How do you pronounce URL? I have always said “yew-are-ell” but I just heard someone say “earl”. Did a quick search online and found the following:
AltaVista shows 821 pages containing the pun “Duke of URL” — some referring to computer programs with that name — so there are definitely people who say “an URL.”
OneLook Dictionaries, a Web site that allows searching of hundreds of Web-based dictionaries, has conducted a series of surveys on the pronunciation of Internet terms, including FAQ and URL. See http://www.onelook.com/ survey_results.shtml for the results.
Unfortunately, the pronunciations are given only as sound files, with no attempt at phonetic spelling, so those without sound cards can’t tell which pronunciation is number 1 and which is number 2. For what it’s worth, the URL survey found that “you-are-ell” was preferred over “earl” by 34 to 5 (with another 3 voting for “yurl”). For FAQ, there were 146 votes for “fack” and 72 for “eff-ay-que.”
- http://www.eeicom.com/eye/utw/98apr.html
No comments yet.