5 pronunciation exercises on the everyday vocabulary of Agile software development ceremonies and concepts.
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How is "Agile" pronounced in software contexts?
Agile in software methodology is pronounced "AJ-ile" /ˈædʒaɪl/ — two syllables: AJ (stressed, /ædʒ/) + ile (/aɪl/, rhyming with "mile"). Both American and British English now converge on this form in software contexts. Note: in general British English "agile" is sometimes /ˈædʒaɪl/ with a longer /aɪl/, which is the same. The G is always soft /dʒ/ (like "jump"), never hard. In a sentence: "The company adopted Agile practices and shifted from annual releases to biweekly sprints."
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How is "Scrum" pronounced?
Scrum is pronounced "skrʌm" /skrʌm/ — one syllable, rhyming with "drum," "rum," and "come." The vowel is short /ʌ/ (like "cup"). The initial consonant cluster sk + r is the same as in "screen" or "scroll." The word comes from rugby, describing a tight group of players. In a sentence: "The team runs a daily Scrum at 9 AM to surface blockers before async work begins."
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How is "Kanban" pronounced?
Kanban is pronounced "KAN-ban" /ˈkænbæn/ — two syllables, both with short /æ/ (like "cat"). In the original Japanese, stress is relatively flat, but in English the first syllable carries slight stress. The word means "signboard" in Japanese and was adopted from Toyota's manufacturing system. A common mistake is using a long A ("KAHN") — the short /æ/ is more accurate and widely used in tech. In a sentence: "We visualise our workflow on a Kanban board with columns for backlog, in-progress, review, and done."
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How is "Retrospective" pronounced?
Retrospective is pronounced "reh-truh-SPEK-tiv" /ˌrɛtrəˈspɛktɪv/ — five syllables: reh + truh + SPEK (stressed) + tiv. Stress falls on the third syllable "SPEK." The second syllable reduces to a schwa /trə/. The word means "looking back" and in Agile refers to the ceremony where the team reviews the past sprint. In a sentence: "In the retrospective, the team identified three process improvements to trial next sprint."
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How is "Backlog" pronounced?
Backlog is pronounced "BAK-log" /ˈbæklɒɡ/ — two syllables, stress on the first. The A is short /æ/ (like "back") and the O is short /ɒ/ (like "log"). In American English the O may sound like /bæklɔːɡ/ with a broader vowel. Stress is always on "BAK." In an Agile context, the backlog is the prioritised list of work. In a sentence: "The product owner groomed the backlog so the top ten stories were ready for sprint planning."