[Bug 300184] New: Preferred spelling of gnu is "WildeBeest"
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=300184 Summary: Preferred spelling of gnu is "WildeBeest" Product: openSUSE.org Version: unspecified Platform: Other URL: http://www.wikipedia.org/gnu OS/Version: Other Status: NEW Severity: Enhancement Priority: P5 - None Component: bugzilla AssignedTo: bnc-team-screening@forge.provo.novell.com ReportedBy: lverhaegen@novell.com QAContact: novbugzilla-bugs@forge.provo.novell.com CC: mhopf@novell.com, aschnell@novell.com, mfabian@novell.com, sndirsch@novell.com, lverhaegen@novell.com Found By: Development While gnu is also an accepted spelling, the preferred spelling of wildebeest is wildebeest, not gnu. In as far as wikipedia is any proof, you will see that http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/gnu refers directly to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/wildebeest. Here it is said that the word Gnu was only popularised in 1956 by Michael Flanders and Donald Swann and is therefor to be considered slang. As a more substantive argument there is the renowned anthropologist David Attenborough who presents all of the higher class BBC nature films who always talks about Wildebeest instead of Gnus. I will now go on a quest to prove that each time he mentions wildebeest in a documentary, of which there have been a few, he uses the word wildebeest and explicitely not gnu. -- Configure bugmail: https://bugzilla.novell.com/userprefs.cgi?tab=email ------- You are receiving this mail because: ------- You are on the CC list for the bug.
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=300184#c1
--- Comment #1 from Mike Fabian
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Luc Verhaegen
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=300184
Stefan Dirsch
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=300184#c2
Karl Eichwalder
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=300184#c3
Luc Verhaegen
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=300184#c4
Karl Eichwalder
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=300184#c5
Karl Eichwalder
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=300184#c6
Stefan Dirsch
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Greg Hendricks
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=300184#c7
--- Comment #7 from Martin Schlander
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=300184#c8
--- Comment #8 from Juergen Weigert
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=300184#c9
--- Comment #9 from Luc Verhaegen
How can this be a political issue?
It seems obvious to me that the recursive acronym GNU, an abbreviation of 'GNU's Not Unix' is not the same word as gnu at all. It is also well known that it is not even pronounced the same way.
Hence there's no issue, being an acronym it shouldn't be translated at all, do you also suggest to change FTP, NFS, HTTP and others into localized variants?
Maybe we should change openSUSE to åbenSUSE for Danish? offenSUSE for German?
Please.. get a grip.
Recursive acronym or not, using gnu is an assault on the proper (british) english language. Commoners use gnu, toffs use Wildebeest, we shouldn't have the fine art of software writing be befouled by slang like this. Also, I'm quite sure that a befitting acronym can be found for WILDEBEEST. -- Configure bugmail: https://bugzilla.novell.com/userprefs.cgi?tab=email ------- You are receiving this mail because: ------- You are on the CC list for the bug.
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=300184#c10
--- Comment #10 from Luc Verhaegen
This needs to go upstream first. Until then we'll stick to the name the FSF chose.
I suggest to RESOLVE LATER, April 1, 2008. Perhaps the joke is easier to grasp then.
(Personally I'd prefer the original bushman term, nqu, this is much shorter than wildebeest and distinctivly unique)
When this heavy politicised and bitter discussion started in the office here, the bushman term was dug up as well. But since no-one was able to pronounce it correctly (and some people did try), this argument was dropped. -- Configure bugmail: https://bugzilla.novell.com/userprefs.cgi?tab=email ------- You are receiving this mail because: ------- You are on the CC list for the bug.
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=300184#c11
--- Comment #11 from Juergen Weigert
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=300184#c12
--- Comment #12 from Benjamin Weber
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=300184#c13
--- Comment #13 from Luc Verhaegen
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=300184#c14
--- Comment #14 from Benjamin Weber
It is the English preferred spelling which is Wildebeest, which just got bastardised into gnu. Cheap entertainment shows are so bad for language purity.
OED's researched etymology would disagree with you. According to OED gnu was the original spelling, derived from the native word, wildebeest came later. I suggest you provide a scholarly source that differs from OED if you do not agree. -- Configure bugmail: https://bugzilla.novell.com/userprefs.cgi?tab=email ------- You are receiving this mail because: ------- You are on the CC list for the bug.
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=300184#c15
--- Comment #15 from Egbert Eich
The Ghu-noo we discuss here, is imo more a buffalo type animal than an antelope type animal. http://www.gnu.org/graphics/gnu-type.jpg
Juergen, you are actually right in that this drawing of a mamal seems to have rather bovine features. However gnu emacs features a pictures in its startup splash which seems to be a lot more wildebeest like. See attachment. Maybe we should start by proposing to change the name of gnu emacs to wildebeest emacs. -- Configure bugmail: https://bugzilla.novell.com/userprefs.cgi?tab=email ------- You are receiving this mail because: ------- You are on the CC list for the bug.
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=300184#c16
--- Comment #16 from Luc Verhaegen
OED's researched etymology would disagree with you. According to OED gnu was the original spelling, derived from the native word, wildebeest came later. I suggest you provide a scholarly source that differs from OED if you do not agree.
Ah, but David Attenborough is a Cambridge man. -- Configure bugmail: https://bugzilla.novell.com/userprefs.cgi?tab=email ------- You are receiving this mail because: ------- You are on the CC list for the bug.
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=300184#c17
--- Comment #17 from Luc Verhaegen
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=300184#c18
--- Comment #18 from Benjamin Weber
(In reply to comment #14 from Benjamin Weber)
OED's researched etymology would disagree with you. According to OED gnu was the original spelling, derived from the native word, wildebeest came later. I suggest you provide a scholarly source that differs from OED if you do not agree.
Ah, but David Attenborough is a Cambridge man.
Cambridge dictionary also has the same definition for Gnu and Wildebeest, unlike OED they do not have the etymology online. OED does, and is widely accepted as the world's best researched & most definitive English dictionary. So you still need to provide a source. So far your entire argument seems to be based on the dialect of one TV presenter. -- Configure bugmail: https://bugzilla.novell.com/userprefs.cgi?tab=email ------- You are receiving this mail because: ------- You are on the CC list for the bug.
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=300184#c19
--- Comment #19 from Juergen Weigert
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=300184#c20
Andreas Jaeger
I suggest to RESOLVE LATER, April 1, 2008. Perhaps the joke is easier to grasp then.
Ok, done. -- Configure bugmail: https://bugzilla.novell.com/userprefs.cgi?tab=email ------- You are receiving this mail because: ------- You are on the CC list for the bug.
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=300184#c21
--- Comment #21 from Egbert Eich
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=300184#c22
--- Comment #22 from Stefan Dirsch
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