What is the correct pronunciation of TeX and LaTeX?

up vote
103
down vote

favorite

Is it tex(tech)?
Or
Is it tex(like touch)?

Lay-TeX?
or
La-TeX?

Should I use TeX pronunciation in LaTeX?

edited Nov 7 '15 at 10:05

David Carlisle

480k3811121848

asked May 5 '11 at 18:54

Prabhanjan Naib

1,34131630

1

see last line in latex-project.org/intro.html
– Herbert
May 5 '11 at 19:28

2

What about ConTeXt? The final “t” is for “tricky”.
– rberaldo
May 5 '11 at 20:08

@rberaldo: see tex.stackexchange.com/questions/5406/…
– Caramdir
May 5 '11 at 20:29

@Caramdir thank you! I think the Hans Hagen should put it in the manual, just for the sake of tradition.
– rberaldo
May 5 '11 at 20:40

add a comment |

up vote
103
down vote

favorite

Is it tex(tech)?
Or
Is it tex(like touch)?

Lay-TeX?
or
La-TeX?

Should I use TeX pronunciation in LaTeX?

edited Nov 7 '15 at 10:05

David Carlisle

480k3811121848

asked May 5 '11 at 18:54

Prabhanjan Naib

1,34131630

1

see last line in latex-project.org/intro.html
– Herbert
May 5 '11 at 19:28

2

What about ConTeXt? The final “t” is for “tricky”.
– rberaldo
May 5 '11 at 20:08

@rberaldo: see tex.stackexchange.com/questions/5406/…
– Caramdir
May 5 '11 at 20:29

@Caramdir thank you! I think the Hans Hagen should put it in the manual, just for the sake of tradition.
– rberaldo
May 5 '11 at 20:40

add a comment |

up vote
103
down vote

favorite

Is it tex(tech)?
Or
Is it tex(like touch)?

Lay-TeX?
or
La-TeX?

Should I use TeX pronunciation in LaTeX?

edited Nov 7 '15 at 10:05

David Carlisle

480k3811121848

asked May 5 '11 at 18:54

Prabhanjan Naib

1,34131630

Is it tex(tech)?
Or
Is it tex(like touch)?

Lay-TeX?
or
La-TeX?

Should I use TeX pronunciation in LaTeX?

tex-general latex-misc

edited Nov 7 '15 at 10:05

David Carlisle

480k3811121848

asked May 5 '11 at 18:54

Prabhanjan Naib

1,34131630

edited Nov 7 '15 at 10:05

David Carlisle

480k3811121848

asked May 5 '11 at 18:54

Prabhanjan Naib

1,34131630

edited Nov 7 '15 at 10:05

David Carlisle

480k3811121848

edited Nov 7 '15 at 10:05

David Carlisle

480k3811121848

edited Nov 7 '15 at 10:05

David Carlisle

480k3811121848

asked May 5 '11 at 18:54

Prabhanjan Naib

1,34131630

asked May 5 '11 at 18:54

Prabhanjan Naib

1,34131630

asked May 5 '11 at 18:54

Prabhanjan Naib

1,34131630

1

see last line in latex-project.org/intro.html
– Herbert
May 5 '11 at 19:28

2

What about ConTeXt? The final “t” is for “tricky”.
– rberaldo
May 5 '11 at 20:08

@rberaldo: see tex.stackexchange.com/questions/5406/…
– Caramdir
May 5 '11 at 20:29

@Caramdir thank you! I think the Hans Hagen should put it in the manual, just for the sake of tradition.
– rberaldo
May 5 '11 at 20:40

add a comment |

1

see last line in latex-project.org/intro.html
– Herbert
May 5 '11 at 19:28

2

What about ConTeXt? The final “t” is for “tricky”.
– rberaldo
May 5 '11 at 20:08

@rberaldo: see tex.stackexchange.com/questions/5406/…
– Caramdir
May 5 '11 at 20:29

@Caramdir thank you! I think the Hans Hagen should put it in the manual, just for the sake of tradition.
– rberaldo
May 5 '11 at 20:40

see last line in latex-project.org/intro.html
– Herbert
May 5 '11 at 19:28

What about ConTeXt? The final “t” is for “tricky”.
– rberaldo
May 5 '11 at 20:08

@rberaldo: see tex.stackexchange.com/questions/5406/…
– Caramdir
May 5 '11 at 20:29

@Caramdir thank you! I think the Hans Hagen should put it in the manual, just for the sake of tradition.
– rberaldo
May 5 '11 at 20:40

add a comment |

6 Answers
6

active

oldest

votes

up vote
102
down vote

accepted

Let the creators of TeX and LaTeX answer:

Donald Knuth wrote in the first chapter of his TeXbook:

English words like ‘technology’ stem
from a Greek root beginning with the
letters τεχ...; and this same Greek
word means art as well as
technology. Hence the name TeX, which
is an uppercase form of τεχ.

Insiders pronounce the χ of TeX as a
Greek chi, not as an ‘x’, so that TeX
rhymes with the word blecchhh. It’s
the ‘ch’ sound in Scottish words like
loch or German words like ach; it’s a
Spanish ‘j’ and a Russian ‘kh’. When
you say it correctly to your computer,
the terminal may become slightly
moist.

Leslie Lamport wrote in the first chapter of his book LaTeX: A document Preparation System:

One of the hardest things about LaTeX
is deciding how to pronounce it.This
is also one of the few things I'm not
going to tell you about LaTeX, since
pronunciation is best determined by
usage, not fiat. TeX is usually
pronounced teck, making lah-teck,
and lay-teck the logical choices;
but language is not always logical, so
lay-tecks is also possible.

answered May 5 '11 at 19:21

Gonzalo Medina

394k4012921559

24

a long time ago, in an intro to latex presented at a decus symposium by lamport himself, he said when asked this question, "anything but L.A.TeX". (in other words, don't pronounce the first two letters as separate syllables.)
– barbara beeton
May 5 '11 at 20:13

1

Great answer. Another interesting quote by Knuth is mentioned in footnote 1 on page 1 of lshort, I think this quote would add to your answer even more. (I couldn't find the quote in the "German Wikipedia" right away though ...)
– doncherry
May 5 '11 at 23:13

1

@doncherry: thanks for the quote. I, however, was unable to find the source in the German Wikipedia, so I decided not to add the quote to my answer until I (or someone else) can find the source.
– Gonzalo Medina
May 7 '11 at 2:33

1

One should note, however, that the Greek χ (chi) is pronounced (at least by the very few Greek people I've met) closer to the English word 'he' than to the German 'ach', so I would question whether Knuth's explanation is fully consistent with modern Greek pronunciation.
– Bruno Le Floch
May 24 '13 at 9:02

2

@BrunoLeFloch: There seem to be two pronunciations of χ in modern greek depending on the context. Wikipedia: "In Modern Greek, it has two distinct pronunciations: In front of high or front vowels (/e/ or /i/) it is pronounced as a voiceless palatal fricative [ç], as in German ich or like the h in some pronunciations of the English words hew and human. In front of low or back vowels (/a/, /o/ or /u/) and consonants, it is pronounced as a voiceless velar fricative ([x]), as in German ach."
– Perseids
Sep 15 '14 at 11:45

|
show 3 more comments

up vote
29
down vote

Using the IPA, it is /ˈleɪtɛk/, /ˈleɪtɛx/, /ˈlɑːtɛx/, or /ˈlɑːtɛk/.

Resources:

Pronouncing "LaTeX" on Wikipedia

LaTeX is usually pronounced /ˈlɑːtɛk/ or /ˈleɪtɛk/ in English (that is, not with the /ks/ pronunciation English speakers normally associate with X, but with a /k/). The characters T, E, X in the name come from capital Greek letters tau, epsilon, and chi, as the name of TeX derives from the Greek: τέχνη (skill, art, technique); for this reason, TeX's creator Donald Knuth promotes a pronunciation of /ˈtɛx/ (tekh) (that is, with a voiceless velar fricative as in Modern Greek, similar to the last sound of the German word "Bach", the Spanish "j" sound, or as ch in loch). Lamport, on the other hand, has said he does not favor or discourage any pronunciation for LaTeX.

edited May 5 '11 at 21:11

answered May 5 '11 at 19:16

Harold Cavendish

4,00832448

1

As a linguistics student, I highly appreciate your IPA, to make it even better, you could/should add either slashes /.../ or brackets [...] around it. Your quote went with the slashes, which indicate phonemic transcription. That seems appropriate here.
– doncherry
May 5 '11 at 20:42

@doncherry Thank you for the suggestion, I have added the slashes. I am actually learning the IPA at the moment as I have become interested in linguistics, particularly phonetics and phonology, so any good advice such as yours is highly appreciated.
– Harold Cavendish
May 5 '11 at 21:14

Glad I could help. I'm sure you know it already, but in case you don't, you should check out the tipa package for IPA in LaTeX.
– doncherry
May 5 '11 at 22:36

@doncherry I do, thank you. I am currently working on typesetting a short phrasal dictionary so I use it a lot.
– Harold Cavendish
May 6 '11 at 4:54

add a comment |

up vote
22
down vote

I think that it's better to find out what Knuth has to say in the matter... Listen!!! :D

Oh, and watch the whole presentation. It is definitely worth it.

edited Nov 19 '14 at 10:42

Dayakar

412

answered May 5 '11 at 23:38

pmav99

3,32322850

12

(pronunciation at 13:40)
– Neil G
May 6 '11 at 7:56

1

Love the digs at Steve Jobs and Apple. Throughout the presentation!
– Mateen Ulhaq
Jul 28 '17 at 5:02

add a comment |

up vote
10
down vote

Knuth answers this in the TeXbook: it's "teccch" (a gutteral sound, like in German or Russian or Hebrew, or of course Greek) not "teks" or "tetch". According to the TeX FAQ, there is no official pronunciation for LaTeX, but I often hear "lay-TeX" or (of course) "lay-teks" for humorous reasons. I prefer "lah-TeX", as in "Lamport", but I'm pedantic.

edited May 6 '11 at 19:11

answered May 5 '11 at 18:59

Ryan Reich

31.1k799157

add a comment |

up vote
3
down vote

TeX actually stands for tau-epsilon-chi and the 'X' is therefore pronounced like the 'ch' in German, i.e. by breathing out through half closed mouth (I can't explain it better). It's sounds similar to the 'tech' in 'technique'.

The TeX Wikipedia page says:

TeX (/ˈtɛx/ as in Greek, but often pronounced /tɛk/ in English)
...
'ch' like in 'loch'

LaTeX is pronounced lah-tech by most German speakers (like me) but in English it is often pronounced lay-tech. IMHO that is because it is the natural pronounced of that languages.

edited May 5 '11 at 19:42

answered May 5 '11 at 19:22

Martin Scharrer♦

198k45631813

3

"breathing out through half closed mouse"!!! I'm sure you can't explain it better.
– Loop Space
May 5 '11 at 19:38

1

@Andrew: LOL :-) Sorry, long day. ROFL
– Martin Scharrer♦
May 5 '11 at 19:43

1

Incidentally, 'LOL' is now in the Oxford English Dictionary. It's a sad day.
– Loop Space
May 5 '11 at 20:54

1

Martin, which German "ch"? There's Bach and there's Brecht. The different sources seem to be contradicting each other. The above quotes list the Scottish "loch" but on latex-project.org/intro.html the instructions compare it with "Brecht". These are different sounds for the ch, at least for a German speaker.
– teylyn
May 5 '11 at 21:06

1

@teylyn: According to Wikipedia, it is IPA [x], as in German Bach. See also the entry on χ.
– Caramdir
May 6 '11 at 1:23

|
show 1 more comment

up vote
0
down vote

Allow me to suggest a probably unpopular alternative: "latex" /ˈleɪtɛks/. Like the substance. Let it stand for whatever Greek letters it may: I'm not reading it in Greek, so that's irrelevant. Spell it like an existing word and you only invite a reader to read it like an existing word.

Ultimately, I'd posit that it's not that important as long as people understand you.

(Also, SQL is not "sequel" and "arXiv" is not "ar-kh-iv" (and definitely not "archive").)

_{_{_{Please don't downvote me too hard, I am but a simple foreigner...}}}

answered 48 mins ago

Lumos

New contributor

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6 Answers
6

active

oldest

votes

6 Answers
6

active

oldest

votes

up vote
102
down vote

accepted

Let the creators of TeX and LaTeX answer:

Donald Knuth wrote in the first chapter of his TeXbook:

English words like ‘technology’ stem
from a Greek root beginning with the
letters τεχ...; and this same Greek
word means art as well as
technology. Hence the name TeX, which
is an uppercase form of τεχ.

Insiders pronounce the χ of TeX as a
Greek chi, not as an ‘x’, so that TeX
rhymes with the word blecchhh. It’s
the ‘ch’ sound in Scottish words like
loch or German words like ach; it’s a
Spanish ‘j’ and a Russian ‘kh’. When
you say it correctly to your computer,
the terminal may become slightly
moist.

Leslie Lamport wrote in the first chapter of his book LaTeX: A document Preparation System:

One of the hardest things about LaTeX
is deciding how to pronounce it.This
is also one of the few things I'm not
going to tell you about LaTeX, since
pronunciation is best determined by
usage, not fiat. TeX is usually
pronounced teck, making lah-teck,
and lay-teck the logical choices;
but language is not always logical, so
lay-tecks is also possible.

answered May 5 '11 at 19:21

Gonzalo Medina

394k4012921559

24

a long time ago, in an intro to latex presented at a decus symposium by lamport himself, he said when asked this question, "anything but L.A.TeX". (in other words, don't pronounce the first two letters as separate syllables.)
– barbara beeton
May 5 '11 at 20:13

1

Great answer. Another interesting quote by Knuth is mentioned in footnote 1 on page 1 of lshort, I think this quote would add to your answer even more. (I couldn't find the quote in the "German Wikipedia" right away though ...)
– doncherry
May 5 '11 at 23:13

1

@doncherry: thanks for the quote. I, however, was unable to find the source in the German Wikipedia, so I decided not to add the quote to my answer until I (or someone else) can find the source.
– Gonzalo Medina
May 7 '11 at 2:33

1

One should note, however, that the Greek χ (chi) is pronounced (at least by the very few Greek people I've met) closer to the English word 'he' than to the German 'ach', so I would question whether Knuth's explanation is fully consistent with modern Greek pronunciation.
– Bruno Le Floch
May 24 '13 at 9:02

2

@BrunoLeFloch: There seem to be two pronunciations of χ in modern greek depending on the context. Wikipedia: "In Modern Greek, it has two distinct pronunciations: In front of high or front vowels (/e/ or /i/) it is pronounced as a voiceless palatal fricative [ç], as in German ich or like the h in some pronunciations of the English words hew and human. In front of low or back vowels (/a/, /o/ or /u/) and consonants, it is pronounced as a voiceless velar fricative ([x]), as in German ach."
– Perseids
Sep 15 '14 at 11:45

|
show 3 more comments

up vote
102
down vote

accepted

Let the creators of TeX and LaTeX answer:

Donald Knuth wrote in the first chapter of his TeXbook:

English words like ‘technology’ stem
from a Greek root beginning with the
letters τεχ...; and this same Greek
word means art as well as
technology. Hence the name TeX, which
is an uppercase form of τεχ.

Insiders pronounce the χ of TeX as a
Greek chi, not as an ‘x’, so that TeX
rhymes with the word blecchhh. It’s
the ‘ch’ sound in Scottish words like
loch or German words like ach; it’s a
Spanish ‘j’ and a Russian ‘kh’. When
you say it correctly to your computer,
the terminal may become slightly
moist.

Leslie Lamport wrote in the first chapter of his book LaTeX: A document Preparation System:

One of the hardest things about LaTeX
is deciding how to pronounce it.This
is also one of the few things I'm not
going to tell you about LaTeX, since
pronunciation is best determined by
usage, not fiat. TeX is usually
pronounced teck, making lah-teck,
and lay-teck the logical choices;
but language is not always logical, so
lay-tecks is also possible.

answered May 5 '11 at 19:21

Gonzalo Medina

394k4012921559

24

a long time ago, in an intro to latex presented at a decus symposium by lamport himself, he said when asked this question, "anything but L.A.TeX". (in other words, don't pronounce the first two letters as separate syllables.)
– barbara beeton
May 5 '11 at 20:13

1

Great answer. Another interesting quote by Knuth is mentioned in footnote 1 on page 1 of lshort, I think this quote would add to your answer even more. (I couldn't find the quote in the "German Wikipedia" right away though ...)
– doncherry
May 5 '11 at 23:13

1

@doncherry: thanks for the quote. I, however, was unable to find the source in the German Wikipedia, so I decided not to add the quote to my answer until I (or someone else) can find the source.
– Gonzalo Medina
May 7 '11 at 2:33

1

One should note, however, that the Greek χ (chi) is pronounced (at least by the very few Greek people I've met) closer to the English word 'he' than to the German 'ach', so I would question whether Knuth's explanation is fully consistent with modern Greek pronunciation.
– Bruno Le Floch
May 24 '13 at 9:02

2

@BrunoLeFloch: There seem to be two pronunciations of χ in modern greek depending on the context. Wikipedia: "In Modern Greek, it has two distinct pronunciations: In front of high or front vowels (/e/ or /i/) it is pronounced as a voiceless palatal fricative [ç], as in German ich or like the h in some pronunciations of the English words hew and human. In front of low or back vowels (/a/, /o/ or /u/) and consonants, it is pronounced as a voiceless velar fricative ([x]), as in German ach."
– Perseids
Sep 15 '14 at 11:45

|
show 3 more comments

up vote
102
down vote

accepted

Let the creators of TeX and LaTeX answer:

Donald Knuth wrote in the first chapter of his TeXbook:

English words like ‘technology’ stem
from a Greek root beginning with the
letters τεχ...; and this same Greek
word means art as well as
technology. Hence the name TeX, which
is an uppercase form of τεχ.

Insiders pronounce the χ of TeX as a
Greek chi, not as an ‘x’, so that TeX
rhymes with the word blecchhh. It’s
the ‘ch’ sound in Scottish words like
loch or German words like ach; it’s a
Spanish ‘j’ and a Russian ‘kh’. When
you say it correctly to your computer,
the terminal may become slightly
moist.

Leslie Lamport wrote in the first chapter of his book LaTeX: A document Preparation System:

One of the hardest things about LaTeX
is deciding how to pronounce it.This
is also one of the few things I'm not
going to tell you about LaTeX, since
pronunciation is best determined by
usage, not fiat. TeX is usually
pronounced teck, making lah-teck,
and lay-teck the logical choices;
but language is not always logical, so
lay-tecks is also possible.

answered May 5 '11 at 19:21

Gonzalo Medina

394k4012921559

Let the creators of TeX and LaTeX answer:

Donald Knuth wrote in the first chapter of his TeXbook:

English words like ‘technology’ stem
from a Greek root beginning with the
letters τεχ...; and this same Greek
word means art as well as
technology. Hence the name TeX, which
is an uppercase form of τεχ.

Insiders pronounce the χ of TeX as a
Greek chi, not as an ‘x’, so that TeX
rhymes with the word blecchhh. It’s
the ‘ch’ sound in Scottish words like
loch or German words like ach; it’s a
Spanish ‘j’ and a Russian ‘kh’. When
you say it correctly to your computer,
the terminal may become slightly
moist.

Leslie Lamport wrote in the first chapter of his book LaTeX: A document Preparation System:

One of the hardest things about LaTeX
is deciding how to pronounce it.This
is also one of the few things I'm not
going to tell you about LaTeX, since
pronunciation is best determined by
usage, not fiat. TeX is usually
pronounced teck, making lah-teck,
and lay-teck the logical choices;
but language is not always logical, so
lay-tecks is also possible.

answered May 5 '11 at 19:21

Gonzalo Medina

394k4012921559

answered May 5 '11 at 19:21

Gonzalo Medina

394k4012921559

answered May 5 '11 at 19:21

Gonzalo Medina

394k4012921559

answered May 5 '11 at 19:21

Gonzalo Medina

394k4012921559

24

a long time ago, in an intro to latex presented at a decus symposium by lamport himself, he said when asked this question, "anything but L.A.TeX". (in other words, don't pronounce the first two letters as separate syllables.)
– barbara beeton
May 5 '11 at 20:13

1

Great answer. Another interesting quote by Knuth is mentioned in footnote 1 on page 1 of lshort, I think this quote would add to your answer even more. (I couldn't find the quote in the "German Wikipedia" right away though ...)
– doncherry
May 5 '11 at 23:13

1

@doncherry: thanks for the quote. I, however, was unable to find the source in the German Wikipedia, so I decided not to add the quote to my answer until I (or someone else) can find the source.
– Gonzalo Medina
May 7 '11 at 2:33

1

One should note, however, that the Greek χ (chi) is pronounced (at least by the very few Greek people I've met) closer to the English word 'he' than to the German 'ach', so I would question whether Knuth's explanation is fully consistent with modern Greek pronunciation.
– Bruno Le Floch
May 24 '13 at 9:02

2

@BrunoLeFloch: There seem to be two pronunciations of χ in modern greek depending on the context. Wikipedia: "In Modern Greek, it has two distinct pronunciations: In front of high or front vowels (/e/ or /i/) it is pronounced as a voiceless palatal fricative [ç], as in German ich or like the h in some pronunciations of the English words hew and human. In front of low or back vowels (/a/, /o/ or /u/) and consonants, it is pronounced as a voiceless velar fricative ([x]), as in German ach."
– Perseids
Sep 15 '14 at 11:45

|
show 3 more comments

24

a long time ago, in an intro to latex presented at a decus symposium by lamport himself, he said when asked this question, "anything but L.A.TeX". (in other words, don't pronounce the first two letters as separate syllables.)
– barbara beeton
May 5 '11 at 20:13

1

Great answer. Another interesting quote by Knuth is mentioned in footnote 1 on page 1 of lshort, I think this quote would add to your answer even more. (I couldn't find the quote in the "German Wikipedia" right away though ...)
– doncherry
May 5 '11 at 23:13

1

@doncherry: thanks for the quote. I, however, was unable to find the source in the German Wikipedia, so I decided not to add the quote to my answer until I (or someone else) can find the source.
– Gonzalo Medina
May 7 '11 at 2:33

1

One should note, however, that the Greek χ (chi) is pronounced (at least by the very few Greek people I've met) closer to the English word 'he' than to the German 'ach', so I would question whether Knuth's explanation is fully consistent with modern Greek pronunciation.
– Bruno Le Floch
May 24 '13 at 9:02

2

@BrunoLeFloch: There seem to be two pronunciations of χ in modern greek depending on the context. Wikipedia: "In Modern Greek, it has two distinct pronunciations: In front of high or front vowels (/e/ or /i/) it is pronounced as a voiceless palatal fricative [ç], as in German ich or like the h in some pronunciations of the English words hew and human. In front of low or back vowels (/a/, /o/ or /u/) and consonants, it is pronounced as a voiceless velar fricative ([x]), as in German ach."
– Perseids
Sep 15 '14 at 11:45

a long time ago, in an intro to latex presented at a decus symposium by lamport himself, he said when asked this question, "anything but L.A.TeX". (in other words, don't pronounce the first two letters as separate syllables.)
– barbara beeton
May 5 '11 at 20:13

Great answer. Another interesting quote by Knuth is mentioned in footnote 1 on page 1 of lshort, I think this quote would add to your answer even more. (I couldn't find the quote in the "German Wikipedia" right away though ...)
– doncherry
May 5 '11 at 23:13

@doncherry: thanks for the quote. I, however, was unable to find the source in the German Wikipedia, so I decided not to add the quote to my answer until I (or someone else) can find the source.
– Gonzalo Medina
May 7 '11 at 2:33

One should note, however, that the Greek χ (chi) is pronounced (at least by the very few Greek people I've met) closer to the English word 'he' than to the German 'ach', so I would question whether Knuth's explanation is fully consistent with modern Greek pronunciation.
– Bruno Le Floch
May 24 '13 at 9:02

@BrunoLeFloch: There seem to be two pronunciations of χ in modern greek depending on the context. Wikipedia: "In Modern Greek, it has two distinct pronunciations: In front of high or front vowels (/e/ or /i/) it is pronounced as a voiceless palatal fricative [ç], as in German ich or like the h in some pronunciations of the English words hew and human. In front of low or back vowels (/a/, /o/ or /u/) and consonants, it is pronounced as a voiceless velar fricative ([x]), as in German ach."
– Perseids
Sep 15 '14 at 11:45

|
show 3 more comments

up vote
29
down vote

Using the IPA, it is /ˈleɪtɛk/, /ˈleɪtɛx/, /ˈlɑːtɛx/, or /ˈlɑːtɛk/.

Resources:

Pronouncing "LaTeX" on Wikipedia

LaTeX is usually pronounced /ˈlɑːtɛk/ or /ˈleɪtɛk/ in English (that is, not with the /ks/ pronunciation English speakers normally associate with X, but with a /k/). The characters T, E, X in the name come from capital Greek letters tau, epsilon, and chi, as the name of TeX derives from the Greek: τέχνη (skill, art, technique); for this reason, TeX's creator Donald Knuth promotes a pronunciation of /ˈtɛx/ (tekh) (that is, with a voiceless velar fricative as in Modern Greek, similar to the last sound of the German word "Bach", the Spanish "j" sound, or as ch in loch). Lamport, on the other hand, has said he does not favor or discourage any pronunciation for LaTeX.

edited May 5 '11 at 21:11

answered May 5 '11 at 19:16

Harold Cavendish

4,00832448

1

As a linguistics student, I highly appreciate your IPA, to make it even better, you could/should add either slashes /.../ or brackets [...] around it. Your quote went with the slashes, which indicate phonemic transcription. That seems appropriate here.
– doncherry
May 5 '11 at 20:42

@doncherry Thank you for the suggestion, I have added the slashes. I am actually learning the IPA at the moment as I have become interested in linguistics, particularly phonetics and phonology, so any good advice such as yours is highly appreciated.
– Harold Cavendish
May 5 '11 at 21:14

Glad I could help. I'm sure you know it already, but in case you don't, you should check out the tipa package for IPA in LaTeX.
– doncherry
May 5 '11 at 22:36

@doncherry I do, thank you. I am currently working on typesetting a short phrasal dictionary so I use it a lot.
– Harold Cavendish
May 6 '11 at 4:54

add a comment |

up vote
29
down vote

Using the IPA, it is /ˈleɪtɛk/, /ˈleɪtɛx/, /ˈlɑːtɛx/, or /ˈlɑːtɛk/.

Resources:

Pronouncing "LaTeX" on Wikipedia

LaTeX is usually pronounced /ˈlɑːtɛk/ or /ˈleɪtɛk/ in English (that is, not with the /ks/ pronunciation English speakers normally associate with X, but with a /k/). The characters T, E, X in the name come from capital Greek letters tau, epsilon, and chi, as the name of TeX derives from the Greek: τέχνη (skill, art, technique); for this reason, TeX's creator Donald Knuth promotes a pronunciation of /ˈtɛx/ (tekh) (that is, with a voiceless velar fricative as in Modern Greek, similar to the last sound of the German word "Bach", the Spanish "j" sound, or as ch in loch). Lamport, on the other hand, has said he does not favor or discourage any pronunciation for LaTeX.

edited May 5 '11 at 21:11

answered May 5 '11 at 19:16

Harold Cavendish

4,00832448

1

As a linguistics student, I highly appreciate your IPA, to make it even better, you could/should add either slashes /.../ or brackets [...] around it. Your quote went with the slashes, which indicate phonemic transcription. That seems appropriate here.
– doncherry
May 5 '11 at 20:42

@doncherry Thank you for the suggestion, I have added the slashes. I am actually learning the IPA at the moment as I have become interested in linguistics, particularly phonetics and phonology, so any good advice such as yours is highly appreciated.
– Harold Cavendish
May 5 '11 at 21:14

Glad I could help. I'm sure you know it already, but in case you don't, you should check out the tipa package for IPA in LaTeX.
– doncherry
May 5 '11 at 22:36

@doncherry I do, thank you. I am currently working on typesetting a short phrasal dictionary so I use it a lot.
– Harold Cavendish
May 6 '11 at 4:54

add a comment |

up vote
29
down vote

Using the IPA, it is /ˈleɪtɛk/, /ˈleɪtɛx/, /ˈlɑːtɛx/, or /ˈlɑːtɛk/.

Resources:

Pronouncing "LaTeX" on Wikipedia

LaTeX is usually pronounced /ˈlɑːtɛk/ or /ˈleɪtɛk/ in English (that is, not with the /ks/ pronunciation English speakers normally associate with X, but with a /k/). The characters T, E, X in the name come from capital Greek letters tau, epsilon, and chi, as the name of TeX derives from the Greek: τέχνη (skill, art, technique); for this reason, TeX's creator Donald Knuth promotes a pronunciation of /ˈtɛx/ (tekh) (that is, with a voiceless velar fricative as in Modern Greek, similar to the last sound of the German word "Bach", the Spanish "j" sound, or as ch in loch). Lamport, on the other hand, has said he does not favor or discourage any pronunciation for LaTeX.

edited May 5 '11 at 21:11

answered May 5 '11 at 19:16

Harold Cavendish

4,00832448

Using the IPA, it is /ˈleɪtɛk/, /ˈleɪtɛx/, /ˈlɑːtɛx/, or /ˈlɑːtɛk/.

Resources:

Pronouncing "LaTeX" on Wikipedia

LaTeX is usually pronounced /ˈlɑːtɛk/ or /ˈleɪtɛk/ in English (that is, not with the /ks/ pronunciation English speakers normally associate with X, but with a /k/). The characters T, E, X in the name come from capital Greek letters tau, epsilon, and chi, as the name of TeX derives from the Greek: τέχνη (skill, art, technique); for this reason, TeX's creator Donald Knuth promotes a pronunciation of /ˈtɛx/ (tekh) (that is, with a voiceless velar fricative as in Modern Greek, similar to the last sound of the German word "Bach", the Spanish "j" sound, or as ch in loch). Lamport, on the other hand, has said he does not favor or discourage any pronunciation for LaTeX.

edited May 5 '11 at 21:11

answered May 5 '11 at 19:16

Harold Cavendish

4,00832448

edited May 5 '11 at 21:11

answered May 5 '11 at 19:16

Harold Cavendish

4,00832448

answered May 5 '11 at 19:16

Harold Cavendish

4,00832448

answered May 5 '11 at 19:16

Harold Cavendish

4,00832448

1

As a linguistics student, I highly appreciate your IPA, to make it even better, you could/should add either slashes /.../ or brackets [...] around it. Your quote went with the slashes, which indicate phonemic transcription. That seems appropriate here.
– doncherry
May 5 '11 at 20:42

@doncherry Thank you for the suggestion, I have added the slashes. I am actually learning the IPA at the moment as I have become interested in linguistics, particularly phonetics and phonology, so any good advice such as yours is highly appreciated.
– Harold Cavendish
May 5 '11 at 21:14

Glad I could help. I'm sure you know it already, but in case you don't, you should check out the tipa package for IPA in LaTeX.
– doncherry
May 5 '11 at 22:36

@doncherry I do, thank you. I am currently working on typesetting a short phrasal dictionary so I use it a lot.
– Harold Cavendish
May 6 '11 at 4:54

add a comment |

1

As a linguistics student, I highly appreciate your IPA, to make it even better, you could/should add either slashes /.../ or brackets [...] around it. Your quote went with the slashes, which indicate phonemic transcription. That seems appropriate here.
– doncherry
May 5 '11 at 20:42

@doncherry Thank you for the suggestion, I have added the slashes. I am actually learning the IPA at the moment as I have become interested in linguistics, particularly phonetics and phonology, so any good advice such as yours is highly appreciated.
– Harold Cavendish
May 5 '11 at 21:14

Glad I could help. I'm sure you know it already, but in case you don't, you should check out the tipa package for IPA in LaTeX.
– doncherry
May 5 '11 at 22:36

@doncherry I do, thank you. I am currently working on typesetting a short phrasal dictionary so I use it a lot.
– Harold Cavendish
May 6 '11 at 4:54

As a linguistics student, I highly appreciate your IPA, to make it even better, you could/should add either slashes /.../ or brackets [...] around it. Your quote went with the slashes, which indicate phonemic transcription. That seems appropriate here.
– doncherry
May 5 '11 at 20:42

@doncherry Thank you for the suggestion, I have added the slashes. I am actually learning the IPA at the moment as I have become interested in linguistics, particularly phonetics and phonology, so any good advice such as yours is highly appreciated.
– Harold Cavendish
May 5 '11 at 21:14

Glad I could help. I'm sure you know it already, but in case you don't, you should check out the tipa package for IPA in LaTeX.
– doncherry
May 5 '11 at 22:36

@doncherry I do, thank you. I am currently working on typesetting a short phrasal dictionary so I use it a lot.
– Harold Cavendish
May 6 '11 at 4:54

add a comment |

up vote
22
down vote

I think that it's better to find out what Knuth has to say in the matter... Listen!!! :D

Oh, and watch the whole presentation. It is definitely worth it.

edited Nov 19 '14 at 10:42

Dayakar

412

answered May 5 '11 at 23:38

pmav99

3,32322850

12

(pronunciation at 13:40)
– Neil G
May 6 '11 at 7:56

1

Love the digs at Steve Jobs and Apple. Throughout the presentation!
– Mateen Ulhaq
Jul 28 '17 at 5:02

add a comment |

up vote
22
down vote

I think that it's better to find out what Knuth has to say in the matter... Listen!!! :D

Oh, and watch the whole presentation. It is definitely worth it.

edited Nov 19 '14 at 10:42

Dayakar

412

answered May 5 '11 at 23:38

pmav99

3,32322850

12

(pronunciation at 13:40)
– Neil G
May 6 '11 at 7:56

1

Love the digs at Steve Jobs and Apple. Throughout the presentation!
– Mateen Ulhaq
Jul 28 '17 at 5:02

add a comment |

up vote
22
down vote

I think that it's better to find out what Knuth has to say in the matter... Listen!!! :D

Oh, and watch the whole presentation. It is definitely worth it.

edited Nov 19 '14 at 10:42

Dayakar

412

answered May 5 '11 at 23:38

pmav99

3,32322850

I think that it's better to find out what Knuth has to say in the matter... Listen!!! :D

Oh, and watch the whole presentation. It is definitely worth it.

edited Nov 19 '14 at 10:42

Dayakar

412

answered May 5 '11 at 23:38

pmav99

3,32322850

edited Nov 19 '14 at 10:42

Dayakar

412

edited Nov 19 '14 at 10:42

Dayakar

412

edited Nov 19 '14 at 10:42

Dayakar

412

answered May 5 '11 at 23:38

pmav99

3,32322850

answered May 5 '11 at 23:38

pmav99

3,32322850

answered May 5 '11 at 23:38

pmav99

3,32322850

12

(pronunciation at 13:40)
– Neil G
May 6 '11 at 7:56

1

Love the digs at Steve Jobs and Apple. Throughout the presentation!
– Mateen Ulhaq
Jul 28 '17 at 5:02

add a comment |

12

(pronunciation at 13:40)
– Neil G
May 6 '11 at 7:56

1

Love the digs at Steve Jobs and Apple. Throughout the presentation!
– Mateen Ulhaq
Jul 28 '17 at 5:02

(pronunciation at 13:40)
– Neil G
May 6 '11 at 7:56

Love the digs at Steve Jobs and Apple. Throughout the presentation!
– Mateen Ulhaq
Jul 28 '17 at 5:02

add a comment |

up vote
10
down vote

edited May 6 '11 at 19:11

answered May 5 '11 at 18:59

Ryan Reich

31.1k799157

add a comment |

up vote
10
down vote

edited May 6 '11 at 19:11

answered May 5 '11 at 18:59

Ryan Reich

31.1k799157

add a comment |

up vote
10
down vote

edited May 6 '11 at 19:11

answered May 5 '11 at 18:59

Ryan Reich

31.1k799157

edited May 6 '11 at 19:11

answered May 5 '11 at 18:59

Ryan Reich

31.1k799157

edited May 6 '11 at 19:11

answered May 5 '11 at 18:59

Ryan Reich

31.1k799157

answered May 5 '11 at 18:59

Ryan Reich

31.1k799157

answered May 5 '11 at 18:59

Ryan Reich

31.1k799157

add a comment |

up vote
3
down vote

The TeX Wikipedia page says:

TeX (/ˈtɛx/ as in Greek, but often pronounced /tɛk/ in English)
...
'ch' like in 'loch'

LaTeX is pronounced lah-tech by most German speakers (like me) but in English it is often pronounced lay-tech. IMHO that is because it is the natural pronounced of that languages.

edited May 5 '11 at 19:42

answered May 5 '11 at 19:22

Martin Scharrer♦

198k45631813

3

"breathing out through half closed mouse"!!! I'm sure you can't explain it better.
– Loop Space
May 5 '11 at 19:38

1

@Andrew: LOL :-) Sorry, long day. ROFL
– Martin Scharrer♦
May 5 '11 at 19:43

1

Incidentally, 'LOL' is now in the Oxford English Dictionary. It's a sad day.
– Loop Space
May 5 '11 at 20:54

1

Martin, which German "ch"? There's Bach and there's Brecht. The different sources seem to be contradicting each other. The above quotes list the Scottish "loch" but on latex-project.org/intro.html the instructions compare it with "Brecht". These are different sounds for the ch, at least for a German speaker.
– teylyn
May 5 '11 at 21:06

1

@teylyn: According to Wikipedia, it is IPA [x], as in German Bach. See also the entry on χ.
– Caramdir
May 6 '11 at 1:23

|
show 1 more comment

up vote
3
down vote

The TeX Wikipedia page says:

TeX (/ˈtɛx/ as in Greek, but often pronounced /tɛk/ in English)
...
'ch' like in 'loch'

LaTeX is pronounced lah-tech by most German speakers (like me) but in English it is often pronounced lay-tech. IMHO that is because it is the natural pronounced of that languages.

edited May 5 '11 at 19:42

answered May 5 '11 at 19:22

Martin Scharrer♦

198k45631813

3

"breathing out through half closed mouse"!!! I'm sure you can't explain it better.
– Loop Space
May 5 '11 at 19:38

1

@Andrew: LOL :-) Sorry, long day. ROFL
– Martin Scharrer♦
May 5 '11 at 19:43

1

Incidentally, 'LOL' is now in the Oxford English Dictionary. It's a sad day.
– Loop Space
May 5 '11 at 20:54

1

Martin, which German "ch"? There's Bach and there's Brecht. The different sources seem to be contradicting each other. The above quotes list the Scottish "loch" but on latex-project.org/intro.html the instructions compare it with "Brecht". These are different sounds for the ch, at least for a German speaker.
– teylyn
May 5 '11 at 21:06

1

@teylyn: According to Wikipedia, it is IPA [x], as in German Bach. See also the entry on χ.
– Caramdir
May 6 '11 at 1:23

|
show 1 more comment

up vote
3
down vote

The TeX Wikipedia page says:

TeX (/ˈtɛx/ as in Greek, but often pronounced /tɛk/ in English)
...
'ch' like in 'loch'

LaTeX is pronounced lah-tech by most German speakers (like me) but in English it is often pronounced lay-tech. IMHO that is because it is the natural pronounced of that languages.

edited May 5 '11 at 19:42

answered May 5 '11 at 19:22

Martin Scharrer♦

198k45631813

The TeX Wikipedia page says:

TeX (/ˈtɛx/ as in Greek, but often pronounced /tɛk/ in English)
...
'ch' like in 'loch'

LaTeX is pronounced lah-tech by most German speakers (like me) but in English it is often pronounced lay-tech. IMHO that is because it is the natural pronounced of that languages.

edited May 5 '11 at 19:42

answered May 5 '11 at 19:22

Martin Scharrer♦

198k45631813

edited May 5 '11 at 19:42

answered May 5 '11 at 19:22

Martin Scharrer♦

198k45631813

answered May 5 '11 at 19:22

Martin Scharrer♦

198k45631813

answered May 5 '11 at 19:22

Martin Scharrer♦

198k45631813

3

"breathing out through half closed mouse"!!! I'm sure you can't explain it better.
– Loop Space
May 5 '11 at 19:38

1

@Andrew: LOL :-) Sorry, long day. ROFL
– Martin Scharrer♦
May 5 '11 at 19:43

1

Incidentally, 'LOL' is now in the Oxford English Dictionary. It's a sad day.
– Loop Space
May 5 '11 at 20:54

1

Martin, which German "ch"? There's Bach and there's Brecht. The different sources seem to be contradicting each other. The above quotes list the Scottish "loch" but on latex-project.org/intro.html the instructions compare it with "Brecht". These are different sounds for the ch, at least for a German speaker.
– teylyn
May 5 '11 at 21:06

1

@teylyn: According to Wikipedia, it is IPA [x], as in German Bach. See also the entry on χ.
– Caramdir
May 6 '11 at 1:23

|
show 1 more comment

3

"breathing out through half closed mouse"!!! I'm sure you can't explain it better.
– Loop Space
May 5 '11 at 19:38

1

@Andrew: LOL :-) Sorry, long day. ROFL
– Martin Scharrer♦
May 5 '11 at 19:43

1

Incidentally, 'LOL' is now in the Oxford English Dictionary. It's a sad day.
– Loop Space
May 5 '11 at 20:54

1

Martin, which German "ch"? There's Bach and there's Brecht. The different sources seem to be contradicting each other. The above quotes list the Scottish "loch" but on latex-project.org/intro.html the instructions compare it with "Brecht". These are different sounds for the ch, at least for a German speaker.
– teylyn
May 5 '11 at 21:06

1

@teylyn: According to Wikipedia, it is IPA [x], as in German Bach. See also the entry on χ.
– Caramdir
May 6 '11 at 1:23

"breathing out through half closed mouse"!!! I'm sure you can't explain it better.
– Loop Space
May 5 '11 at 19:38

@Andrew: LOL :-) Sorry, long day. ROFL
– Martin Scharrer♦
May 5 '11 at 19:43

Incidentally, 'LOL' is now in the Oxford English Dictionary. It's a sad day.
– Loop Space
May 5 '11 at 20:54

Martin, which German "ch"? There's Bach and there's Brecht. The different sources seem to be contradicting each other. The above quotes list the Scottish "loch" but on latex-project.org/intro.html the instructions compare it with "Brecht". These are different sounds for the ch, at least for a German speaker.
– teylyn
May 5 '11 at 21:06

@teylyn: According to Wikipedia, it is IPA [x], as in German Bach. See also the entry on χ.
– Caramdir
May 6 '11 at 1:23

|
show 1 more comment

up vote
0
down vote

Ultimately, I'd posit that it's not that important as long as people understand you.

(Also, SQL is not "sequel" and "arXiv" is not "ar-kh-iv" (and definitely not "archive").)

_{_{_{Please don't downvote me too hard, I am but a simple foreigner...}}}

answered 48 mins ago

Lumos

New contributor

add a comment |

up vote
0
down vote

Ultimately, I'd posit that it's not that important as long as people understand you.

(Also, SQL is not "sequel" and "arXiv" is not "ar-kh-iv" (and definitely not "archive").)

_{_{_{Please don't downvote me too hard, I am but a simple foreigner...}}}

answered 48 mins ago

Lumos

New contributor

add a comment |

up vote
0
down vote

Ultimately, I'd posit that it's not that important as long as people understand you.

(Also, SQL is not "sequel" and "arXiv" is not "ar-kh-iv" (and definitely not "archive").)

_{_{_{Please don't downvote me too hard, I am but a simple foreigner...}}}

answered 48 mins ago

Lumos

New contributor

Ultimately, I'd posit that it's not that important as long as people understand you.

(Also, SQL is not "sequel" and "arXiv" is not "ar-kh-iv" (and definitely not "archive").)

_{_{_{Please don't downvote me too hard, I am but a simple foreigner...}}}

answered 48 mins ago

Lumos

New contributor

answered 48 mins ago

Lumos

New contributor

answered 48 mins ago

Lumos

answered 48 mins ago

Lumos

New contributor

Lumos is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

add a comment |

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