Questions on the pronunciation of mathematical terms and notation.
Questions tagged [pronunciation]
91 questions
18
votes
2 answers
What is this math symbol called?
My professors use a symbol $$x_0$$ and they pronounce it as x not or x nod, I am not sure what the exact name is because they have thick accents. I have tried looking this up on the Internet but I could not find an answer. Does anyone know what this…
Steven
- 191
17
votes
2 answers
How to pronounce "$ a:b=c:d$" in English?
I just realized that I have never used something as simple as proportions in spoken English so far, but today I have to. So simple question for native speakers: How do you pronounce for example
$$ a:b=c:d$$
where the colon denotes a proportion…
Hagen von Eitzen
- 374,180
6
votes
4 answers
How is "Hessian" pronounced?
How do mathematicians pronounce "Hessian"?
From searching online I've learned that the term is named after Otto Hesse, a German, and that the German state of Hesse has lent its name to a boot. From online dictionaries I've learned that I should say…
Praxeolitic
- 257
6
votes
3 answers
How do you pronounce x' and x''?
I am giving a presentation tonight, and the mathematical terms x' and x'' feature heavily in it. I pronounce them as "x-dash" and "x-dash-dash", but this gets a bit tiresome by the end of the presentation.
A - Am I correct in pronouncing them this…
griffin2000
- 161
4
votes
0 answers
How do you pronounce $\Sigma^+$ or $\Sigma^\dagger$ (as used in Moore–Penrose pseudoinverse)?
I'm referring to the pronunciation of the $+$ and $\dagger$ notations.
Is it simply pronounced as ‘sigma plus’, or ‘pseudoinverse of sigma’, or ‘sigma pseudoinversed/pseudoinverted’?
Sometimes it is also written with a dagger ($\dagger$) instead of…
Erik
- 595
3
votes
2 answers
How do you pronounce $\mathbb{F}_2, \mathbb{F}_2^n, \mathbb{N}^k, [n] = \{1,\ldots,n\},$ and $S \subseteq [n]$?
How do you pronounce $\mathbb{F}_2, \mathbb{F}_2^n, \mathbb{N}^k, [n] = \{1,\ldots,n\},$ and $S \subseteq [n]$ when you're reading a text?
I've just started reading more advanced math textbooks and these are appearing all the time.
apologies
- 71
3
votes
1 answer
Italian pronunciation of the symbol $dx$
I am afraid this question is going to be rather specific and perhaps off-topic, but I hope some of the Italian users (at least) can help me out with this curiosity.
I have always been used to the Italian pronunciation "de ics" of the differential…
Gibbs
- 8,230
3
votes
0 answers
Pronunciation of $\in$-minimal
How do I pronounce $\in$-minimal? I need to know it to see whether I should write "$X$ has a $\in$-minimal element" or "$X$ has an $\in$-minimal element".
Kaj
- 903
3
votes
2 answers
How do you pronounce $\hat{n}$?
I've found a symbol $\hat{n}$ in an equation, and I have no idea how to pronounce it, and how to write it phonetic.
Edit:
I've found it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quaternion#Exponential.2C_logarithm.2C_and_power
Iter Ator
- 598
3
votes
0 answers
Pronouncing the Greek Alphabet for use in Mathematics
I've noticed that sometimes when I am writing out equations and saying the symbols in my head I will slip up and say "p" for "$ \rho $" or mix the pronunciation between letters say "$ \eta $" for "$ \xi $" possibly because the latter symbol looks…
user38770
- 549
- 2
- 11
2
votes
1 answer
How to pronounce $C^\infty$?
I am thinking "C-infinite" or "infinitely differentiable". The second one is absolutely correct, but too long for colloquial use. I'd prefer the first one if possible. Is it correct or common?
trisct
- 5,221
1
vote
0 answers
How do you pronounce the expression $(i|i)$?
I'm writing a library for translating latex into readable speech, and usually I rely on Larry's speakeasy to let me know how to read an equation.
Seeing as I could not find an answer for the following expression:
$$
k_{ii}\det…
Anon
- 213
0
votes
0 answers
How to pronounce $\breve{E}$?
How to pronounce $\breve{E}$ ?
The TeX command for it is "\breve{E}" , but I don't know if it would be correct to say "E breve" during a presentation.
Kevin Fredolster
- 63
- 4
0
votes
1 answer
How is an ordered pair (a,b) actually read aloud? An ordered tuple?
I know what an ordered tuple (e.g. ordered pair) is. I'm not wondering for any reason in particular, but I couldn't find anything on the internet. The question is the title.
I'm usually one to try and give more context but I can't really think of…
Pineapple Fish
- 1,512
0
votes
1 answer
How to pronounce of $0^+$ and $0^-$?
I'm not an English native speaker and I don't know how to pronounce $0^+$ and $0^-$.
Could you help me, please?
I'm referring to the symbols that appear for example in the limits
$lim_{x\to 0^+}f(x)$ and $lim_{x\to 0^-}f(x)$.
Thank you in advance…
John N.
- 703