[TUHS] Unix, eunuchs?

[TUHS] Unix, eunuchs?

[Jose R Valverde]

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First, my apologies if this message looks awful.

The pun might have stemmed from another variant. Like
EUNICE.

The original poster was certainly not much aware of
UNIX history, so
it might as well come to him from an also less
knowledgeable user who
got it from a vendor of a EUNI* variant.

From memory, I seem to remember at least a company
named EUNICE involved
with UNIX, and a UNIX-like environment for the VAX
(under VMS).

So, may be one of these later was actually named with
the 'eunuchs' pun
intended (perhaps as a castrated down UNIX system on
top of VMS)
and the pun circulated among some customers. For a
newcomer buying it,
it would be easy to assimilate *his* variant with
standard UNIX and extend
the pun. We just saw a similar confussion of LINUX
with UNIX from a poster
asking for LINUX v5, 6 o 7.

It makes sense as well to have a similar pun
circulated later, when other
operating systems which were arguably better (and I DO
NOT want to start
that discussion) or more extensive had to deploy
support for POSIX/UNIX
due to market needs.

To me it certainly has no sense having such an
association in a time like
the early 70s when it would have had a much stronger
emotional charge and
at a time when UNIX was still in its early
development.

				j

On Mon, 5 Jun 2006 23:41:06 -0400
dmr at plan9.bell-labs.com wrote:
> Michael Welle originally asked,
> 
>  > last week a work mate told us a tale about how
Unix came to its
>  > name. He believes that Unix is named after the
term eunuch (a
>  > homophone of (to?) unix in english language). One
can see Unix as a
>  > castrated successor of Multics.
> 
> The pun may have been at the back of Kernighan's
mind,
> but the original explanation was "one of whatever
> Multics was many of."  I think the quip about
> "castrated Multics" came from MIT.
> 
> Incidentally, I don't think the Unics spelling ever
occurred
> in print, though I could be proved wrong.
> 
> 	Dennis


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[TUHS] Unix, eunuchs?

[John Cowan]

Jose R Valverde scripsit:

> The pun might have stemmed from another variant. Like
> EUNICE.

I think that's unlikely: the Unix/eunuchs pun is much closer
than anything involving "Eunice".

I remember Eunice quite fondly: it was the first thing I
installed on the first Microvax II I got my hands on back
in the mid-80s.

-- 
Andrew Watt on Microsoft:                       John Cowan
Never in the field of human computing           cowan at ccil.org
has so much been paid by so many                http://www.ccil.org/~cowan
to so few! (pace Winston Churchill)

[TUHS] Unix, eunuchs?

[John Chung]

> 
>    1. Re: Unix, eunuchs? (dmr at plan9.bell-labs.com)
>    2. Unix V6 man pages (Wolfgang Helbig)
> 
> 
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Message: 1
> Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2006 22:32:46 -0400
> From: dmr at plan9.bell-labs.com
> Subject: Re: [TUHS] Unix, eunuchs?
> To: tuhs at minnie.tuhs.org
> Message-ID:
>
<49d52b2057749338fb3bb8d01ec2ca7d at plan9.bell-labs.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
> 
> Andrzey wrote:
> 
> >I have taken my info about unics from
> >http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unics .
> >
> >Perhaps You could comment on this, because Your
> person is mentioned there.
> >
> 
> Don't believe everything in a (or the) wiki.
> 
> >BTW One cound abbreviate "Uniplexed Information and
> Computer System" as
> >UNIACS .
> 
> One could, but wouldn't.
> 
> 	Dennis
> 
> 
Thanks for clearing it up Dennis.

John

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[TUHS] Unix, eunuchs?

[Paul Osborne]

I just took a quick look in the OED - which for those of us in the UK is
the definitive reference dictionary anyway here is the entry:

Unix, n.

Computing.

(ju:niks)  Also UNIX. [f. as a play on the earlier *MULTICS n., with
uni- one for multi- many (after the relative compactness of the newer
system) and with phonetic respelling of -ics as -ix.]

    A proprietary name for a multi-user operating system orig. designed
for use with minicomputers.


1973 Bell Lab. Rec. LI. 200 Some of the concepts, especially for
file-handling, appeared in a time-shared operating system called UNIX,
which was designed and implemented at Bell Labs. 1978 Bell Syst. Techn.
Jrnl. LVII. 1991 C..is sufficiently expressive and efficient to have
completely displaced assembly language programming on UNIX. 1983
Austral. Personal Computer Aug. 66/2 Xenix, the Microsoft implementation
of Unix disk operating systems for microcomputers. 1985 Official Gaz.
(U.S. Patent Office) 29 Oct. TM63/1 UNIX...For computer programs...
First use 12-14-1972. 1986 Trade Marks Jrnl. 5 Mar. 522/2 Unix..Computer
programmes, computing apparatus; [etc.] 1989 N.Y. Times 25 Oct. D1/4 A
wider industry agreement on a single Unix standard would also increase
the possibility that Unix will be widely adopted in the business
computer market.


NOTE: I had to tweak the pronunciation a tad to work in plain text. :-)

I guess if Ken/Dennis think that it needs correcting in any way they
will need to contact the OED...

--Paul
--yays for academic access to the OED

[TUHS] Unix, eunuchs?

[dmr]

Andrzey wrote:

>I have taken my info about unics from
>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unics .
>
>Perhaps You could comment on this, because Your person is mentioned there.
>

Don't believe everything in a (or the) wiki.

>BTW One cound abbreviate "Uniplexed Information and Computer System" as
>UNIACS .

One could, but wouldn't.

	Dennis

[TUHS] Unix, eunuchs?

[dmr]

Michael Welle originally asked,

 > last week a work mate told us a tale about how Unix came to its
 > name. He believes that Unix is named after the term eunuch (a
 > homophone of (to?) unix in english language). One can see Unix as a
 > castrated successor of Multics.

The pun may have been at the back of Kernighan's mind,
but the original explanation was "one of whatever
Multics was many of."  I think the quip about
"castrated Multics" came from MIT.

Incidentally, I don't think the Unics spelling ever occurred
in print, though I could be proved wrong.

	Dennis

[TUHS] Unix, eunuchs?

[Andrzej Popielewicz]

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dmr at plan9.bell-labs.com napisał(a):

>
>Incidentally, I don't think the Unics spelling ever occurred
>in print, though I could be proved wrong.
>
>	Dennis
>
>  
>
Hi,
I have taken my info about unics from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unics.

Perhaps You could comment on this, because Your person is mentioned there.

BTW One cound abbreviate "Uniplexed Information and Computer System" as 
UNIACS .

Andrzej

PS. Last Multics was runing in 2000 , and not in 1980 as I claimed before

[TUHS] Unix, eunuchs?

[Andrzej Popielewicz]

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Andrzej Popielewicz napisał(a):

>dmr at plan9.bell-labs.com napisał(a):
>
>  
>
>>Incidentally, I don't think the Unics spelling ever occurred
>>in print, though I could be proved wrong.
>>
>>	Dennis
>>
>> 
>>
>>    
>>
>Hi,
>I have taken my info about unics from
>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unics.
>
>Perhaps You could comment on this, because Your person is mentioned there.
>
>BTW One cound abbreviate "Uniplexed Information and Computer System" as 
>UNIACS .
>
>Andrzej
>
>PS. Last Multics was runing in 2000 , and not in 1980 as I claimed before
>_______________________________________________
>TUHS mailing list
>TUHS at minnie.tuhs.org
>https://minnie.tuhs.org/mailman/listinfo/tuhs
>
>  
>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unics

and

http://en/wikipedia.org/wiki/Multics

[TUHS] Unix, eunuchs?

[Andrzej Popielewicz]

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Andrzej Popielewicz napisał(a):

> Andrzej Popielewicz napisał(a):
>
>> dmr at plan9.bell-labs.com napisał(a):
>>
>>  
>>
>>> Incidentally, I don't think the Unics spelling ever occurred
>>> in print, though I could be proved wrong.
>>>
>>>     Dennis
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>   
>>
>> Hi,
>> I have taken my info about unics from
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unics.
>>
>> Perhaps You could comment on this, because Your person is mentioned 
>> there.
>>
>> BTW One cound abbreviate "Uniplexed Information and Computer System" 
>> as UNIACS .
>>
>> Andrzej
>>
>> PS. Last Multics was runing in 2000 , and not in 1980 as I claimed 
>> before
>> _______________________________________________
>> TUHS mailing list
>> TUHS at minnie.tuhs.org
>> https://minnie.tuhs.org/mailman/listinfo/tuhs
>>
>>  
>>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unics
>
> and
>
> http://en/wikipedia.org/wiki/Multics
>
>
>
Sorry,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multics

[TUHS] Unix, eunuchs?

[Andrzej Popielewicz]

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Andrzej Popielewicz napisał(a):

> Andrzej Popielewicz napisał(a):


Two more interesting links concerning our discussion

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Unix

http://www.unix.org/what_is_unix/history_timeline.html

Andrzej

[TUHS] Unix, eunuchs?

[James Petts]

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "John Cowan" <cowan at ccil.org>
> To: "Andrzej Popielewicz" <vasco at icpnet.pl>
> Subject: Re: [TUHS] Unix, eunuchs?
> Date: Mon, 5 Jun 2006 11:02:26 -0400

> English has always had an appetite for borrowed words, ever since we
> replaced huge amounts of our native vocabulary with borrowed French,
> Latin, and Greek words.

I would rather say "augmented" than "replaced", and of course one should
not neglect the other languages from which there have been significant
borrowings, such as Hindi, which are not, of course, as extensive as from
the languages you mention.

> (There is, however, just to get *completely* off-topic, the curious
> case of the English word "spruce", which means any of various coniferous
> evergreen trees of the genus _Picea_.  Most of this word is unquestionably
> from "Pruce", the older English name for Prussia, now obsolete.
> But Wikipedia suggests, perhaps rightly, that the initial s- comes
> from a misinterpretation of the Polish phrase _z Prus_ 'from Prussia'.
> English dictionaries are not conclusive.)

Well, the definition of Spruce in the OED has several quotations from
the 17th century and before, which seem to indicate that one of the
names for Prussia was in fact "Spruce", which suggests that the
Wikipedia article may not be in fact accurate. The "z Prus" etymology,
without any supporting evidence, is tenuous...

1378 Durh. Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 47 In xxiiij piscibus de sprws empt.,
ijs. 14.. Chaucer's Dethe Blaunche 1025 (MS. Bodl. 638), She wolde
not..send men yn-to Walakye, To Sprewse & yn-to Tartarye. 1521 in
Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. II. I. 292 The expedition of the Gentlemen
of Spruce. c1550 BALE K. Johan (Camden) 9 In Sycell, in Naples, in
Venys and Ytalye, In Pole, Spruse and Berne. 1639 FULLER Holy War
V. iii. 233 They busied themselves in defending of Christendome,..as
the Teutonick order defended Spruce-land against the Tartarian.
1656 G. ABBOT Descr. World 69 On the east and north corner of Germany
lyeth a country called Prussia, in English Pruthen or Spruce.

[TUHS] Unix, eunuchs?

[John Cowan]

James Petts scripsit:

> I would rather say "augmented" than "replaced", 

Only about 15 to 30 in every 100 of the words that Old English speakers
knew, and that were written down before 1066 in books that haven't been
lost or burned, are still being spoken and written in 2006.  You can,
if you work at it, write English today with only those words, but it
isn't so straightforward -- and it couldn't be done at all if the words
kept from Old English times were not also the most often seen words in
today's English.  All of the other Old English words have been dropped and
French, Latin, or Greek words taken instead.  You're right that many new
words for new things were also put into English over the years as well.

(I had to work on that a great deal to weed all the old French words out
of it.)

> and of course one should not neglect the other languages from which
> there have been significant borrowings, such as Hindi, which are not,
> of course, as extensive as from the languages you mention.

Indeed.

> Well, the definition of Spruce in the OED has several quotations from
> the 17th century and before, which seem to indicate that one of the
> names for Prussia was in fact "Spruce", which suggests that the
> Wikipedia article may not be in fact accurate. The "z Prus" etymology,
> without any supporting evidence, is tenuous...

As you say.  But where did the S- at the beginning of the name "Spruce"
come from, then?  No book of words tells us.

> 1378 Durh. Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 47 In xxiiij piscibus de sprws empt.,
> ijs. 14.. Chaucer's Dethe Blaunche 1025 (MS. Bodl. 638), She wolde
> not..send men yn-to Walakye, To Sprewse & yn-to Tartarye. 1521 in
> Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. II. I. 292 The expedition of the Gentlemen
> of Spruce. c1550 BALE K. Johan (Camden) 9 In Sycell, in Naples, in
> Venys and Ytalye, In Pole, Spruse and Berne. 1639 FULLER Holy War
> V. iii. 233 They busied themselves in defending of Christendome,..as
> the Teutonick order defended Spruce-land against the Tartarian.
> 1656 G. ABBOT Descr. World 69 On the east and north corner of Germany
> lyeth a country called Prussia, in English Pruthen or Spruce.

Thanks for this helpful piece of the OED.

-- 
Do what you will,                       John Cowan
   this Life's a Fiction                cowan at ccil.org
And is made up of                       http://www.ccil.org/~cowan
   Contradiction.  --William Blake

[TUHS] Unix, eunuchs?

[Michael Welle]

Hi,

last week a work mate told us a tale about how Unix came to its
name. He believes that Unix is named after the term eunuch (a
homophone of (to?) unix in english language). One can see Unix as a
castrated successor of Multics. Hmmm, I am interested in Unix history
for several years now, but I haven't heard about that before. It is
really a tale I guess. Any clear words about this topic?

Michael

-- 
biff4emacsen - A biff-like tool for (X)Emacs
http://www.c0t0d0s0.de/biff4emacsen/biff4emacsen.html

[TUHS] Unix, eunuchs?

[Andrzej Popielewicz]

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Michael Welle napisał(a):

> Hi,
>
> last week a work mate told us a tale about how Unix came to its
> name. He believes that Unix is named after the term eunuch (a
> homophone of (to?) unix in english language).

In Oxford American Dictionary
eunuch (spelled yoo-nuk) . Is it the source of this tale ?

In Webster 3 edition (Koenemann, about 2000 pages)) unix is not mentioned
eunuch (spelled yu-nik,yu-nek)

> One can see Unix as a
> castrated successor of Multics.
>
Unix was Unics at the beginning(uniplexed information computer system)
as opposed to Multics (multiplexed information computer system),
last was working even in 1980.Even name suggests, that Unics was a 
simplified concept, of course at that time.
As You know most modern Unix boxes are multiCPU systems etc ,etc.

> Hmmm, I am interested in Unix history
> for several years now, but I haven't heard about that before. It is
> really a tale I guess. Any clear words about this topic?
>
> Michael
>
>
>
You will find tones of information in Internet.


Andrzej

[TUHS] Unix, eunuchs?

[Andrzej Popielewicz]

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Michael Welle napisał(a):

>Hi,
>
>last week a work mate told us a tale about how Unix came to its
>name. He believes that Unix is named after the term eunuch (a
>homophone of (to?) unix in english language). One can see Unix as a
>  
>
Now, that You know where the name unix comes from(see my previous post),
there still is a *funny* coincidence in pronounciation of both words.

In Oxford American Dictionary

eunuch is pronounced as "yoo-nuk" (not all symbols reproduced)
unit is "yoo-nit"
unique is "yoo-neek"

In Webster English Language Dictionary

eunuch is "'yunek"
unit is "'yunet"
unique is "yu'nek,yu'nik"

You can notice, that unix , more similar to unit or unique will be 
pronounced differently(?).

It suggests , that although for us foreigners the difference is hard to 
be distinguished, but perhaps Americans and Englishmen can hear the 
subtle difference above shown in the pronounciation(or perhaps not all). 
I suspect , that if the pronounciation were be same many people would 
have noticed it before.

It is clear , that opinion of American/English linguistic/language 
specialist would be neccesarry.

Andrzej

[TUHS] Unix, eunuchs?

[Tim Bradshaw]

On Mon, June 5, 2006 11:41 am, Andrzej Popielewicz wrote:

>
> eunuch is pronounced as "yoo-nuk" (not all symbols reproduced) unit is
> "yoo-nit"
> unique is "yoo-neek"
>
> In Webster English Language Dictionary
>
>
> eunuch is "'yunek" unit is "'yunet" unique is "yu'nek,yu'nik"
>
> You can notice, that unix , more similar to unit or unique will be
> pronounced differently(?).
>

I think the position of the stress is important.  `Unix', the way I
pronounce it (and I think the way everyone does) is stressed on the 1st
syllable, as is `eunuch' and `Multics'.  To a large extent the distinction
in the sound of the 2nd syllable then doesn't matter because in typical
English dialects they all end up the same null sound (schwar? I forget the
name).

`unique' for instance has stress on second syllable, so really is very
different.

--tim

[TUHS] Unix, eunuchs?

[John Cowan]

Andrzej Popielewicz scripsit:

> eunuch is "'yunek"
> unit is "'yunet"
> unique is "yu'nek,yu'nik"
> 
> You can notice, that unix , more similar to unit or unique will be 
> pronounced differently(?).

English is a vowel-reduction language, like Russian or Portuguese;
vowels in unstressed syllables tend to be reduced either to schwa or to
lax short i.  Because the anglophone countries broke up politically before
language standardization could take effect, there is no single standard
pronunciation worldwide, nor any fixed hierarchy of standards.

Therefore, one must consider both dialects in which the unstressed short
i and the unstressed schwa both become schwa, and ones where they do not.
In the former dialects, "Unix" and "eunuchs" sound exactly alike; in
the latter dialects, there is a small difference.

(As Tim Bradshaw notes, "unique" is stressed on the second syllable,
so there is no vowel reduction on that syllable.)

> I suspect , that if the pronounciation were be same many people would 
> have noticed it before.

I am quite certain that many people have.  It was perfectly obvious to me
the first time I saw the word "Unix" written, and that was in 1976 or so.

> It is clear , that opinion of American/English linguistic/language 
> specialist would be neccesarry.

I am not a specialist, but I am a generalist with a good understanding
of the domain.

-- 
John Cowan  cowan at ccil.org  http://ccil.org/~cowan
Female celebrity stalker, on a hot morning in Cairo:
"Imagine, Colonel Lawrence, ninety-two already!"
El Auruns's reply:  "Many happy returns of the day!"

[TUHS] Unix, eunuchs?

[Andrzej Popielewicz]

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John Cowan napisał(a):

>Andrzej Popielewicz scripsit:
>
>  
>
>>eunuch is "'yunek"
>>unit is "'yunet"
>>unique is "yu'nek,yu'nik"
>>
>>You can notice, that unix , more similar to unit or unique will be 
>>pronounced differently(?).
>>    
>>
>
>English is a vowel-reduction language, like Russian or Portuguese;
>vowels in unstressed syllables tend to be reduced either to schwa or to
>lax short i.  Because the anglophone countries broke up politically before
>language standardization could take effect, there is no single standard
>pronunciation worldwide, nor any fixed hierarchy of standards.
>
>Therefore, one must consider both dialects in which the unstressed short
>i and the unstressed schwa both become schwa, and ones where they do not.
>In the former dialects, "Unix" and "eunuchs" sound exactly alike; in
>the latter dialects, there is a small difference.
>  
>
OK, so I have learned something about English.

>(As Tim Bradshaw notes, "unique" is stressed on the second syllable,
>so there is no vowel reduction on that syllable.)
>
>  
>
It is and it was quite obvious for me before, I agree with You both,I 
found only words with similar pronounciation(neglecting stress).

>>I suspect , that if the pronounciation were be same many people would 
>>have noticed it before.
>>    
>>
>
>I am quite certain that many people have.  It was perfectly obvious to me
>the first time I saw the word "Unix" written, and that was in 1976 or so.
>
>  
>
Well, I cannot "reproduce it" in my mind this funny feeling I suspect, 
as not natively Enlish speaking.
Hopefully it helped the Unix .Does it cause the smile every time You 
hear it ?
Even now knowing it I will probably ,hearing or reading the word "Unix", 
not associate it with "eunuch".Probably because I have coded Polish 
pronounciation in my mind, or in other words I mostly think in Polish.

>>It is clear , that opinion of American/English linguistic/language 
>>specialist would be neccesarry.
>>    
>>
>
>I am not a specialist, but I am a generalist with a good understanding
>of the domain.
>
>  
>
Your opinion is sufficient.I appreciate.

Andrzej

[TUHS] Unix, eunuchs?

[Wilko Bulte]

On Mon, Jun 05, 2006 at 04:14:02PM +0200, Andrzej Popielewicz wrote..
> John Cowan napisa??(a):
> 
> >Andrzej Popielewicz scripsit:
> >
> >  
> >
> >>eunuch is "'yunek"
> >>unit is "'yunet"
> >>unique is "yu'nek,yu'nik"
> >>
> >>You can notice, that unix , more similar to unit or unique will be 
> >>pronounced differently(?).
> >>    
> >>
> >
> >English is a vowel-reduction language, like Russian or Portuguese;
> >vowels in unstressed syllables tend to be reduced either to schwa or to
> >lax short i.  Because the anglophone countries broke up politically before
> >language standardization could take effect, there is no single standard
> >pronunciation worldwide, nor any fixed hierarchy of standards.
> >
> >Therefore, one must consider both dialects in which the unstressed short
> >i and the unstressed schwa both become schwa, and ones where they do not.
> >In the former dialects, "Unix" and "eunuchs" sound exactly alike; in
> >the latter dialects, there is a small difference.
> >  
> >
> OK, so I have learned something about English.
> 
> >(As Tim Bradshaw notes, "unique" is stressed on the second syllable,
> >so there is no vowel reduction on that syllable.)
> >
> >  
> >
> It is and it was quite obvious for me before, I agree with You both,I 
> found only words with similar pronounciation(neglecting stress).
> 
> >>I suspect , that if the pronounciation were be same many people would 
> >>have noticed it before.
> >>    
> >>
> >
> >I am quite certain that many people have.  It was perfectly obvious to me
> >the first time I saw the word "Unix" written, and that was in 1976 or so.
> >
> >  
> >
> Well, I cannot "reproduce it" in my mind this funny feeling I suspect, 
> as not natively Enlish speaking.
> Hopefully it helped the Unix .Does it cause the smile every time You 
> hear it ?
> Even now knowing it I will probably ,hearing or reading the word "Unix", 
> not associate it with "eunuch".Probably because I have coded Polish 
> pronounciation in my mind, or in other words I mostly think in Polish.

FWIW and to clutter the discussion:

in Dutch Unix is pronounced like "Uniks", eunuch as "Eu-neug".  So the funny
implications were completely lost on me until now.

Wilko

-- 
Wilko Bulte  	wilko at FreeBSD.org 	

[TUHS] Unix, eunuchs?

[John Cowan]

Andrzej Popielewicz scripsit:

> Well, I cannot "reproduce it" in my mind this funny feeling I suspect, 
> as not natively Enlish speaking.

Not surprising.  Puns in other languages are often hard to appreciate.

> Hopefully it helped the Unix .Does it cause the smile every time You 
> hear it ?

Well, the joke is rather less funny after 30 years than when I first
saw it.  Also not surprising.

English is full of unrelated words pronounced exactly alike, at least
partly because of its habit of borrowing words from foreign languages as
they are written and then changing the pronunciation to suit itself,
which accounts for the strange English pronunciation of "eunuch"
(of Classical Greek origin).

English has always had an appetite for borrowed words, ever since we
replaced huge amounts of our native vocabulary with borrowed French,
Latin, and Greek words.  (From Polish, not so much, except for the
names of specifically Polish things such as "babka", "ogonek", "pierogi"
(more usually "pierogies", with an English plural ending added), "Sejm",
and "zloty".)

(There is, however, just to get *completely* off-topic, the curious
case of the English word "spruce", which means any of various coniferous
evergreen trees of the genus _Picea_.  Most of this word is unquestionably
from "Pruce", the older English name for Prussia, now obsolete.
But Wikipedia suggests, perhaps rightly, that the initial s- comes
from a misinterpretation of the Polish phrase _z Prus_ 'from Prussia'.
English dictionaries are not conclusive.)

A question for any francophones on the list:  is the final -x in "Unix"
normally pronounced in French, or is it silent?

-- 
John Cowan  cowan at ccil.org    http://ccil.org/~cowan
Big as a house, much bigger than a house, it looked to [Sam], a grey-clad
moving hill.  Fear and wonder, maybe, enlarged him in the hobbit's eyes,
but the Mumak of Harad was indeed a beast of vast bulk, and the like of him
does not walk now in Middle-earth; his kin that live still in latter days are
but memories of his girth and his majesty.  --"Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit"

[TUHS] Unix, eunuchs?

[Michael Welle]

Hi,

Andrzej Popielewicz <vasco at icpnet.pl> writes:
[...]
> Well, I cannot "reproduce it" in my mind this funny feeling I suspect, 
> as not natively Enlish speaking.
> Hopefully it helped the Unix .Does it cause the smile every time You 
> hear it ?
> Even now knowing it I will probably ,hearing or reading the word "Unix", 
> not associate it with "eunuch".Probably because I have coded Polish 
> pronounciation in my mind, or in other words I mostly think in
> Polish.
same here. Except the starting syllable the terms sound totally
different for me. The form of my mouth is different if I speak the
words. That makes the whole story incredible for me.


>>>It is clear , that opinion of American/English linguistic/language 
>>>specialist would be neccesarry.
>>>    
>>>
>>
>>I am not a specialist, but I am a generalist with a good understanding
>>of the domain.
>>
>>  
>>
> Your opinion is sufficient.I appreciate.
FACK.

Michael

-- 
biff4emacsen - A biff-like tool for (X)Emacs
http://www.c0t0d0s0.de/biff4emacsen/biff4emacsen.html

[TUHS] Unix, eunuchs?

[Ian King]

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[TUHS] Unix, eunuchs?

[Michael Welle]

Hi,

Andrzej Popielewicz <vasco at icpnet.pl> writes:
[...]
> In Oxford American Dictionary
>
> eunuch is pronounced as "yoo-nuk" (not all symbols reproduced)
> unit is "yoo-nit"
> unique is "yoo-neek"
>
> In Webster English Language Dictionary
>
> eunuch is "'yunek"
> unit is "'yunet"
> unique is "yu'nek,yu'nik"
>
> You can notice, that unix , more similar to unit or unique will be 
> pronounced differently(?).
interesting. I tend to use a more british english style, but I
pronounce the terms like in OAD.

Michael

-- 
biff4emacsen - A biff-like tool for (X)Emacs
http://www.c0t0d0s0.de/biff4emacsen/biff4emacsen.html

[TUHS] Unix, eunuchs?

[Michael Welle]

Hi,

"Bill Cunningham" <billcu1 at verizon.net> writes:

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Michael Welle" <m.welle at gmx.net>
> To: <tuhs at minnie.tuhs.org>
> Sent: Saturday, June 03, 2006 9:57 AM
> Subject: [TUHS] Unix, eunuchs?
>
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> last week a work mate told us a tale about how Unix came to its
>> name. He believes that Unix is named after the term eunuch (a
>> homophone of (to?) unix in english language). One can see Unix as a
>> castrated successor of Multics. Hmmm, I am interested in Unix history
>> for several years now, but I haven't heard about that before. It is
>> really a tale I guess. Any clear words about this topic?
>>
>> Michael
>>
>
>     I know Dennis have said pretty clearly that Unix is a pun on Multics
> that the team really never got to start on because Bell changed there minds.
> Ken continued with Unix which must've been his idea. In assembly first then
> B. Dennis came up with C and its lasted down through the years.
that sounds familiar to me. The same story is told in 'A quarter
century of Unix' and other sources.

VG
hmw

-- 
biff4emacsen - A biff-like tool for (X)Emacs
http://www.c0t0d0s0.de/biff4emacsen/biff4emacsen.html