Ever see a free software program or GNU/Linux distribution that you have to guess how to pronounce? Ever hear your friends or fellow LUG members argue over how to properly say "Ubuntu" or "Liferea?" Perhaps even GNU/Linux itself (guh-NOO LIN-ucks) gives you pronunciation nightmares. Since free software developers communicate primarily through email and Web sites, you can use one of their programs for years without ever knowing how to pronounce it. Here's a phonetic guide to nine of the most common unpronounceable free software project and software company names.

Operating Systems

SUSE: Novell's GNU/Linux distribution is famous for being easy to use and hard to pronounce. I won't go into the myriad ways to butcher this name -- I'll just tell you how the company says it: SOO-suh.

Ubuntu: If this were an English word, we'd probably say oo-BUN-too -- and many do pronounce it that way, even if it's wrong. Marlize Coetzee of Ubuntu's parent company, Canonical, says: "Ubuntu, an African word from Zulu and Xhosa, is pronounced 'oo-BOON-too.'"

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