Tell me more ×
Programmers Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professional programmers interested in conceptual questions about software development. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 10 down vote favorite

I hear it's another Europe vs. America dispute, just like with "router". Some other time I hear tuh-ple is specific to Python (and possibly some other languages too) while in mathematics and CS it's "toople" on all continents. What do you know about this?

share|improve this question
2  
@Rook: no, but let's say you are a European giving a public talk about routers in the US. It's good to know that router is "rooter" in the US, especially when you are giving a talk. Same for tuples. – mojuba Nov 11 '10 at 21:23
3  
@mojuba - Why? If I was giving a talk and that was indeed the case, I would expect the audience to either understand that I was an European and therefore speak a little differently, or not care at all in the first place. After all, if you go this route, what will it boil down to? You'll start learning every pronounciation known to man? American? Canadian? English? Ireland? Continental European? Indian? (and these are just english speaking countries). It's pointless. Hell, my boss used to pronounce half the words differently than me, and we grew up in the same part of town. – Rook Nov 11 '10 at 21:44
17  
I've never heard anyone in the US pronounce it "rooter" instead of "rowter". – Matt H Nov 12 '10 at 0:00
3  
@Matt: sorry yes, it's rowter in the US and mostly rooter in the UK and the rest of Europe – mojuba Nov 12 '10 at 0:04
6  
It's funny cause a "rooter" would be something entirely different in Australia :-) – Dean Harding Nov 12 '10 at 2:08
show 12 more comments

closed as not constructive by Mark Trapp Aug 12 '11 at 1:44

As it currently stands, this question is not a good fit for our Q&A format. We expect answers to be supported by facts, references, or specific expertise, but this question will likely solicit debate, arguments, polling, or extended discussion. If you feel that this question can be improved and possibly reopened, see the FAQ for guidance.

9 Answers

up vote 11 down vote accepted

I've heard both, and neither is ambiguous, so I tend to just use the same pronunciation as whoever I'm talking to. If I don't know how they pronounce it and it comes up, I go with "toople" but will switch if they correct me; I really don't care.

share|improve this answer
1  
Same here... when a group of programmers who barely know each other get together to talk about Python, there is a great chance that both pronunciations will be used. I think those with math background will more likely say "toople". – mojuba Nov 11 '10 at 21:20
up vote 13 down vote

tuh-ple, no doubt.

share|improve this answer
I am from New York state, and this is the only way I've ever heard it pronounced. I am just learning today that some people say "toople". – M. Dudley Jun 15 '11 at 12:17
up vote 4 down vote

I like to say Tupla (tuh-plah). Portuguese word for tuple.

share|improve this answer
On this side of the Atlantic, we use "tuplo" instead (reads roughly as "tooploo" in English). Are you sure "tupla" reads as "tuh-plah", and not "too-plah"? – R. Martinho Fernandes Nov 17 '11 at 8:06
You're right. "too-plah" is correct way to pronounce. – Pagotti May 10 '12 at 0:28
up vote 4 down vote

I'm happy to go with the Oxford English Dictionary pronounciation:

http://oxforddictionaries.com/view/entry/m_en_gb0975007#m_en_gb0975007

which is toople (or more accurately /ˈtjuːp(ə)l/).

share|improve this answer
Its like where the word is originally used, as a suffix. If you say 'septuple', its 'sep-toople', not 'sep-tuhple'. – rmx Nov 12 '10 at 11:11
I suppose the more accurate version is very British ;) – back2dos Nov 12 '10 at 14:25
toople != /ˈtjuːp(ə)l/. /ˈtjuːp(ə)l/ is pronounced more like tee-you-pull. – cjmUK Jun 15 '11 at 9:09
agreed that they're not the same, but I'm assuming that's what the original questioner meant by 'toople' – FinnNk Jun 15 '11 at 9:18
+1 for an actual reference – M. Dudley Jun 15 '11 at 12:14
up vote 3 down vote

I usually pronounce it the same way you pronounce it when it's part of the larger words from which it was derived. Remember that girl who had 8 babies at once, who was all over the news a while back? Ever hear anyone call them oc-toop-lets? Nope, me neither.

share|improve this answer
10  
What about quadruple? Do you say quad-ruh-ple or quad-roo-ple? – Daniel Joseph Nov 11 '10 at 21:01
up vote 1 down vote

I've only seen "tuple" in programming-related discussions. It seemed right to pronounce it "toople", and "tuhple" just sounds odd.

share|improve this answer
It does, but Python programmers tend to say just tuhple. – mojuba Nov 11 '10 at 21:08
up vote 1 down vote

I imagine toople/too-pull is popular in the US, but in English it is more commonly pronounced tee-yew-pull (tjʊpəl or ˈtjuːp(ə)l).

Like many other words, in the US a 'u' is often pronounced 'oo', whereas in many other places it is pronounced 'yew'.

I'm not quite sure what tuhple suggests - it seems almost indistinguishable from toople.

share|improve this answer
up vote 0 down vote

I use the toople variant, but i'm from Europe, so that's why ;)

share|improve this answer
up vote 0 down vote

If you have a gobstopper in your mouth there is only one way and it is "Chew Pull"

share|improve this answer

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.