I used to pronounce “Linux” with a hard “i” [as in "Aye, aye, captain!"], since it rhymes with the way we pronounce “Linus” in English.
Seems natural, doesn’t it? I mean, considering that the creator’s name is “Linus”, right?
However, Linus Torvalds is Finnish, and in Finnish, the pronunciation of the “i” in his name is closer to a hard “e” (not a hard “i” as in English — his name is more like “Lee-noose” than the English “Lie-nuhs”), so he says that Linux is pronounced with a soft “i”. I assume that he feels a soft “i” is closer to a hard “e”, and I would agree — not that it matters at all what I think — he’s the creator of “Linux” and can pronounce it any way he wants — even if he decides the correct pronunciation is “Eunuchs”.
Did I go there? Yes, I did. Sorry, but look up more info on “Unix”, and you might be surprised…
On that note, Linus tells us how to pronounce Linux with a soft “i” in this YouTobe (and also his name — in 3 languages, no less — show off! j/k). Not that this is anything new, but at least I’m glad I finally understand it.
