meaning and pronunciation of Clojure

[Mark Volkmann]

I assume that the name "Clojure" is taken from the word "closure",
replacing the "s" with a "j" for Java. I've never seen that in writing
though and my curiosity compels me to have this verified. Is that
right?

Also, is it pronounced it is spelled or is it pronounced the same as
"closure"? I did find a post that said it's pronounced like "closure",
but I've always pronounced it the way it is spelled.

--
R. Mark Volkmann
Object Computing, Inc.

[Brian Will]

Yes. Pronounced "closure" as if the "j" is French.

[Randall R Schulz]

On Saturday 03 January 2009 13:06, Mark Volkmann wrote:
> ...

>
> Also, is it pronounced it is spelled or is it pronounced the same as
> "closure"? I did find a post that said it's pronounced like
> "closure", but I've always pronounced it the way it is spelled.

What's the difference?

RRS

[Mark Volkmann]

The difference is whether the "j" is pronounced like the "j" in "jar"
or like the "s" in "closure".

[Randall R Schulz]

I repeat the question, then. What is the difference?

When I say "closure" it sounds the same as when I say "clojure". If you
really want me to look up the IPA for that consonant, I can do that...

RRS

[Tom Faulhaber]

Think of a French-style j like in bonjour, Jean Renoir, or Jacques
Cousteau. That gives the word "Clojure" a sound that's *very* similar
to the concept of a closure. And the "j" evokes the JVM.

On Jan 3, 4:48 pm, "Mark Volkmann" <r.mark.volkm...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Randall R Schulz]

On Saturday 03 January 2009 17:32, Tom Faulhaber wrote:
> Think of a French-style j like in bonjour, Jean Renoir, or Jacques
> Cousteau. That gives the word "Clojure" a sound that's *very* similar
> to the concept of a closure. And the "j" evokes the JVM.

And that is how I pronounce the middle consonant in "closure."

RRS

[Mark Volkmann]

Me too, but some pronounce it just like "closure".

Hey Rich, can you confirm what is official according to you?

Should the "j" be pronounced like a "j" or like an "s"?

Did you pick the name based on starting with the word "closure" and
replacing the "s" with "j" for Java? It seems pretty likely, but it
would be nice to have that confirmed.

[Stephen C. Gilardi]

On Jan 3, 2009, at 9:10 PM, Mark Volkmann wrote:

> Hey Rich, can you confirm what is official according to you?
>
> Should the "j" be pronounced like a "j" or like an "s"?

You can hear the man himself saying it here: http://blip.tv/file/1313398/

I hear no particular nod in his pronunciation to the letter being "j"
rather than "s".

> Did you pick the name based on starting with the word "closure" and
> replacing the "s" with "j" for Java? It seems pretty likely, but it
> would be nice to have that confirmed.

I don't have any direct info on the origin. Rich did note once that
just before he finalized the name, he did a Google search for it and
was very pleased to see it returned no hits. Today the figure is
"about 106,000".

At one point, I came up with the following as a possible
rationalization for the name:

Common/Creative Lisp on Java/JVM -> Cloj -> Clojure, as a pun on
closure.

--Steve

[Ed]

I have been wanting to know the same thing...I was guessing Clojure
was an acronym for: Common_Lisp_Object_Java_?something?_?something?_?
something?, or possibly Concurrency_Language_OnThe_JVM_?something?_?
something?_?something?...I am dying to know. Or, like others have
cited, Closure en Francais 'Clojure'....what does the name stand for
and mean?

Can somebody post the history of the language, what the name means,
how it was chosen, were there any working names for the language
before it was called Clojure....etc. Is the inventor a Seattle
Seahawks fan, the colors of the Clojure Icon suggest so.

Thanks...happy hackin'

-
ed

[Ken]

Not related to or compatible with Common Lisp, so no. Pretty sure its
not an acronym. Closures are a commonly used concept in functional
programming, so it isn't mysterious where it came from. Just drop a J
in there for Javaness.

[Rich Hickey]

On Sat, Jan 3, 2009 at 9:10 PM, Mark Volkmann <r.mark....@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On Sat, Jan 3, 2009 at 7:36 PM, Randall R Schulz <rsc...@sonic.net> wrote:
>>
>> On Saturday 03 January 2009 17:32, Tom Faulhaber wrote:
>>> Think of a French-style j like in bonjour, Jean Renoir, or Jacques
>>> Cousteau. That gives the word "Clojure" a sound that's *very* similar
>>> to the concept of a closure. And the "j" evokes the JVM.
>>
>> And that is how I pronounce the middle consonant in "closure."
>
> Me too, but some pronounce it just like "closure".
>
> Hey Rich, can you confirm what is official according to you?

>
> Should the "j" be pronounced like a "j" or like an "s"?
>

Clojure is pronounced exactly like closure, where the s/j has the zh
sound as in azure, pleasure etc.

> Did you pick the name based on starting with the word "closure" and
> replacing the "s" with "j" for Java? It seems pretty likely, but it
> would be nice to have that confirmed.
>

The name was chosen to be unique. I wanted to involve c (c#), l (lisp)
and j (java).

Once I came up with Clojure, given the pun on closure, the available
domains and vast emptiness of the googlespace, it was an easy
decision.

Rich