this post was submitted on 17 Apr 2024
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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It depends on your view of history.
The G comes from the GNU Project. While GNU is an acronym ( GNU is Not UNIX ), the accepted pronunciation is a hard G ( GUH-noo ).
When the GNOME project was started ( and named ), it too was an acronym where the G was GNU. So, it seems very reasonable to use a hard G.
GNOME is no longer affiliated with GNU and the project has stated that it is no longer an acronym although it is still capitalized. If the G is not GNU, it makes total sense to pronounce it as the mythical creature of the same name which is pronounced as a soft G.
I have not seen anything official on how to say it from the project itself. So, it may be a matter of personal preference at this point.
I use a hard G because that certainly WAS the proper name and I have not seen anything official saying they wanted to change it. They have kept the capitalization.
Thanks for sharing this bit of history. 👍