----- Original Message -----
From: "Denis HAVLIK" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: "Pixel" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Wednesday, June 07, 2000 5:28 AM
Subject: Re: [Cooker] drake vs. drak
> :~>But when you remove the silent E (drAk) the A changes
> :~>pronounciation to a short A as in the word 'at'.
>
> Which makes the name very nice for those of us who understand german:
>
> You pronounce it as D-R-E-C-K, which is "shit" in german .-)
>
> So we have a shitX, shitxtools etc. Kind of not-what-we-wanted, I
> suppose?.-) On the other hand, it gives a whole new field for jokes in
> case it does not work...
>
LOL
(Actually the short "a" is like the "a" in "back", the use of "a" to give
the sound of the "e" in "dreck" is atypical in American English, IIRC.)
Phonics rules, the choice of the sound a letter makes as determined by its
context within a word, differ greatly from language to language. Teaching
reading by a phonics-only method to American children is difficult because
there are so many words in our language that have been borrowed from other
languages (notably French).
The change in pronunciation of words across languages has long plagued
international companies, so MandrakeSoft should be no different. Also, have
a "unique" pronunciation for a word in the "Linux" language should come as
no surprise.
All I ask is that Mandrake not fall into this morass. Please revisit the
spelling/pronunciation of "drak". I know it has a long "a" only because I
know the root word, Mandrake, has a long "a".
I'm also sorry to see Mandrake abandon the magician theme, but I'll survive.
The new logo is nice.
Hoyt
