SQL Database Function Names Pronunciation

COALESCE is pronounced 'koh-uh-LESS' — three syllables, with stress on the final syllable. The final 'e' is silent. It comes from the Latin 'coalescere' (to grow together). Common mispronunciation: stressing the first syllable ('KOH-uh-less') or pronouncing the final 'e'. In a technical interview: 'Use COALESCE (koh-uh-LESS) to return the first non-null value.'

NULLIF is pronounced 'NUL-iff' — spoken as the two English words 'null' plus 'if' run together, with stress on 'NUL'. It returns NULL if two expressions are equal. Common mispronunciation: shifting stress to the second syllable ('nul-IFF') or elongating the vowel ('NOO-lif'). In a technical interview: 'Wrap the denominator in NULLIF (NUL-iff) to avoid division-by-zero errors.'

SUBSTRING is pronounced 'SUB-string' — the prefix 'sub' plus 'string', with the primary stress on the first syllable. Common mispronunciation: placing equal stress on both syllables or stressing 'STRING'. In a technical interview: 'Use SUBSTRING (SUB-string) to extract the first five characters of the column.'

DATEDIFF is pronounced 'DATE-diff' — 'date' (long a, rhymes with 'late') plus 'diff' (short for difference). Stress falls on 'DATE'. Common mispronunciation: using a short 'a' in 'date' ('DAT-diff') or stressing the second part. In a technical interview: 'DATEDIFF (DATE-diff) returns the number of days between two dates.'

CONCAT is pronounced 'CON-kat' — short for concatenate, with stress on the first syllable. The 'a' in 'cat' is short. Common mispronunciation: stressing the second syllable ('con-KAT') or drawing out the final vowel. In a technical interview: 'Use CONCAT (CON-kat) to join the first and last name columns.'