this post was submitted on 20 Apr 2025
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I do

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[–] 2ugly2live@lemmy.world 10 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I do, but that's because "now these points of data make a beautiful line, and we're out of beta, we're releasing on time."

[–] Liberteez@lemm.ee 2 points 6 days ago

If anyone would know how to pronounce it, it's a computer

[–] bobbyfiend@lemmy.ml 5 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I've taught statistics for over 20 years. I flipflop on this constantly, sometimes in the middle of a sentence. Even more disturbing: I don't have a consistent position, at least grammatically, on whether it's singular or plural.

[–] eRac@lemmings.world 3 points 6 days ago (1 children)

It's sort of like the dual pronunciation of the word 'a' in English. While that has more distinct rules, it's still mostly which one feels nicer.

[–] christian@lemmy.ml 2 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Another one for me is "route".

edit: On further thought, it only works both ways as a synonym for a highway, if I'm talking about a path more generally the root pronunciation sounds wrong.

[–] Oberyn@lemmy.world 1 points 5 days ago

If you mean like "Dei-tuh" , then yah . Just sounds more natural to me

[–] Nikls94@lemmy.world 1 points 5 days ago
[–] haych@feddit.uk 1 points 6 days ago

Yes, I'm from the UK and that's just how it's said here.

[–] ThirdConsul@lemmy.ml 1 points 6 days ago

I pronounce it ta da~! , jazz hands included

[–] SonicBlue03@sh.itjust.works 44 points 1 week ago (2 children)

I pronounce it data. Guess I thought everyone did.

[–] AuroraGlamour@lemmy.ml 10 points 1 week ago (1 children)
[–] ettyblatant@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago

I know it's me just being a particular asshole, but I really don't like the pronunciation data... it's honestly tiresome, problematic, and outdated. It's pronounced DATA.

[–] Lemmy_2019@lemmy.one 5 points 1 week ago

Me too. Out of interest do you pronounce it 'gif' as well?

[–] Etterra@discuss.online 43 points 1 week ago
[–] deranger@sh.itjust.works 21 points 1 week ago

I vacillate between the two. Really depends on the words surrounding β€œdata”.

[–] deadcatbounce@reddthat.com 14 points 1 week ago (1 children)
[–] SouthEndSunset@lemm.ee 3 points 1 week ago

Exactly what I was gonna say.

[–] Corno@lemm.ee 13 points 1 week ago

I alternate between the two pronunciations depending on whatever I vibe with at the time, much like with how I spell colour/color

[–] criitz@reddthat.com 12 points 1 week ago

I only say data the way it's said in Star Trek. Same for database.

[–] Jerb322@lemmy.world 11 points 1 week ago

A local radio DJ said once that if he's feeling fancy he says "Da Ta" like "ta-da!" Cracked me up way more that it should have.

[–] jsomae@lemmy.ml 9 points 1 week ago (3 children)

I pronounce it like that, but I call the character "dah-ta"

[–] 0x0@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 1 week ago (1 children)

One is his name, the other is not

[–] jsomae@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I know it's wrong, but it's ok right? πŸ‘‰ πŸ‘ˆ

[–] 0x0@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 1 week ago

If Data had feelings, he'd be very upset right now.

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[–] PunkRockSportsFan@fanaticus.social 7 points 1 week ago (2 children)

For his name I say data but when talking about data I say data but when I say database I say data and when I watch 1986’s Willow with Warwick Davis I say data

[–] shiny_idea@aussie.zone 4 points 1 week ago (2 children)

What does Willow (1986) have to do with data? Isn't it, like, a sword-and-sorcery fantasy movie?

Oh I bet there's a character with a name that sounds like the word "data".

You should probably watch willow. It’s not terrible. Val kilmer with a sword.

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[–] SCmSTR@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

American. Day-duh.

Data: First, the two A's/vowels:

The first of two A's gets the "Aey" sound, the second gets the "Ah" sound.

Then, because I'm from California, the ah becomes uh.

Then, similarly, the "tuh" has a hard T at the beginning. But again because California/USA, the T becomes a D (British: butter ("buttah", hard t's), usa: budder(soft t's or d's))

Thus: day-duh.

[–] ada@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 1 week ago (2 children)

I don’t know, because I have no idea how the Star Trek character says it…

[–] buffysummers@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

It is pronounced /ˈdΓ¦tΙ™/.

[–] meekah@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago

Dictionaries are descriptive, not prescriptive.

[–] cyberpunk007@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 week ago

I use them interchangeably πŸ™ˆ

[–] communism@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 week ago (3 children)

How else are you supposed to pronounce it?

[–] gobble_ghoul@hexbear.net 3 points 1 week ago

There are three variants I’m aware of: /eΙͺ/ as in β€œday”, /Γ¦/ as in β€œdad”, and /ɑː/ as in β€œspa”. I personally say it with /Γ¦/.

[–] executivechimp@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Brits pronounce it day-ta, Americans, Canadians and Australians pronounce it dah-ta. Data pronounces it Day-ta.

[–] frostycakes@lemmy.ml 1 points 6 days ago

American with an accent that is functionally General American here: it's day-duh, the t gets flapped. Dah-ta sounds very off to my ears, if anywhere in the US pronounces it that way, it's probably one of the weirder accents from the northeast.

[–] lukecooperatus@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

American here, I can't speak for Canada, but I don't think I've ever heard any Americans in the US in real conversations say it differently than it is in Star Trek.

I've lived in nearly every major region of the US, so if there's a place where they still pronounce it like "dah-ta" it must be a very small regional thing. Normal working class people having actual conversions everywhere I've ever been say "day-ta".

I've read before that Patrick Stewart is the reason for that changing, but I don't know if that's true. Seems like an outsized influence for one guy to have on culture, but maybe!

[–] executivechimp@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Interesting. From some googling it looks like America is a mix of both but leaning towards day-ta, whereas the other countries are more consistently as I said.

I have a British friend who now lives in Canada and works in tech and has changed the way he says it (from day-ta to dah-ta, or really more like dah-da) for convenience. I had thought that it was an Atlantic divide but seems like there's more to it.

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Yes, i watched TNG before (and during) i learned English

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