Author Topic: Do *you* pronounce the L in SOLDER ? (In the USA?)  (Read 16644 times)

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Online themadhippy

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Re: Do *you* pronounce the L in SOLDER ? (In the USA?)
« Reply #100 on: December 22, 2022, 02:03:04 pm »
And then theres those who go to le  dahls with there m+s carrier bags
 

Offline BradC

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Re: Do *you* pronounce the L in SOLDER ? (In the USA?)
« Reply #101 on: December 22, 2022, 02:25:46 pm »
Wondering if I should start another thread just to discuss the pronunciation of VSWR  :)

We always spoke of SWR as swahr, so VSWR was Vee Swahr. My physics teacher (who was also the licensed rad shack operator and had his own observatory) was extremely English, and was most particular about his pronunciation. Did I mention he was English? Very, very English. I have no idea where the "ah" in SWR came from, but it seemed to make sense when instructed.

He was also the one that was absolutely vociferous that a PUT was to be annunciated as a Pee You Tee and had absolutely no relation to golf as that was a silly game invented by the Scottish. Very, very English.

Dads family are all American, from Minnesota to Texas. We visited a lot over the years, and the astonishing range of colloquialism and pronunciation always fascinated me. I learned not to make it a *thing* because I came from a country that had a Koala in every tree and Kangaroos jumped down every suburban street. Stereotypes can be fun (especially as a 14 year old).
 

Offline TimFox

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Re: Do *you* pronounce the L in SOLDER ? (In the USA?)
« Reply #102 on: December 22, 2022, 02:54:52 pm »
I just made myself chuckle by wondering if anyone ever pronounced IBM as “ibbum” or something. :P

A funny, now largely obsolete acronym, is SCSI: only noobs pronounce it “ess see ess eye”. Likely apocryphally, some people early on suggested pronouncing it “sexy”. But the pronunciation that stuck, not only in English but also in many other languages, was “scuzzy”.

Well done for teaching the world the “correct” way to pronounce an acronym. lol.

Acronyms are, by their very definition, a contraction of a description into its initial letters to avoid tediously speaking out the entire description ; there is no “correct” way to pronounce them, they aren’t meant to be pronounced. To say what you’ve said is to say “that’s the incorrect pronunciation of that slang” - in essence, it’s a matter of choice whether one creates a phonetic analogue of said acronym so it rolls of the tongue more easily, or whether they formally say “Ess See Ess Eye” <——  (phonetically worded for clarity).

One might even say that formally pronounced, letter by letter, is more correct than the “slang” equivalent of forming these contractions back into words, since there’s only marketing people who sometimes create pronounced acronyms for the same reason anyone else does; to make them memorable (and profitable, in their particular case.)

“NICAM” is an example of this, but even then, that doesn’t mean it’s “right”, and that any other spoken version of “NICAM” letter by letter is, therefore, “wrong”, it’s just what happened to stick.

The definition of an acronym is a pronounceable word formed from an abbreviation, i.e.  "laser", "NASA", "radar", etc.
From Merriam-Webster on the difference between acronym and initialism:
(They weasel at the end about a sometimes use of acronym.  I prefer careful usage.)

'What is the difference between an acronym and an initialism?
Both acronyms and initialisms are made up of the first letter or letters of the words in a phrase. The word acronym typically applies when the resulting thing can be read as a word; for example, radar comes from "radio detection and ranging" and scuba comes from "self-contained underwater breathing apparatus." The word initialism only applies when the resulting thing is read as an abbreviation; for example DIY, which comes from "do it yourself," is pronounced by saying the names of the letters. Note that the word acronym is also sometimes used to mean "initialism."'

Terms ending in "onym" include synonym, antonym, homonym, etc. for specific types of words.

I often harp on this question of careful usage, because I reject the following syllogism:
"An acronym is a specific type of abbreviation.  Therefore, all abbreviations are acronyms."
 
« Last Edit: December 22, 2022, 03:15:52 pm by TimFox »
 

Online ebastler

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Re: Do *you* pronounce the L in SOLDER ? (In the USA?)
« Reply #103 on: December 22, 2022, 03:29:53 pm »
I reject the following syllogism:
"An acronym is a specific type of abbreviation.  Therefore, all abbreviations are acronyms."

That's not a syllogism but a fallacy in my book.
 

Offline tooki

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Re: Do *you* pronounce the L in SOLDER ? (In the USA?)
« Reply #104 on: December 22, 2022, 03:56:23 pm »

Quote
I wonder which came first, SCSI or SCPI ("skippy")?
skippys been bouncing around since 1968
Every source I’ve found says the SCPI standard was published in 1990.
 

Offline Monkeh

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Re: Do *you* pronounce the L in SOLDER ? (In the USA?)
« Reply #105 on: December 22, 2022, 03:57:48 pm »

Quote
I wonder which came first, SCSI or SCPI ("skippy")?
skippys been bouncing around since 1968
Every source I’ve found says the SCPI standard was published in 1990.



Yeah, I'm old enough to get his references..
 
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Offline TimFox

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Re: Do *you* pronounce the L in SOLDER ? (In the USA?)
« Reply #106 on: December 22, 2022, 04:42:47 pm »
I reject the following syllogism:
"An acronym is a specific type of abbreviation.  Therefore, all abbreviations are acronyms."

That's not a syllogism but a fallacy in my book.

That's why I rejected it.
 

Online ebastler

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Re: Do *you* pronounce the L in SOLDER ? (In the USA?)
« Reply #107 on: December 22, 2022, 04:52:42 pm »
That's not a syllogism but a fallacy in my book.

That's why I rejected it.

I understand that you don't subscribe to the wrong conclusion. But I found it funny that you called it a syllogism, after harping about careful use of words and dropping an above-average number of greek and latin loan words.  ::)
« Last Edit: December 22, 2022, 05:06:34 pm by ebastler »
 

Offline TimFox

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Re: Do *you* pronounce the L in SOLDER ? (In the USA?)
« Reply #108 on: December 22, 2022, 04:58:32 pm »
I stand corrected:  a syllogism requires two propositions and a conclusion.
If this fallacy were worth defending, I would have to construct it differently, splitting the first sentence into two propositions.
(PS:  almost everything in modern English is a loan word, giving it hybrid vigor.)
« Last Edit: December 22, 2022, 05:12:54 pm by TimFox »
 
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Offline IanB

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Re: Do *you* pronounce the L in SOLDER ? (In the USA?)
« Reply #109 on: December 22, 2022, 05:18:56 pm »
That one is easy -- "ull-dee" and "leedl". :)  But I assume an anglicized pronunciation is normally used in the UK and US?

Yes, but probably a bit similar, for instance "al-di" and "lid-l". Unlike, say, BMW.
 

Offline TimFox

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Re: Do *you* pronounce the L in SOLDER ? (In the USA?)
« Reply #110 on: December 22, 2022, 05:28:56 pm »
A better-formed (yet still fallacious) syllogism:
1.  Nothing is better than seeing God.
2.  Cold coffee is better than nothing.
3.  Therefore, cold coffee is better than seeing God.

Taken from "Dr No", a recent novel by Percival Everett (2022) about a mathematics professor at Brown University whose specialty is "nothing" and is the world's leading expert on nothing.
https://www.graywolfpress.org/books/dr-no
 


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