or perhaps straight from Mandela
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODQ4WiDsEBQ

 

OK. Can I ask a question...
What is (currently) the "correct" way for an English speaking person to pronounce "Mexico", "Paris", "Ubuntu", and "Linux" ?

I say currently because language and pronunciation are transitory. It changes over time, so there is no absolute "correct".