The title more or less says it: is there a reason why the C# tag wiki is using "cee" instead of "see"? In English, there's less phonetic ambiguity with "see"; whereas, "cee" could, in some obscure case, be pronounced "kee".

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C# (pronounced see sharp) is... I think someone fixed it –  ajax333221 Jul 19 '12 at 17:10
I honestly thought about doing it myself, but I preferred a paper trail given my low reputation :). –  Shibumi Jul 19 '12 at 17:11
Why not simply C sharp? –  yoda Jul 19 '12 at 17:13
I thought it was pronounced "dee flat". –  todofixthis Jul 19 '12 at 17:26
I think "see" is appropriate for an unambiguous pronunciation guide (as provided on the tag wiki), and I think "cee" is more correct for use in a formal lexical expansion. –  apsillers Jul 19 '12 at 17:30
Does anyone else find it odd that C# is pronounced "see sharp" but C++ is pronounced "sea plus plus"? –  Bill the Lizard Jul 19 '12 at 17:30
@Phoenix Together: See dee flat, sharp... something. –  Shibumi Jul 19 '12 at 17:30
@Bill Then how do you pronounce C++0x? –  Shibumi Jul 19 '12 at 17:31
@Shibumi "Sea plus plus Oh Ex"? –  amanaP lanaC A nalP A naM A Jul 19 '12 at 18:10
It's pronounced "see octothorpe." –  Ernest Friedman-Hill Jul 19 '12 at 19:13
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1 Answer

up vote 4 down vote accepted

Agreed, and changed.

(The original pronunciation guide came from C#'s Wikipedia article. Depending on the change's reception here, and some amateur linguistics research, I might edit that article as well.)

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Is it necessary to have see? Isn't C sufficient? I mean, I don't C how you could pronounce it differently... –  yoda Jul 19 '12 at 17:12
I suppose it's no mistake that proponents of simplifying the English alphabet often suggest removing 'c'. 'k' can take the phonetic place of the 'c' in candle (for example) without a loss of meaning. –  Shibumi Jul 19 '12 at 17:13
@yoda Well, if we have to say '#' is really "sharp", then do we just say "C sharp"? I guess that's reasonable, but I like to go full phonetic if I'm going to be going phonetic at all. –  Shibumi Jul 19 '12 at 17:14
@yoda: depends on the (spoken) language, I suppose. In English, you're right. Others, maybe not. –  Michael Petrotta Jul 19 '12 at 17:14
@Shibumi The confusion between c and k occurs only in words... a letter is atomic. I don't see how it can be confused with k. Also the # for sharp is necessary, because # is NOT the sharp sign. It is called either the hash symbol or pound symbol or number sign in different countries. The actual sharp sign is and # is a common substitute for it –  yoda Jul 19 '12 at 17:15
@MichaelPetrotta I thought this was all supposed to be English? If not, you'll have to further clarify how see is pronounced then... For a German interpreting that into English, see would be say. I don't mean to be kicking up the dust over something simple, but since this was brought up, it might be simpler to go with the bare minimum necessary once and for all –  yoda Jul 19 '12 at 17:18
@yoda Understood, re: the reason for "sharp". The problem with using the English alphabet to produce phonetic pronunciations of other stuff is that the phonetic, made-up words fall victim to the same pronunciation ambiguity that regular words do. In this case, I think the question is, as you've suggested, between "see sharp" and "C sharp". –  Shibumi Jul 19 '12 at 17:18
@yoda: yeah, this is a bit of a can of worms. I believe "see" is a better pronunciation guide than "cee", especially since the former is a word in English, but I no longer think I should've made such a minor change. I won't be hurt if it changes to C, or is removed entirely. –  Michael Petrotta Jul 19 '12 at 17:26
Changing it now from see to c would itself be a "too minor" change. It's fine the way it is. –  Robert Harvey Jul 19 '12 at 17:27
@MichaelPetrotta Score! I made it in before the guilt set in. –  Shibumi Jul 19 '12 at 17:29
Wouldn't the Spanish say "thee" if it was "cee"? –  user7116 Jul 19 '12 at 17:30
@MichaelPetrotta just to grow the can of worms, "cee" is also a word in English - it is the name of the letter C. :) –  David Hall Jul 19 '12 at 19:26
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