5 exercises on pronouncing networking and auth protocol names aloud.
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How is "OAuth" pronounced?
OAuth is most often said "oh-AUTH" /oʊ ɔːθ/ — the letter "O" plus "auth" (the clipped form of "authorization," /ɔːθ/ ending in the "th" of "bath"). Some pronounce it identically to "oath" /oʊθ/. Both are widely understood; "oh-auth" is the most common in practice. So "log in with oh-AUTH", "an oh-auth token." Do not spell it out.
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How is "SAML" (the SSO standard) pronounced?
SAML is pronounced "SAM-ul" /ˈsæməl/ — it starts like the name "Sam" and ends with a weak "-ul," rhyming with "camel" and "YAML." It stands for "Security Assertion Markup Language." So "configure SAM-ul single sign-on", "a SAM-ul assertion." Do not spell it out. It follows the same "-aml → AM-ul" pattern as YAML.
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How is "LDAP" pronounced?
LDAP is said "EL-dap" /ˈɛldæp/ — the letter "L" (said "el") followed by "dap" (rhyming with "map"), stress on the first. It stands for "Lightweight Directory Access Protocol." So "authenticate against EL-dap", "an EL-dap query." Most engineers say it as a word rather than spelling out all four letters. The "dap" has a short /æ/ vowel.
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How is "SMTP" pronounced?
SMTP is always spelled out: "S-M-T-P" /ɛs ɛm tiː piː/ — "ess, em, tee, pee." It stands for "Simple Mail Transfer Protocol." So "send mail over S-M-T-P", "configure the S-M-T-P server." It is not turned into a pronounceable word. Each of the four letters keeps its standard English name. The same goes for its siblings IMAP (though that one is often "EYE-map") and POP.
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How is "SSH" pronounced?
SSH is spelled out: "S-S-H" /ɛs ɛs eɪtʃ/ — "ess, ess, aitch." It stands for "Secure Shell." So "S-S-H into the server", "set up your S-S-H key." Note the final letter "H" is said "aitch" /eɪtʃ/ (not "haitch"). It is never said as "shh" like a hush. It is also used as a verb: "I S-S-H-ed into the box."