I just read David‘s post on the usage of the word code in the context of software and have to add that, to someone in the field, hearing that usage is akin to fingernails on a chalkboard.
This got me thinking about one of my biggest pet peaves in the computer world. I know that I’m not right on this and they aren’t wrong, but it still annoys the hell out of me. What is it, you ask? Nothing other than the pronunciation of the word Data. In my mind (zip it..) it’s pronounced [Dey-tuh]. Not [Dat-uh]. It’s [Dey-tuh base], not [Dat-uh base].
Seriously, I’ll be having a conversation with someone and they’ll mention their Dat-uhbase and it takes all I can muster to not make a face like I just ate a lemon. I can understand if these people were British and said it with a cool accent. But no, they’re just plain-ol’ Americans like myself. Dey-tuh people. Not Dat-uh. Please.
I recall when Ana came home from her new, at the time, job at a local mortgage company. She was describing her day, and the let the Dat-uh word slip. It stopped me in my tracks, caused me to interrupt her quite rudely, and show now makes sure to call it Dey-tuh whenever I’m within earshot. She uses Dey-tuh from a Dey-tuh base.
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