How to pronounce "Weyl"?
Kresimir Kumericki
Knowing some German, I was under impression that correct
pronunciation rhymes with "mail". I even felt somewhat superior
to all those Americans who pronounce it so that it rhymes with
"smile". :-)
However, recently I heard that it really is "smile" because "y"
in "Weyl" should be taken as if it were "i" (i.e. "Weil") and
then the usual rules of German pronunciation tell us that it
should rhyme with "smile"?
Can anyone knowledgeable confirm this?
--
-------------------------------------------------------------
Kresimir Kumericki kku...@phy.hr http://www.phy.hr/~kkumer/
Theoretical Physics Department, University of Zagreb, Croatia
-------------------------------------------------------------
William R. Frensley
>
> How should one pronounce "Weyl" (H. Weyl, Weyl spinor, ...)?
I don't have an answer, but I have an annecdote based upon this issue:
A few years ago I did some work using the Wigner distribution function,
which is closely related to the Weyl transformation for writing a QM
operator as a function in phase space (position+momentum). I ran across
a branch of signal processing based on the Wigner function. The signal
processors refer to it as the Wigner-Ville function. My response was
"The silly signal processors don't even know how to spell Hermann Weyl's
name correctly." Oops. It turns out that Ville was a French telephone
engineer.
- Bill Frensley
james d. hunter
The real signal processors usually pronounce it:
"Who the fuck is Wigner?".
Doug Goncz
But whether the y is as an I, I don't know.
The first vowel of several German dipthongs is (are?) silent. At least I think
they are dipthongs. For all I know, dipthong could be what you do at the beach
in Ryo.
Yours,
Doug Goncz, A.A.S.M.E.T.
Experimental Machinist ( DOT 600.260-022 )
Replikon Research ( USA 22044-0094 )
http://www.deja.com/profile.xp?author=dgoncz@aol
http://users.aol.com/DGoncz
Gerry Quinn
> How should one pronounce "Weyl" (H. Weyl, Weyl spinor, ...)?
>pronunciation rhymes with "mail". I even felt somewhat superior
>to all those Americans who pronounce it so that it rhymes with
>"smile". :-)
>
> However, recently I heard that it really is "smile" because "y"
>in "Weyl" should be taken as if it were "i" (i.e. "Weil") and
>then the usual rules of German pronunciation tell us that it
>should rhyme with "smile"?
>
> Can anyone knowledgeable confirm this?
>
>
I read something by Hawking which suggested it is pronounced "Wail". He
was trying to make a really bad pun. I'm not convinced, though.
- Gerry Quinn
Simon Clark
: How should one pronounce "Weyl" (H. Weyl, Weyl spinor, ...)?
: Knowing some German, I was under impression that correct
: pronunciation rhymes with "mail". I even felt somewhat superior
: to all those Americans who pronounce it so that it rhymes with
: "smile". :-)
: However, recently I heard that it really is "smile" because "y"
: in "Weyl" should be taken as if it were "i" (i.e. "Weil") and
: then the usual rules of German pronunciation tell us that it
: should rhyme with "smile"?
: Can anyone knowledgeable confirm this?
I don't know if I count as knowledgeable, but I believe that the correct
pronunciation is "Throat Wobbler Mangrove". However I usually pronounce
it "Vile". HTH.
--
Simon Clark - Urban Crime-Fighter
http://www.lancs.ac.uk/postgrad/clarksj/kibology/
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Simon Clark
100...@goedel1.math.washington.edu>,
Chris Hillman <hil...@math.washington.edu> wrote:
: There is a traditional ditty taught to American graduate students
: which goes like this:
:
: "Weil, go a vay; Weyl, stay a vile"
:
Yeah, but you also have the little ditty:
"van Gogh, van go"
And don't try to talk your way out of THAT one!
Simon Clark
b...@rzg.mpg.de (Bruce Scott TOK) wrote:
: In article <7ugfq5$cju$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,
: Simon Clark <cla...@my-deja.com> wrote:
: >I don't know if I count as knowledgeable, but I believe that the
: >correct pronunciation is "Throat Wobbler Mangrove". However I usually
: >pronounce it "Vile". HTH.
:
: I just asked a German colleague, and he pretty definitively said
: that the version you give is correct.
That's settled that: "Throat Wobbler Mangrove" it is, then!
Gregory L. Hansen
And since it was brought up, is there such thing as a pronouncing
dictionary for names and terms in physics?
--
No electrons were harmed in the posting of this message.
Lorenz [to_email_see_my_sig] Borsche
> kku...@phy.hr (Kresimir Kumericki) wrote:
>
>: How should one pronounce "Weyl" (H. Weyl, Weyl spinor, ...)?
>: Knowing some German, I was under impression that correct
>: pronunciation rhymes with "mail".
Nope
> I even felt somewhat superior
>: to all those Americans who pronounce it so that it rhymes with
>: "smile". :-)
But they're right.
>: However, recently I heard that it really is "smile" because "y"
>: in "Weyl" should be taken as if it were "i" (i.e. "Weil") and
Yes.
>: then the usual rules of German pronunciation tell us that it
>: should rhyme with "smile"?
>: Can anyone knowledgeable confirm this?
Well, if I count as knowledgeable, I don't know, but I do speak this
*~#%ยง language now for a while - ah, there you are: Just take that:
Say Weyl (for a) while :-) ... na, not exactly. The double-U in Weyl
is rather like a Vee ...
>However I usually pronounce
>it "Vile".
Indeed, that seems to fit best.
--
Lorenz Borsche http://www.borsche.de
eMail? check my site eMil auf meiner homepage
-----------------------------------------------------
All professions are conspiracies against laymen (GBS)
Chris Hillman
There is a traditional ditty taught to American graduate students which
goes like this:
"Weil, go a vay; Weyl, stay a vile"
There is also an elementary argument against the most naive idea about
"quantizing space" which is due to Hermann and is called the "Weyl tile"
argument, which is another way to remember the pronounciation of Weyl's
name. And I am told there is a "Rue Simone Weil" (in English, "Simone Weil
Way"), which is another way to remember the pronounciation of Weil's name.
Chris Hillman
Home Page: http://www.math.washington.edu/~hillman/personal.html
Bruce Scott TOK
>I don't know if I count as knowledgeable, but I believe that the correct
>pronunciation is "Throat Wobbler Mangrove". However I usually pronounce
>it "Vile". HTH.
I just asked a German colleague, and he pretty definitively said that
the version you give is correct.
--
cu,
Bruce
drift wave turbulence: http://www.rzg.mpg.de/~bds/
John Prussing
>> I even felt somewhat superior
>>: to all those Americans who pronounce it so that it rhymes with
>>: "smile". :-)
>But they're right.
>>: However, recently I heard that it really is "smile" because "y"
>>: in "Weyl" should be taken as if it were "i" (i.e. "Weil") and
>Yes.
>>: then the usual rules of German pronunciation tell us that it
>>: should rhyme with "smile"?
>>: Can anyone knowledgeable confirm this?
>Well, if I count as knowledgeable, I don't know, but I do speak this
>*~#%' language now for a while - ah, there you are: Just take that:
>Say Weyl (for a) while :-) ... na, not exactly. The double-U in Weyl
>is rather like a Vee ...
>>However I usually pronounce
>>it "Vile".
>Indeed, that seems to fit best.
Of course I accept your opinion as an expert witness. But one could also
say that it's pronounced like the homonym "vial". That's far less vile.
>--
>Lorenz Borsche http://www.borsche.de
>eMail? check my site eMil auf meiner homepage
>-----------------------------------------------------
>All professions are conspiracies against laymen (GBS)
--
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
John E. Prussing
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Lorenz [to_email_see_my_sig] Borsche
prus...@aae.uiuc.edu (John Prussing) wrote:
>>>However I usually pronounce
>>>it "Vile".
>
>>Indeed, that seems to fit best.
>
>Of course I accept your opinion as an expert witness. But one could also
>say that it's pronounced like the homonym "vial". That's far less vile.
Ah, umh, well - if that was a pun, it's wasted on me. I wouldn't know
how to pronounce 'vial' in English. Sorry :-)
But: if we're into the details, 'Weyl' is of course nearer to 'vile'
than to 'vail' (like mail), but it's still not quite the same. The Vee
fits well, the 'i' could be a bit less open, a bit nearer to 'ai', but
the 'L' at the end is definitley different, as we have it on the tip
of the tongue instead of in the throat (which usually omakes it easy
to pick a german, as the guttural L is nearly as hard to learn as a
propper TeeAge).
Bruce Scott TOK
Lorenz [to_email_see_my_sig] Borsche <pub...@usa.net> wrote:
>But: if we're into the details, 'Weyl' is of course nearer to 'vile'
>than to 'vail' (like mail), but it's still not quite the same. The Vee
>fits well, the 'i' could be a bit less open, a bit nearer to 'ai', but
>the 'L' at the end is definitley different, as we have it on the tip
>of the tongue instead of in the throat (which usually omakes it easy
>to pick a german, as the guttural L is nearly as hard to learn as a
>propper TeeAge).
As hard as the German (or Continental) "r" then, or the o-umlaut.
John Prussing
>In article <7uj1sa$abs$1...@vixen.cso.uiuc.edu>,
>prus...@aae.uiuc.edu (John Prussing) wrote:
>>>>However I usually pronounce
>>>>it "Vile".
>>
>>>Indeed, that seems to fit best.
>>
>>Of course I accept your opinion as an expert witness. But one could also
>>say that it's pronounced like the homonym "vial". That's far less vile.
>Ah, umh, well - if that was a pun, it's wasted on me. I wouldn't know
>how to pronounce 'vial' in English. Sorry :-)
Kein Problem. The word "vial", meaning a small bottle for medicine or
poison, is pronounced exactly like "vile".
Perhaps we shouldn't discuss pronouncing his first name, Hermann.
There are two vowels in it, both of which are pronounced differently
in the English name Herman. Sorry I mentioned it.
In German and English even the names of the letters are pronounced
differently. I think only f l m n o are pronounced the same. And then
there are those umlauts over some vowels. Gott in Himmel!
>--
>Lorenz Borsche http://www.borsche.de
>eMail? check my site eMil auf meiner homepage
>-----------------------------------------------------
>All professions are conspiracies against laymen (GBS)
Penny314
Goughh = Gogh.
Mnemonic: Only a Klingon would cut off his own ear.
pennysmith
Generations of Bronx people shudder when they hear the morning radio traffic
report about the " Van WhyK" expressway. [Van Wyck]
They know it is Van Wick , just as HOUSTON is Howston to a New Yorker.
And who ever heard of a chess player playing the Roooeyy Loopay or the Wilkes
-BERRY?
But, I ramble.
pennysmith
Lorenz [to_email_see_my_sig] Borsche
penn...@aol.com (Penny314) wrote:
>And who ever heard of a chess player playing the Roooeyy Loopay
>or the Wilkes-BERRY?
Pronounce 'ghoti' :-)
Penny314
Fish
penny
>Pronounce 'ghoti' :-)
Gregory L. Hansen
>penn...@aol.com (Penny314) wrote:
>
>>And who ever heard of a chess player playing the Roooeyy Loopay
>>or the Wilkes-BERRY?
>
>Pronounce 'ghoti' :-)
Pronounce "Gyrop".
Anyone that eats Greek food should have no trouble with that one!
--
"That's not an avacado, that's a grenae!" -- The Skipper
Lorenz [to_email_see_my_sig] Borsche
penn...@aol.com (Penny314) wrote:
>dear lorentz
-----------^
That's the one with the transformation.
> Fish
Now what were we talking 'bout?
Lorenz [to_email_see_my_sig] Borsche
glha...@steel.ucs.indiana.edu (Gregory L. Hansen) wrote:
>
>Pronounce "Gyrop".
________________^
What's that?
Gregory L. Hansen
>glha...@steel.ucs.indiana.edu (Gregory L. Hansen) wrote:
>
>>
>>Pronounce "Gyrop".
>________________^
>
>What's that?
There are Greek restaurants here that sell gyros. They insist they're
called "yuros", but I wish they would have spelled them that way. When I
was talking with my brother over the phone, I thought he said "Euro", like
something that was European.
--
"That's not an avacado, that's a grenade!" -- The Skipper
hugode...@gmail.com
> How should one pronounce "Weyl" (H. Weyl, Weyl spinor, ...)?
> Knowing some German, I was under impression that correct
> "smile". :-)
>
> in "Weyl" should be taken as if it were "i" (i.e. "Weil") and
> should rhyme with "smile"?
>
> Can anyone knowledgeable confirm this?
>
>
Is Weyl's name originally Dutch? using the old Dutch y, which later got standardized to an "i" thus his modern Dutch spelling would be Weil, which in German would be pronounced Vile, but in Dutch, it would be pronounced Vale. English speakers often mispronounce the Dutch city of Leiden as Li(ght)-den, thinking it is pronounced in the German way instead of the correct Layden, in the Dutch way, so IF (emphasized!) the etymology of his name is Dutch, then to pronounce his name in the Dutch way would be Vale.====
Prof. Dr. Hugo de Garis (who speaks English, Dutch and German, etc)
benj
of "science" knowledge where they shine!
By the way, please note that names are pronounced HE WAY THAT THEIR
OWNERS SAY THEY ARE PRONOUNCED. Spelling and etymology and professorial
derivations are all trumped by this. (Libs please excuse the expression)
Helmut Wabnig
wrote:
of the world.
They do not know how to pronounce a letter,
for example child, children.
Two different sounds for the letter i alone.
This is just one example.
Everything is fucked up in English,
but Amercanese is still worse.
They cannot pronounce the letter "r",
instead the make a gurgling sound like someone on the gallows.
You are American? Say "rr".
w.
Double-A
> How should one pronounce "Weyl" (H. Weyl, Weyl spinor, ...)?
> Knowing some German, I was under impression that correct
> pronunciation rhymes with "mail". I even felt somewhat superior
> to all those Americans who pronounce it so that it rhymes with
> "smile". :-)
>
> However, recently I heard that it really is "smile" because "y"
> in "Weyl" should be taken as if it were "i" (i.e. "Weil") and
> then the usual rules of German pronunciation tell us that it
> should rhyme with "smile"?
>
> Can anyone knowledgeable confirm this?
>
>
> --
> Kresimir Kumericki kku...@phy.hr http://www.phy.hr/~kkumer/
> Theoretical Physics Department, University of Zagreb, Croatia
> -------------------------------------------------------------
Weyl, Feyman, ey = I.
Double-A