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What is the generally accepted pronunciation of “topoi”?

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6

$begingroup$

Apologies if this annoys proponents of “toposes “.

It appears to me that there are three main candidates for pronunciation, all focusing on the last syllable:

1. Top-oy (rhyming with “toy” in British English)


2. Top-wa


3. Top-oh-ee (less likely, I feel)

So which, if any, is most commonly used? I do see this as an objective question, in the same way that there is a correct answer to “what is the commonly accepted pronunciation of ‘Lie’?”.

soft-question pronunciation

share|cite|improve this question

asked 2 days ago

NethesisNethesis

1,9121823

$endgroup$

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.
  $endgroup$
  – Pedro Tamaroff♦
  2 days ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  2
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  'Top-wa' would be French, and it isn't French. 'Top-oh-ee' would be Italian, and it isn't Italian.
  $endgroup$
  – user207421
  2 days ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

6

$begingroup$

Apologies if this annoys proponents of “toposes “.

It appears to me that there are three main candidates for pronunciation, all focusing on the last syllable:

1. Top-oy (rhyming with “toy” in British English)


2. Top-wa


3. Top-oh-ee (less likely, I feel)

So which, if any, is most commonly used? I do see this as an objective question, in the same way that there is a correct answer to “what is the commonly accepted pronunciation of ‘Lie’?”.

soft-question pronunciation

share|cite|improve this question

asked 2 days ago

NethesisNethesis

1,9121823

$endgroup$

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.
  $endgroup$
  – Pedro Tamaroff♦
  2 days ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  2
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  'Top-wa' would be French, and it isn't French. 'Top-oh-ee' would be Italian, and it isn't Italian.
  $endgroup$
  – user207421
  2 days ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

$begingroup$

Apologies if this annoys proponents of “toposes “.

It appears to me that there are three main candidates for pronunciation, all focusing on the last syllable:

1. Top-oy (rhyming with “toy” in British English)


2. Top-wa


3. Top-oh-ee (less likely, I feel)

So which, if any, is most commonly used? I do see this as an objective question, in the same way that there is a correct answer to “what is the commonly accepted pronunciation of ‘Lie’?”.

soft-question pronunciation

share|cite|improve this question

asked 2 days ago

NethesisNethesis

1,9121823

$endgroup$

share|cite|improve this question

asked 2 days ago

NethesisNethesis

1,9121823

share|cite|improve this question

asked 2 days ago

NethesisNethesis

1,9121823

asked 2 days ago

NethesisNethesis

1,9121823

asked 2 days ago

NethesisNethesis

1,9121823

3 Answers
3

active

oldest

votes

9

$begingroup$

The only pronunciation I have ever heard (American) English-speaking mathematicians use is "toe-poy" /ˈtoʊpɔɪ/ (with stress on the first syllable). That is consistent with the pronunciation of the singular as "toe-poce" /ˈtoʊpoʊs/ and the usual English pronunciation of "oi" /ɔɪ/ (except in words that come from French, which topoi does not).

For what it's worth, Wikipedia seems to agree with this pronunciation in American English but gives "top-oy" /ˈtɒpɔɪ/ instead as the pronunciation in British English. (To be precise, it gives the corresponding pronunciations for the singulars in American and British English and then mentions both plural pronunciations without saying which dialect they correspond to.)

share|cite|improve this answer

edited 2 days ago

wjandrea

1052

answered 2 days ago

Eric WofseyEric Wofsey

189k14216347

$endgroup$

add a comment | 

5

$begingroup$

Topoi is the Greek word "$tau acute o pi oi$", see wikipedia, i.e. the plural of $tau acute opi ovarsigma$. So the pronunciation is accordingly (I have only heard "toe-poy" so far in English, and we said it this way in school, where the teacher in Greek said it was the original pronunciation in ancient Greece.).

share|cite|improve this answer

edited 2 days ago

answered 2 days ago

Dietrich BurdeDietrich Burde

80.4k647104

$endgroup$

• 
  
  
  

  
  6
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  It is τόποι and not $tau o pi oi$.
  $endgroup$
  – Rebellos
  2 days ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  I was searching for the accent already, but the backslash accent does not work here (in latex is does).
  $endgroup$
  – Dietrich Burde
  2 days ago
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  Haha sorry, Greek guy here !
  $endgroup$
  – Rebellos
  2 days ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  4
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  By the way, we use a different $sigma$ when it's on the end. For that instance, it's τόπος.
  $endgroup$
  – Rebellos
  2 days ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  11
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  The pronunciation is accordingly what? I don't know how to pronounce Greek vowel clusters.
  $endgroup$
  – Rahul
  2 days ago
  

  
  
  
  

 | 
show 4 more comments

5

$begingroup$

It is the plural of the word topos which stems from Greek (τόπος in Greek) which is indeed topoi (τόποι). In that case, it's pronounced like to-pee /ˈto.pi/. You give emphasis on the o (that's what the tonos ΄ symbol means over the o). Check here.

share|cite|improve this answer

edited 2 days ago

wjandrea

1052

answered 2 days ago

RebellosRebellos

15.3k31250

$endgroup$

• 
  
  
  

  
  4
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  That certainly seems authoritative to me - but I do have some slight hesitancy to accept this answer because the Greek pronunciation of a word does not always align with the most common used pronunciation - so English speakers tend to say “pie” rather than “pee” for $pi$. Do you know that this is the way the word is commonly said in a mathematical context?
  $endgroup$
  – Nethesis
  2 days ago
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  3
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  Well, I have studied only in Greece for the time being, so of course here it is pronounced the right way. Now, regarding the common pronounciation internationally, I can only guess.
  $endgroup$
  – Rebellos
  2 days ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  6
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  But that's modern Greek pronunciation. Topos was probably taken from classical Greek. Shouldn't it be pronounced with classical Greek phonetics?
  $endgroup$
  – enedil
  2 days ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  4
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  @Rebellos I have never heard the word topoi pronounced to-pee as one would pronounce τόποι in Modern Greek, other than by Greeks of course. It has always been to-poy, similar to Attic Greek τόποι but closer to τώποι, except for the very rare French pronunciation to-pwa, only heard from a few French undergraduates.
  $endgroup$
  – Servaes
  2 days ago
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  2
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  @EricWofsey "Beta", for example!
  $endgroup$
  – David Richerby
  2 days ago
  

  
  
  
  

 | 
show 14 more comments

Your Answer

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9

$begingroup$

The only pronunciation I have ever heard (American) English-speaking mathematicians use is "toe-poy" /ˈtoʊpɔɪ/ (with stress on the first syllable). That is consistent with the pronunciation of the singular as "toe-poce" /ˈtoʊpoʊs/ and the usual English pronunciation of "oi" /ɔɪ/ (except in words that come from French, which topoi does not).

For what it's worth, Wikipedia seems to agree with this pronunciation in American English but gives "top-oy" /ˈtɒpɔɪ/ instead as the pronunciation in British English. (To be precise, it gives the corresponding pronunciations for the singulars in American and British English and then mentions both plural pronunciations without saying which dialect they correspond to.)

share|cite|improve this answer

edited 2 days ago

wjandrea

1052

answered 2 days ago

Eric WofseyEric Wofsey

189k14216347

$endgroup$

add a comment | 

9

$begingroup$

The only pronunciation I have ever heard (American) English-speaking mathematicians use is "toe-poy" /ˈtoʊpɔɪ/ (with stress on the first syllable). That is consistent with the pronunciation of the singular as "toe-poce" /ˈtoʊpoʊs/ and the usual English pronunciation of "oi" /ɔɪ/ (except in words that come from French, which topoi does not).

For what it's worth, Wikipedia seems to agree with this pronunciation in American English but gives "top-oy" /ˈtɒpɔɪ/ instead as the pronunciation in British English. (To be precise, it gives the corresponding pronunciations for the singulars in American and British English and then mentions both plural pronunciations without saying which dialect they correspond to.)

share|cite|improve this answer

edited 2 days ago

wjandrea

1052

answered 2 days ago

Eric WofseyEric Wofsey

189k14216347

$endgroup$

add a comment | 

$begingroup$

The only pronunciation I have ever heard (American) English-speaking mathematicians use is "toe-poy" /ˈtoʊpɔɪ/ (with stress on the first syllable). That is consistent with the pronunciation of the singular as "toe-poce" /ˈtoʊpoʊs/ and the usual English pronunciation of "oi" /ɔɪ/ (except in words that come from French, which topoi does not).

For what it's worth, Wikipedia seems to agree with this pronunciation in American English but gives "top-oy" /ˈtɒpɔɪ/ instead as the pronunciation in British English. (To be precise, it gives the corresponding pronunciations for the singulars in American and British English and then mentions both plural pronunciations without saying which dialect they correspond to.)

share|cite|improve this answer

edited 2 days ago

wjandrea

1052

answered 2 days ago

Eric WofseyEric Wofsey

189k14216347

$endgroup$

share|cite|improve this answer

edited 2 days ago

wjandrea

1052

answered 2 days ago

Eric WofseyEric Wofsey

189k14216347

edited 2 days ago

wjandrea

1052

edited 2 days ago

wjandrea

1052

answered 2 days ago

Eric WofseyEric Wofsey

189k14216347

answered 2 days ago

Eric WofseyEric Wofsey

189k14216347

5

$begingroup$

Topoi is the Greek word "$tau acute o pi oi$", see wikipedia, i.e. the plural of $tau acute opi ovarsigma$. So the pronunciation is accordingly (I have only heard "toe-poy" so far in English, and we said it this way in school, where the teacher in Greek said it was the original pronunciation in ancient Greece.).

share|cite|improve this answer

edited 2 days ago

answered 2 days ago

Dietrich BurdeDietrich Burde

80.4k647104

$endgroup$

• 
  
  
  

  
  6
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  It is τόποι and not $tau o pi oi$.
  $endgroup$
  – Rebellos
  2 days ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  I was searching for the accent already, but the backslash accent does not work here (in latex is does).
  $endgroup$
  – Dietrich Burde
  2 days ago
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  Haha sorry, Greek guy here !
  $endgroup$
  – Rebellos
  2 days ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  4
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  By the way, we use a different $sigma$ when it's on the end. For that instance, it's τόπος.
  $endgroup$
  – Rebellos
  2 days ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  11
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  The pronunciation is accordingly what? I don't know how to pronounce Greek vowel clusters.
  $endgroup$
  – Rahul
  2 days ago
  

  
  
  
  

 | 
show 4 more comments

5

$begingroup$

Topoi is the Greek word "$tau acute o pi oi$", see wikipedia, i.e. the plural of $tau acute opi ovarsigma$. So the pronunciation is accordingly (I have only heard "toe-poy" so far in English, and we said it this way in school, where the teacher in Greek said it was the original pronunciation in ancient Greece.).

share|cite|improve this answer

edited 2 days ago

answered 2 days ago

Dietrich BurdeDietrich Burde

80.4k647104

$endgroup$

• 
  
  
  

  
  6
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  It is τόποι and not $tau o pi oi$.
  $endgroup$
  – Rebellos
  2 days ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  I was searching for the accent already, but the backslash accent does not work here (in latex is does).
  $endgroup$
  – Dietrich Burde
  2 days ago
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  Haha sorry, Greek guy here !
  $endgroup$
  – Rebellos
  2 days ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  4
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  By the way, we use a different $sigma$ when it's on the end. For that instance, it's τόπος.
  $endgroup$
  – Rebellos
  2 days ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  11
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  The pronunciation is accordingly what? I don't know how to pronounce Greek vowel clusters.
  $endgroup$
  – Rahul
  2 days ago
  

  
  
  
  

 | 
show 4 more comments

$begingroup$

Topoi is the Greek word "$tau acute o pi oi$", see wikipedia, i.e. the plural of $tau acute opi ovarsigma$. So the pronunciation is accordingly (I have only heard "toe-poy" so far in English, and we said it this way in school, where the teacher in Greek said it was the original pronunciation in ancient Greece.).

share|cite|improve this answer

edited 2 days ago

answered 2 days ago

Dietrich BurdeDietrich Burde

80.4k647104

$endgroup$

share|cite|improve this answer

edited 2 days ago

answered 2 days ago

Dietrich BurdeDietrich Burde

80.4k647104

answered 2 days ago

Dietrich BurdeDietrich Burde

80.4k647104

answered 2 days ago

Dietrich BurdeDietrich Burde

80.4k647104

5

$begingroup$

It is the plural of the word topos which stems from Greek (τόπος in Greek) which is indeed topoi (τόποι). In that case, it's pronounced like to-pee /ˈto.pi/. You give emphasis on the o (that's what the tonos ΄ symbol means over the o). Check here.

share|cite|improve this answer

edited 2 days ago

wjandrea

1052

answered 2 days ago

RebellosRebellos

15.3k31250

$endgroup$

• 
  
  
  

  
  4
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  That certainly seems authoritative to me - but I do have some slight hesitancy to accept this answer because the Greek pronunciation of a word does not always align with the most common used pronunciation - so English speakers tend to say “pie” rather than “pee” for $pi$. Do you know that this is the way the word is commonly said in a mathematical context?
  $endgroup$
  – Nethesis
  2 days ago
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  3
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  Well, I have studied only in Greece for the time being, so of course here it is pronounced the right way. Now, regarding the common pronounciation internationally, I can only guess.
  $endgroup$
  – Rebellos
  2 days ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  6
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  But that's modern Greek pronunciation. Topos was probably taken from classical Greek. Shouldn't it be pronounced with classical Greek phonetics?
  $endgroup$
  – enedil
  2 days ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  4
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  @Rebellos I have never heard the word topoi pronounced to-pee as one would pronounce τόποι in Modern Greek, other than by Greeks of course. It has always been to-poy, similar to Attic Greek τόποι but closer to τώποι, except for the very rare French pronunciation to-pwa, only heard from a few French undergraduates.
  $endgroup$
  – Servaes
  2 days ago
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  2
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  @EricWofsey "Beta", for example!
  $endgroup$
  – David Richerby
  2 days ago
  

  
  
  
  

 | 
show 14 more comments

5

$begingroup$

It is the plural of the word topos which stems from Greek (τόπος in Greek) which is indeed topoi (τόποι). In that case, it's pronounced like to-pee /ˈto.pi/. You give emphasis on the o (that's what the tonos ΄ symbol means over the o). Check here.

share|cite|improve this answer

edited 2 days ago

wjandrea

1052

answered 2 days ago

RebellosRebellos

15.3k31250

$endgroup$

• 
  
  
  

  
  4
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  That certainly seems authoritative to me - but I do have some slight hesitancy to accept this answer because the Greek pronunciation of a word does not always align with the most common used pronunciation - so English speakers tend to say “pie” rather than “pee” for $pi$. Do you know that this is the way the word is commonly said in a mathematical context?
  $endgroup$
  – Nethesis
  2 days ago
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  3
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  Well, I have studied only in Greece for the time being, so of course here it is pronounced the right way. Now, regarding the common pronounciation internationally, I can only guess.
  $endgroup$
  – Rebellos
  2 days ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  6
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  But that's modern Greek pronunciation. Topos was probably taken from classical Greek. Shouldn't it be pronounced with classical Greek phonetics?
  $endgroup$
  – enedil
  2 days ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  4
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  @Rebellos I have never heard the word topoi pronounced to-pee as one would pronounce τόποι in Modern Greek, other than by Greeks of course. It has always been to-poy, similar to Attic Greek τόποι but closer to τώποι, except for the very rare French pronunciation to-pwa, only heard from a few French undergraduates.
  $endgroup$
  – Servaes
  2 days ago
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  2
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  $begingroup$
  @EricWofsey "Beta", for example!
  $endgroup$
  – David Richerby
  2 days ago
  

  
  
  
  

 | 
show 14 more comments

$begingroup$

It is the plural of the word topos which stems from Greek (τόπος in Greek) which is indeed topoi (τόποι). In that case, it's pronounced like to-pee /ˈto.pi/. You give emphasis on the o (that's what the tonos ΄ symbol means over the o). Check here.

share|cite|improve this answer

edited 2 days ago

wjandrea

1052

answered 2 days ago

RebellosRebellos

15.3k31250

$endgroup$

share|cite|improve this answer

edited 2 days ago

wjandrea

1052

answered 2 days ago

RebellosRebellos

15.3k31250

edited 2 days ago

wjandrea

1052

edited 2 days ago

wjandrea

1052

answered 2 days ago

RebellosRebellos

15.3k31250

answered 2 days ago

RebellosRebellos

15.3k31250