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Little-Variation8268 t1_jabkd2f wrote

OK. So W has 3 syllables BUT the words world, wide & web only have 1 syllable each SO, theoretically, it takes longer the say the abbreviation 'WWW' than it does to say the words 'world wide web.'

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TheIrishHawk t1_jabxpmz wrote

WWW = 3(W)

W = 2(U)

WWW = 3(2(U))

WWW = 6(U)

I hereby propose - Hexa-U

77

frieshie t1_jac1afq wrote

Hexa-U has the same syllables as World Wide Web ahhhaha. But it rolls off the tongue much better so I second this proposal.

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gaint_dwarf t1_jabspao wrote

We in tech call it "dub-dub-dub"

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Tomdoerr88 t1_jabupon wrote

We in 2023 don’t say it at all because you literally never need it in day to day use

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CabinetOk4838 t1_jabuyeq wrote

Due to a change in allowing the domain name to be used as a CNAME record. 😊

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Little-Variation8268 t1_jabsww1 wrote

From what I've seen in tech, and everywhere else in the world, the W's aren't really used anymore, it's just whatever-dot-com

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MrMelon54 t1_jabwoo3 wrote

some websites like youtube, government websites etc.. still use it but I refuse to as it's just not worth it

1

elPocket t1_jac0qhg wrote

We in germany call "w" we, as in west.
Only you english speakers could not grasp that the w is not a double v, which the romans used for u.

So for us, its wewewe(dot)whatev(dot)org

Yes, it sounds kinda like a car engine not starting.

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DrMontyy69 t1_jabp4e7 wrote

hell of a comment, consider myself entertained by your fun fact

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Nihmen t1_jabucpx wrote

In Dutch W is called 'Way' but with a slightly different mouth placement. Say 'Way', but when making the w sound, shape your mouth as if you're going to say 'F*ck'.

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someonepoorsays t1_jabywu8 wrote

vay

3

Nihmen t1_jac30ul wrote

The Dutch W sounds closer to a V, where the English is closer to an O. The W has a vibration to it, which makes quite a difference. You might not be able to get the sound though. Children spend literal years to learn the intricate motor skills required to make certain sounds. That's why we don't tend to lose accents.

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nvwls300 t1_jabwldf wrote

This fact annoyed me when the internet first started and you would hear it spelled out like that all the time.

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vlexz t1_jac3858 wrote

The way to say the W at the beginning of world is how we germans spell W.

One syllable.

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love_me_some_cats t1_jac0osm wrote

I always think the same in medical dramas when they talk about a patient with a "GSW to the leg..." Like, it's literally quicker to say gunshot wound.

1

joejill t1_jabvyvb wrote

Dub-ya....

Its 2 syllables, not 3 and the last syllable is short so I'd barely counts.

Dub-ya Dub-ya Dub-ya dot is faster than world wide web period.

−4

stereothegreat t1_jabwp75 wrote

I can’t tell if you are trolling or not

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joejill t1_jabzvtu wrote

I am not.

Also someone else said "We in tech call it "dub-dub-dub""

Maybe its my accent but I also say George dub-ya bush

And I determined down voted? You people are assholes.

0

psycho-mouse t1_jac2sa7 wrote

Dub-ya if you’re a slack jawed American.

In the civilised world it has 3 syllables.

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Banxomadic t1_jac5xqq wrote

Well, they can reciprocate with a "it has 3 syllables if you're a crooked teeth Englishman" 🙄 In the civilised world it has 1 syllable.

−1

jellohello13 t1_jabyiwh wrote

I don't think that is faster. Also, they're along about it being pronounced properly, like double-u.

0

DeadBornWolf t1_jabg8vv wrote

Fun fact: Not in german. In german we call “W” “weh”, but we call “Y” “Ypsilon” like the greek letter, pronounced “Üpsilon”

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DryGaming14 t1_jabj9my wrote

I think there is a similar thing in Europe with the letter Z where it is pronounced like "Zed". Correct me if I am wrong

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Aedaru t1_jabvafv wrote

As far as I know it's only some English dialects eg American English that say "zee". Most other languages, including English, say something closer to "zed"

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DeadBornWolf t1_jabjn9j wrote

Well yes, German does pronounce “Z” as “Zett”, so I guess there is also a language which pronounces it with the softer ending “Zed”

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enceps2 t1_jabk8xt wrote

That would be english.

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DeadBornWolf t1_jabljkh wrote

Well, I know that you can pronounce it “zee” or “zed” but i’m never sure with one is british english and which is american english. but maybe i can memorize it this time 😂

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MrsBox t1_jac6f8k wrote

English is zed. Simplified English is zee.

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magpye1983 t1_jac0nga wrote

As an aid to your memory, have this funny phrase

“You’re off your ‘ead, zed”

1

LiqdPT t1_jabzyzy wrote

Literally every other English speaking country other than the US. Including Canada.

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Deoxys2000 t1_jac38f4 wrote

"Zed" is still considered one syllable right? Or were you just commenting on how letters have different names in different countries?

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Excellent-Map-3412 t1_jabz4sa wrote

In Turkish we have Ğ whis is a soft G. It's almost always silent though. Like the word "dağ" (mountain in Turkish) is pronounced like "daa" and the letter actually becomes noticeable when you say something like "dağa" (to the mountain)

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Pasame20 t1_jac6uvu wrote

In French “Y” is pronounced “ygrek” (ee-greck) and “W” is “double-vé” (literally: “double V”)

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coconutting_ t1_jac7uue wrote

we say ee-greck too but i think we stole that from yall since we use french loanwords a lot (NL) ygreck, greek y, ypsilon

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Aramor42 t1_jabtsap wrote

In Dutch we say either iegrek (don't know if that's how you spell it, but that's how you pronounce it) or Griekse IJ (Greek Y, except we use the other Y sound which you get by writing ij)

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superkoning t1_jac5cmx wrote

but only for the special cases. When a Dutch persons says the alfabet, he/she will say "ij" (no idea what that is in English phonetic).

https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/IJ_(digraaf)

ijs = ij s

Het IJ. https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/IJ_(rivier)

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Aramor42 t1_jac5ll4 wrote

True, when reciting the alphabet. However, in my experience, when you're spelling something out people usually say iegrek or Griekse IJ.

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superkoning t1_jac61wk wrote

Really?

Spell "ijs" ... "lange ij - s"

Spell "eis" ... "korte ei - s"

Spell "x + y = 5" ... "x plus ij is vijf"

​

Excpetions:

Spell "dyslexie, hymne, gymnasium, idylle, mysterie, pygmeeën, symfonie,symposium, symptoom, ypsilon." ... then I would say "griekse ij" and maybe maybe "ygrek" ... as there are no dots on the y (unlike ij)

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Aramor42 t1_jac72f7 wrote

Yeah but the exceptions are actually with an y. Ijs and eis are not spelled with an y, so when spelling those out one wouldn't say ygrek or Griekse ij.

I was only talking about the letter y, not ei or ij.

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coconutting_ t1_jac7xmt wrote

rarely used but still used is also ypsilon, but i think its the most uncommon kind (some people here use it all the time tho)

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NaughtyJimFace t1_jacfh30 wrote

Wow! Now I have to google how to sing the alphabet in Deutsch. I'm expecting hyjinx.

1

DeadBornWolf t1_jacho8u wrote

I can try and spell it out, it’s not that different to the english version, just pronounced a bit differently:

(the „eh“ is pronounced somewhat like the „ea“ in bear or pear)

Ah, Beh, Ceh, Deh, Eh, Eff, Geh, Hah, I (pronounced like the english E), Jott, Kah, Ell, Em, Enn, Oh, Peh, Koo (Q), Err, Ess, Teh, Uhh, Vao, Weh, Iks (X), Üpsilon (Y), Tsett (Z)

and then we have the Umlaute Ä, Ü, Ö, which are not included in our standard ABC-Song. And there’s „ß“ as a sharp „S“, which is not used as commonly anymore but still is standard for some words

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BigBirdOpensDoor t1_jacu9wu wrote

In out Talking-Tree country. We call w as "wuh" or "vee-kep" which means "double-v", I as "ee", y as "ee zai"

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Karl-o-mat t1_jabgqg2 wrote

For a good reason. The Ü-psilon is a "short" ü. A simple Ü. The normal Ü is used when the sound is a bit longer than the Y. So basically the Y is just an other Ü.

−4

DeadBornWolf t1_jabhok4 wrote

But sometimes we pronounce it “J”, like in Yacht. And sometimes it’s an “I” like in “Handy” or “Baby”

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jellohello13 t1_jabyb64 wrote

What? Y isn't just the short version of ü, it's pronounced long like in the word Typ. Also ü can be long or short on its own, so what do you mean, "For a good reason." Actually, the only reason y exists in german because of greek loan words. And while it is usually pronounced like an ü it's also pronounced like a y in english, due to newer loan words.

1

AdrianW3 t1_jabx63e wrote

But what about el-em-en-oh-pee? That's 5 syllables right there.

;)

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strategyzrox t1_jablt40 wrote

Ah, yes, "W". The three sylable letter that means two "U"s, looks like two "V"s, and prominetly features the "Y" sound. At least the Alphabet's greatest monstrosity has the self-awareness to renounce its own sound, which even feels funny in your mouth.

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Unlucky-Insect-8390 t1_jabkhhz wrote

Depends on the language. In Spanish there’s several letters of the alphabet that have more than one syllable.

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rockcockroad t1_jabms23 wrote

That's why they wrote it in english you tard

−42

TheWarehamster t1_jabtdw2 wrote

Spanish uses the same alphabet with the additions of "CH" "LL," "RR" and "Ñ" moron.

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leadsynth t1_jabyd9d wrote

Right, but the letters in Spanish have NAMES. That’s why it’s called Dos Equis beer. Equis is Spanish for X. And “Equis” has two syllables.

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shyheart4 t1_jac8oa1 wrote

Fun fact: "CH", "LL" and "RR" are no longer a part of the Spanish alphabet :)

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curious_s t1_jabsbgm wrote

Can confirm, I went through the entire alphabet in my head to check this.

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Shudnawz t1_jabvq88 wrote

In Swedish, W is "dubbel-v", double v. But instead of going "dubbel-v, dubbel-v, dubbel-v" we just say "v, v, v".

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superkoning t1_jac5ed0 wrote

and is W in Swedish a common letter? Or something foreign?

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Shudnawz t1_jac5t8d wrote

It has existed for a few hundred years at least. It's common in German, to which Swedish is closely related and we've swapped words with each other for a very long time.

Tho, it's not that common in modern day native Swedish words, no.

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superkoning t1_jac7564 wrote

>Tho, it's not that common in modern day native Swedish words, no.

I thought so: "vattenfall" is waterfall / Wasserfall / waterval. So in Swedish a v is used where other Germanic languages use a w?

Next question: is there a "v" pronounced as a soft f in Swedish?

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Shudnawz t1_jac9cgl wrote

Yeah, Swedish v is basically German w.

About a soft f, not that comes to mind right now. But that said, I'm no linguist or language teacher.

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jariwoud t1_jabt5bo wrote

English is (as far as i know) the only language that does this double u bullshit. Just call it the wee or so

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Kiwi_Doodle t1_jabtr7b wrote

At least, in norwegian we call it a Double V. It serves no purpose outside english words and a few names where it's pronounced identically to V

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Wavara t1_jabu2ml wrote

Same in Spanish (doble V o doble uve)

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mdcundee t1_jabrsu8 wrote

Reminds me of an old documentary about Bush Jr. that I once watched, where he started by saying: „My name is George W. Bush. Double you. Like, two times you.“ and continued saying: „The W stands for Walker. A man who walks.“

I loved that flick :)

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Wwwweeeeeeee t1_jabyn46 wrote

Unless you pronounce it "whuh", which I have heard in extremely rare occasions.

In Great Britain.

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henrycharleschester t1_jac4fko wrote

That’s how it was taught to us as little kids, just like “buh”, “kuh”, “puh” etc

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TrumpetSolo93 t1_jac7llu wrote

My school started doing that, but half way through the year. It was like it was an overnight decision.

Confused the hell out of me, suddenly Ayy Bee Cee wasn't good enough and the teachers just expected you to know.

Even at the time I remember thinking that it was probably an updated curriculum, better for kids, but that the teachers were handling it poorly.

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Celestial_MoonDragon t1_jac3hov wrote

How many went through the alphabet to see if this is true? Just me? Okay, I'll show myself out.

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Showerthoughts_Mod t1_jabfqy9 wrote

This is a friendly reminder to read our rules.

Remember, /r/Showerthoughts is for showerthoughts, not "thoughts had in the shower!"

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Rule-breaking posts may result in bans.

1

j0nascode t1_jabne3s wrote

that's just because you don't have Ypsilon or i grec or the Greek alphabet

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BobBelcher2021 t1_jabv9s7 wrote

In English, anyways. French has W and Y with more than one syllable, and Spanish has F, H, J, L, M, N, Ñ, R, W, X, Y, and Z with multiple syllables - and possibly other letters, I forget.

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dj_neon_reaper t1_jac0klz wrote

I am a fucking idiot. I was sounding it out instead of saying the actual letter. So i was like "wu is only one syllable though?"...

1

swissiws t1_jac2syh wrote

in italian we spell it "VU DOPPIA" that is "DOUBLE V" making it the only letter that is spelt with two different words!

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AwfulHonesty t1_jac6j8e wrote

English W is so weird. In my language it just like a V but said in a deeper tone

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pavelvito t1_jac74yg wrote

W, as well as thestter Y, also don't have their own sound associated with them. Whenever you say a word starting with either W or Y, the first sound that come out is either "ooo" or "eee". Consider the word yes. "Are you coming to the party?" "(eee)yes I am.

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nixalo t1_jac7i7f wrote

My grandparents would have disagreed and countered with "ar-ra".

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danh138 t1_jacac0n wrote

It also has a complete word in it’s pronunciation: “Double.” Does that mean all the letters in double existed and were being used before we invented W?

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Omnizoom t1_jacrb82 wrote

W is weird because it’s the only one that also phonetically not using it’s self or it’s sound , it’s literally pronounced double you

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Svengahli t1_jabn18f wrote

W is on the only letter with more than one letter in it cause it's a "double u."

0

That-Brain-Nerd t1_jabsqp3 wrote

Fun fact: you just ran through the alphabet in your head to double check.

0

stereothegreat t1_jabwvoo wrote

I didn’t because curious_s did it already and I trust them

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igotdeletedbyadmins_ t1_jabzxko wrote

And 7 is the only single digit number to have more than 1 syllable

0