Just today I got a question from a new ham on the pronunciation of balun.

He has been around the scientific community a lot (physicists, etc.) but not
many RF types such as engineers or hams.

He claims that he rarely has ever hear the pronunciation "bal uhn", and I've
rarely heard "bayl uhn".

Anybody want to weigh in on this, heh heh

On 7/27/2015 4:45 PM, Wayne wrote:
Just today I got a question from a new ham on the pronunciation of balun.

He has been around the scientific community a lot (physicists, etc.) but
not many RF types such as engineers or hams.

He claims that he rarely has ever hear the pronunciation "bal uhn", and
I've rarely heard "bayl uhn".

Anybody want to weigh in on this, heh heh

Where does the "y" come in? The word is a contraction of balanced and
unbalanced. So I figure it should be pronounced "bal uhn" just like the
beginning of the two words it stands for.

Maybe the 'y' is added further south than Virginia.

--

Rick

In message , rickman
writes
On 7/27/2015 4:45 PM, Wayne wrote:
Just today I got a question from a new ham on the pronunciation of balun.

He has been around the scientific community a lot (physicists, etc.) but
not many RF types such as engineers or hams.

He claims that he rarely has ever hear the pronunciation "bal uhn", and
I've rarely heard "bayl uhn".

Anybody want to weigh in on this, heh heh

Where does the "y" come in? The word is a contraction of balanced and
unbalanced. So I figure it should be pronounced "bal uhn" just like
the beginning of the two words it stands for.

Maybe the 'y' is added further south than Virginia.

"Bayl-uhn" suggests that the user doesn't know (or care about) the
obvious origin and meaning of the word. The same goes for the occasional
use of "bal-uhm" and "bayl-uhm.
--
Ian

On 7/27/2015 4:05 PM, rickman wrote:
On 7/27/2015 4:45 PM, Wayne wrote:
Just today I got a question from a new ham on the pronunciation of balun.

He has been around the scientific community a lot (physicists, etc.) but
not many RF types such as engineers or hams.

He claims that he rarely has ever hear the pronunciation "bal uhn", and
I've rarely heard "bayl uhn".

Anybody want to weigh in on this, heh heh

Where does the "y" come in? The word is a contraction of balanced and
unbalanced. So I figure it should be pronounced "bal uhn" just like the
beginning of the two words it stands for.

Maybe the 'y' is added further south than Virginia.


I think Wayne added the 'y' to indicate that the 'a' is pronounced as in
'ace' rather than as in 'father'.

"John S" wrote in message ...

On 7/27/2015 4:05 PM, rickman wrote:
On 7/27/2015 4:45 PM, Wayne wrote:
Just today I got a question from a new ham on the pronunciation of balun.

He has been around the scientific community a lot (physicists, etc.) but
not many RF types such as engineers or hams.

He claims that he rarely has ever hear the pronunciation "bal uhn", and
I've rarely heard "bayl uhn".

Anybody want to weigh in on this, heh heh

Where does the "y" come in? The word is a contraction of balanced and
unbalanced. So I figure it should be pronounced "bal uhn" just like the
beginning of the two words it stands for.

Maybe the 'y' is added further south than Virginia.


I think Wayne added the 'y' to indicate that the 'a' is pronounced as in
'ace' rather than as in 'father'.

Yes. I was trying to go for the sound of "bail un".

I have heard it both ways, but usually the "bail un" pronunciation comes
from someone not at all familiar with baluns.

Now, one wag questioned the pronunciation of modem (modulator/demodulator),
because it should be the first syllable of both words similar to balun.
That would make the pronunciation "mah dem"
That would be with the American pronunciation of modulator. I'm not sure
but the English pronunciation might have a long o sound in modulator.

On 7/27/2015 6:44 PM, John S wrote:
On 7/27/2015 4:05 PM, rickman wrote:
On 7/27/2015 4:45 PM, Wayne wrote:
Just today I got a question from a new ham on the pronunciation of
balun.

He has been around the scientific community a lot (physicists, etc.) but
not many RF types such as engineers or hams.

He claims that he rarely has ever hear the pronunciation "bal uhn", and
I've rarely heard "bayl uhn".

Anybody want to weigh in on this, heh heh

Where does the "y" come in? The word is a contraction of balanced and
unbalanced. So I figure it should be pronounced "bal uhn" just like the
beginning of the two words it stands for.

Maybe the 'y' is added further south than Virginia.


I think Wayne added the 'y' to indicate that the 'a' is pronounced as in
'ace' rather than as in 'father'.

I don't want to be nitpicky, but the a in 'father' is pronounced a bit
differently, like the a in 'all', while the first syllable in 'balance'
is pronounced as the a in bath. The a in 'father' uses the letter a as
the pronunciation symbol (or internationally the ä). The a in 'balance'
is represented by the symbol æ (looks like an a squished with an e).

I expect the people who are pronouncing it like 'bailiff' are thinking
the proximity of the vowel 'u' is making the 'a' long. But the rule is
really just a guideline and only applies when the word ends with an e,
if I remember.

So while this is certainly a subject for debate, everything I have found
(other than a single web page - By Gary Altunian "Stereos Expert") all
say it is balun or bælən.

--

Rick

On 7/27/2015 7:08 PM, rickman wrote:
On 7/27/2015 6:44 PM, John S wrote:
On 7/27/2015 4:05 PM, rickman wrote:
On 7/27/2015 4:45 PM, Wayne wrote:
Just today I got a question from a new ham on the pronunciation of
balun.

He has been around the scientific community a lot (physicists, etc.)
but
not many RF types such as engineers or hams.

He claims that he rarely has ever hear the pronunciation "bal uhn", and
I've rarely heard "bayl uhn".

Anybody want to weigh in on this, heh heh

Where does the "y" come in? The word is a contraction of balanced and
unbalanced. So I figure it should be pronounced "bal uhn" just like the
beginning of the two words it stands for.

Maybe the 'y' is added further south than Virginia.


I think Wayne added the 'y' to indicate that the 'a' is pronounced as in
'ace' rather than as in 'father'.

I don't want to be nitpicky, but the a in 'father' is pronounced a bit
differently, like the a in 'all', while the first syllable in 'balance'
is pronounced as the a in bath. The a in 'father' uses the letter a as
the pronunciation symbol (or internationally the ä). The a in 'balance'
is represented by the symbol æ (looks like an a squished with an e).

nitpicky is not a problem here. I will never object to some education.

I expect the people who are pronouncing it like 'bailiff' are thinking
the proximity of the vowel 'u' is making the 'a' long. But the rule is
really just a guideline and only applies when the word ends with an e,
if I remember.

So while this is certainly a subject for debate, everything I have found
(other than a single web page - By Gary Altunian "Stereos Expert") all
say it is balun or bælən.


I won't debate. I would rather go with the flow. In print, there is no
problem anyway. If I go to a club meeting and hear others pronounce it,
I will follow their lead.

Wayne wrote:
Just today I got a question from a new ham on the pronunciation of balun.

He has been around the scientific community a lot (physicists, etc.) but
not many RF types such as engineers or hams.

He claims that he rarely has ever hear the pronunciation "bal uhn", and
I've rarely heard "bayl uhn".

Anybody want to weigh in on this, heh heh


This is not the first time this question has arisen.
A quick check on Google with pronunciation dictionaries, wickipedia and
such inevitably comes up bal un -- I've never heard the pronunciation
using the y. I've used baluns, but never bayluns! :-)

Irv VE6BP

"Irv Finkleman" wrote in message
...
Wayne wrote:
Just today I got a question from a new ham on the pronunciation of balun.

He has been around the scientific community a lot (physicists, etc.) but
not many RF types such as engineers or hams.

He claims that he rarely has ever hear the pronunciation "bal uhn", and
I've rarely heard "bayl uhn".

Anybody want to weigh in on this, heh heh


This is not the first time this question has arisen.
A quick check on Google with pronunciation dictionaries, wickipedia and
such inevitably comes up bal un -- I've never heard the pronunciation
using the y. I've used baluns, but never bayluns! :-)


I have heard it both ways. Mostly bal un.

It is suspose to be pronounced that way as it is just the contraction of
balanced unbalanced. I don't know where the Y comes from and I am in the
south.

Just today I got a question from a new ham on the pronunciation of balun.

He has been around the scientific community a lot (physicists, etc.) but not
many RF types such as engineers or hams.

He claims that he rarely has ever hear the pronunciation "bal uhn", and I've
rarely heard "bayl uhn".

I suspect it may be a regional-accent sort of thing. Some people
probably pronounce it based on its word origin ("balanced/unbalanced",
hence "bal uhn") and some based on its appearance (like "basic" or
"basted" or even "bailin' wire").