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How do you say these computer terms?


jesh

How do you pronounce these terms?  

31 members have voted

  1. 1. SQL

    • "ess queue ell"
      24
    • "see quill"
      7
  2. 2. data

    • "day tuh"
      26
    • "dat uh"
      5


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The right pronounciations are the second for SQL and the first for "data", but as I'm not a native speaker, I usually read "data" aloud as the second one when I read it to others, as there's a word in Bulgarian that's spelled and pronounced exactly like that (and means "date" as in "date and time"). For SQL... I always refer to the acronym, rather then "sequel" as there's no word in Bulgarian that is even close to it. The same goes for ICQ for example. It should be pronounced like "I seek you", but I always say it as an acronym for the same reason. BTW, "sequal" doesn't even make sence with the DB thing.

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Oddly enough, the first version of the SQL language was actually called SEQUEL, then was later changed to Structured Query Language. Technically, it is correct to spell it out (ess queue ell), but I still always say "sequel".Also, I always say "day tuh". Cmdr. Data has it right.

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I've never used SQL before, so it's not really a term I come across a lot, so I had no idea I was pronouncing it wrong. I'll be sure to remember the correct way from now on.As for "data", I trust that Jean-Luc Picard knows how to say it right.

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Wierd - more people have voted more "ess queue ell" than "see quill", though everyone I meet always call it "sequel"... hmm... but then, if SQL is "sequel", then is mySQL "my-sequel" and progreSQL "progre-sequel"? lol

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my boss and manager say "see quill" while I say it the other way. In college my professors always refered to it as "ess queue ell" while my boss has been in the IT business for 20 years so he was around when it was called SEQUEL

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Wierd - more people have voted more "ess queue ell" than "see quill", though everyone I meet always call it "sequel"... hmm... but then, if SQL is "sequel", then is mySQL "my-sequel" and progreSQL "progre-sequel"? lol
Yeah, I say "my-sequel". I think you meant PostgreSQL, and for that I say "postgres-queue-ell" and point out that it's a retarded name.
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Bah, seriously, who pronounces SQL Ess Queue Ell? Saying Sequel is much easier (and it sounds better too).
Ess Queue Ell is just closer to the average mind, especially if you haven't found any reason within the language to call it "sequel".
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In my personal experience, it seems like most (native-english) computer people say "day-tuh" whereas academics and researchers say "dat-uh". And I come across way more people who say "ess queue ell" and I sort of cringe every time I hear it. :)In my mind, SQL is like RADAR, SCUBA, or LASER - you pronounce it as a word rather than spell out the acronym. Thanks everyone for all the responses!

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With me, every computer term that is an acronym, I pronounce it letter by letter, except for when there is a vowel, which makes it more familiar to an actual word. Hence, .PNG, .JPG, PHP, XML, and even .TXT, I read as their 3 letter initials, I'm not the owner of a lazy tongue I guess. Now whereas things like .DOC, .GIF, .ZIP, and ASP are concerned, those are said as actual words for me due to the noticeable vowel present.SQL contains no vowels, so I say it as the first option. To me, as a writer primarily above all else, things without vowels just don't do well in application, so I guess that affects me now as a programmer.

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jesh you may cringe when I say S.Q.L. but I cringe when people say ASP as a word :)
Speaking about ASP as a word, to me it would sound like someone wanted to say a$$ poo and was interrupted at the "p".
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jesh you may cringe when I say S.Q.L. but I cringe when people say ASP as a word
It probably doesn't help that some of the books I've seen suggest it as a pronounciation. An asp is a snake, when I'm talking about the language I spell it.
In my mind, SQL is like RADAR, SCUBA, or LASER
Well yeah, but the others all have vowels. It's even to the point where people don't realize something like scuba or laser is an acronym.
With me, every computer term that is an acronym, I pronounce it letter by letter, except for when there is a vowel, which makes it more familiar to an actual word.
What about WYSIWYG?
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Some acronyms do tend to sound catchy enough for someone to think of them as an actual word. Take SMIL for instance. They say it's pronounced like "smile", but to me it sounds like a whole new word, pronounced like... well.... with an "I" that is as hard as in "Instance". I guess however that such things put themselves into the dictionary only if they are a new invention like the above mentioned ones.

What about WYSIWYG?
I always say the expanded version - What You See Is What You Get. Even when I read it for others. For myself... I skip it in my mind.
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Speaking about ASP as a word, to me it would sound like someone wanted to say a$ poo and was interrupted at the "p".
and don't even get me started on a$$ poo .net, yes ther are people who say that :)
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They say it's pronounced like "smile", but to me it sounds like a whole new word, pronounced like... well.... with an "I" that is as hard as in "Instance".
"I" in "Instance" isn't really a hard "I", not phonetically speaking anyhow. If you said it with the same "I" as in "Instance", it should be spelled with a double "L" representing a shorter "I", like "Smill" (think of the "I" in "Mill"). I imagine you'd might say it more like with a double "e"?SMIL..."SMEEL"...FEEL...That's at least exactly how it's pronounced in Norwegian, smil. Plus, "smil" in Norwegian means the same as "smile" in English.As for the rest, I say "Ess Queue Ell" (that is to say I read it, I've never to this date had to say it out loud in English, and in Norwegian it's more like "Ess Coupé* Ell", which isn't as forced as "Queue"). I say "da-tuh", and would pronounce "WYSIWYG" precisely as Jesh would. At least that's how I read it, cause I don't bother to spell out the Acronym in my head when I know perfectly well what it stands for.*"Coupé" as in seizing power, not what cars have.
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"I" in "Instance" isn't really a hard "I", not phonetically speaking anyhow. If you said it with the same "I" as in "Instance", it should be spelled with a double "L" representing a shorter "I", like "Smill" (think of the "I" in "Mill").
I realize it's not grammatically correct. I just meant how it appeals to me personally. And yes, I meant exactly like in "Mill", but with "S" in front.
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It probably doesn't help that some of the books I've seen suggest it as a pronounciation. An asp is a snake, when I'm talking about the language I spell it.Well yeah, but the others all have vowels. It's even to the point where people don't realize something like scuba or laser is an acronym.What about WYSIWYG?
Many people I know pronounce WYSIWYG as 'wissiwig'. :)
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and don't even get me started on a$$ poo .net, yes ther are people who say that :)
*Raises hand* Oops... Well to make it better, at least slightly I say it like the "a" in "apple". I have no clue when or why I did this, seeing as I don't even use ASP.
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