[ubuntu-uk] What's in a name?

[Liam Proven]

On 11 June 2011 22:43, alan c <aeclist at candt.waitrose.com> wrote:
>
> I gave a recycled Ubuntu PC to someone yesterday, who arrived with a black
> (English born) friend. The friend was interested and had simply not been
> aware of anything like Ubuntu, only Windows. They had enough African
> knowledge to know what the ubuntu  philosophy meant. They even knew that my
> anglicised pronunciation was wrong (You buntu) and were a bit amused......

AIUI, it's really "úbúntú". The languages isiZulu and isiXhosa are
tonal: each syllable should be pronounced with a rising tone with the
emphasis on the middle one. By a rising tone, imagine saying it in a
questioning manner, or the way a young Australian might say it.

Very roughly, in something like English orthography:
ooh-BOON-too.

Linux, of course, is lee-nucks or lynn-ucks, *not* line-ucks.

And if you think that's hard, the "xh" in the name part - Xhosa - of
isiXhosa is pronounced with a lateral tongue click - think of the
noise used to encourage a horse.

-- 
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