The world of Linux and its open source software ecosystem is riddled with acronyms, initialisms, and just plain weird words. Some of them are difficult to pronounce correctly without prompting or if you don't know the origin of the words.
All of these terms are commonly found on Linux news sites, forums, and distribution project pages. I researched their origins to ensure not only the correct pronunciation, but sometimes also the specific advice the developers gave. Some even surprised me.
GNU and GNOME
While GNU operating system the mascot is the wildebeest, it is not pronounced the way you would normally pronounce gnu, an alternative name for the animal. According to Official GNU Pronunciation GuideGNU is recursive abbreviation this means “GNU's Not Unix”. The word is pronounced with a hard G, just like GIF correctly pronounced with a hard G. No, I will not accept comments on this matter.
- Common mispronunciation: New
- Correct pronunciation: Ear-new
GNOME, a popular desktop environment for Linux and other open source operating systems, takes its name from GNU. The acronym stands for “GNU Network Object Model Environment”. For this reason, the GNOME pronunciation inherits the GNU pronunciation with a hard G.
Now the only one official position of the GNOME development team I could find indications that it is okay to leave out the letter G “if you find it easier to pronounce.” In the case of GNOME, there is obviously some wiggle room.
- Common mispronunciation: Name
- (Technically) Correct pronunciation: Guh-nom
BUDDY
Speaking of GNOME, the MATE desktop environment has been around since GNOME 3 came out, which replaced GNOME 2. Some GNOME fans preferred the older look and feel that looked more like traditional Windows interfaces, so they created the MATE project to continue that legacy. Like GNOME, MATE uses a recursive acronym that stands for “MATE Advanced Traditional Environment”.
At first glance, you might think that it is pronounced the same way the English word “mate” is usually pronounced, as in “later.” However, this is not an English word. The name refers to a type of South American tea called yerba mate, which originates from the Quechua languages. To keep with the hot drinks theme, MATE is pronounced correctly as you would pronounce “latte”, with two syllables.
- Common mispronunciation: Purt.
- Correct pronunciation: Makhtay
SUZE
SUSE, most often found in distribution called openSUSE and its corporate cousin SUSE Linux Enterprise stands for “Software und System-Entwicklung”. This is a German phrase meaning “Software and Systems Development” and openSUSE has a long history as one of oldest Linux distributions development is still being observed.
This means that openSUSE and company have been mispronounced for a long time. The letter E tends to lead English speakers in the wrong direction; it's actually pronounced like an “uh” sound.
- Common mispronunciation: Suss, su-zi, su-say
- Correct pronunciation: Come on then
Qt
Qt is an application development platform widely used on Linux, most commonly found in KDE Plasma and other KDE software. It is different from GTK and other frameworks that underlie GNOME.
Understandably, you might assume that since the name has no vowels, it is pronounced as an initialism, such as “QT”. It's actually pronounced as one syllable, just like you pronounce the word “sweetheart.”
- Common mispronunciation: Cue
- Correct pronunciation: October
sudo
Ubiquitous sudo teamwith its ability to do everything you try to do, but with root authorityhas long been mispronounced.
The term sudo is short for “superuser do”, which means that “do” should be pronounced like “dew” rather than “doe”, as is usually assumed. Since everyone has to run commands as administrator on Linux from time to time, this is one of the most common mispronunciations. Keep it in your back pocket for the next time you have the opportunity to put your glasses on the bridge of your nose and correct someone.
- Common mispronunciation: Sue-Doe
- Correct pronunciation: dew
Ubuntu
Ubuntu is one of the most popular Linux distributions of all time, and for this reason there have been many failed attempts to pronounce its name. All three instances of the letter U in a word should be pronounced with the same “oo” sound, rather than with the common English word for bread “bun” dropped in the middle.
Unlike most of the other entries on this list, its title is not an acronym or initialism. It is a real word that comes from the African Bantu languages and can mean “humanity” or “I am because we are.” The founders chose it to emphasize community and togetherness, but not everyone is unanimous in pronouncing this word.
- Common mispronunciation: Yes-bun too
- Correct pronunciation: Yes, that's good too
Xfce
For the last entry on this list, I have to admit that I've been pronouncing it wrong for years. I assumed that since the title is usually formatted in letters rather than capital letters, at least part of Xfce is pronounced as one word. I pronounced the word “former face,” which is admittedly an unappealing name, but it made sense to my brain.
According to Xfce FAQ Guideit is actually pronounced as an initialism that spells out each letter of the name. It was a surprise for me. It doesn't sound as intuitive as my interpretation, although I'm sure it rolls off the tongue better.
- Common mispronunciation: Former face, former member
- Correct pronunciation: Former eff-vi-e-e
There are probably more words out there about Linux, and you and I are probably not saying it quite right. It's an ever-evolving and expanding universe of software, and each one needs a name.
