Do you say "Rooter" or "Router"?

Rooter? Or router with the out pronounced owt?

I am not that much of a geek but I get the song. It bothers me though that the singer says "rooter" not "router" with the out pronounced out as in the great outdoors. "Owt" not "oot"

I worry that I may be mispronouncing it... mostly in my brain. It is not like I sit around and talk about routers and servers... but I am pretty sure when I have talked to the Real Living Help desk we were all saying routers not rooters (rhyming with Hooters, a dining establishment....) Router pronounced "rooter" also makes me think of Roto Rooter.

When I took the ePRO class I pronounced it routers not rooters... was there audio in the ePRO course or was it just reading the screen? When I've read PC's for Dummies, Internet for Dummies, etc. I have always read it routers not rooters.

Root 66 When it comes to the word Route I am kind of torn. Route 66, the famous song tells me to say the word "Root 66" and so I do. Yet if I was going to follow that famous route cross country to me it would still be a route not a root. Trees have roots. A carrot is a root. You follow a route. If I follow a route I get there. A path, a road,

To me data packets take routes not roots.

Router from Wikipedia:

"A router is a device that extracts the destination of a packet it receives, selects the best path to that destination, and forwards data packets to the next device along this path.[1] They connect networks together; a LAN to a WAN for example, to access the Internet."

And more concisely and yet still from Wikipedia:

"A more precise definition of a router is a computer networking device that interconnects separate logical subnets."

I was sure "route" and "root" would be questions in this American Accent Quiz but they are not. I wonder if there were people troubled by the Route 66 (pronounced root) song back in 1949?

Oh here's the router - rooter song...

The Route 66 photo is from Wikipedia and is in the public domain. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Route_66

Posted Sunday Oct 28

(10/28/07 05:29AM) — Keith Perry - REALTOR® -West Metro Atlanta

Lol Maureen I just woke all my dogs up listening :) and I'm sure that the British accent had something to do with rooter vs. router. LOL thanks for the early morning chuckle.

(10/28/07 05:32AM) — Maureen McCabe - Central Ohio real estate

"rooter" does sound classy with a British accent... heck everything sounds classy with a British accent. Do you say "router"? owt?

(10/28/07 05:36AM) — Keith Perry - REALTOR® -West Metro Atlanta

Yep my neck of the woods its owt.

(10/28/07 06:13AM) — Ted Baker

Thanks, Maureen for the clever song - but I am with you all - it's rOUTers

(10/28/07 06:43AM) — Dan Cummings - Connecticut's Running Realtor

Root or Route.. who gives a hoot..... Acutally I be hitting Root 22 in a few minutes for my halloween 5k but whenever my network gets clogged I power down and let it find a better Route....

(10/28/07 07:01AM) — Lenn Harley

I learned a long time ago that I could spot a Canadian by the way they pronounce "out", "about" as "oat" and "aboat".

There was a funny skit on the defunct TV comedy series, Newsradio about how the manager was "outed" as a Canadian when he was forced to say "about" and it came out "aboat".

Language is priceless.

(10/28/07 09:51AM) — Denise Allen Realtor@ Chesapeake

Its out but its your word. I seldom correct other peoples words unless they are really out there.

(10/28/07 10:07AM) — Jay Merton & Medford Ambrose, the Codgers

Maureen: Only for that particular highway do I pronounce route as "root." The dictionary (Encarta) lists both as correct.

Jay

(10/28/07 10:51AM) — Cheryl Johnson

Oooooo... I love that video!! That guy is good!!! Even if he does say rooter.

(10/28/07 12:31PM) — Maureen McCabe - Central Ohio real estate

I love the way Canadians say "about." I had Pakistani clients who are Canadian Nationals, I think they've been in Canada for 20+ years, they had a couple of really fun words and expressions.

Isn't that a great video, of course it's OK that he says rooter, my first thought was whether it is one of those words I just use in my head or one I say. I wonder if it is "rooter" in England, I would not think route would be root in England. I know both pronounciations of "route" are used in different parts of this country. I think sometimes I say "route, root... route... "

Thanks all for the comments.

(10/28/07 06:28PM) — Kathy McGraw ~ Calif Broker

I say "root"......always have even though I know it "should be" "rOUTe" :)

(10/28/07 07:17PM) — Maureen McCabe - Central Ohio real estate

But Kathy the important thing is do you call the computer networking device that interconnects separate logical subnets a rooter or a router?

(10/29/07 10:35PM) — Kathy McGraw ~ Calif Broker

No Maureen I call " the tech guy" and tell him about the black cable :) :)

(10/29/07 10:40PM) — Kathy McGraw ~ Calif Broker

Now you have a jingle going through my brain......" Roto Rooter, that's the name, and away go troubles down the drain"........thanks a lot.....I'm going to go read the other e-PRO Posts now, and hopefully none get flushed down the drain :) :)

(10/30/07 08:41AM) — Maureen McCabe - Central Ohio real estate

We have two rooms in our office building where the serve, the router (rowter) and some other big hairy things with buttons and flashing lights or non flashing lights are located. When we have computer problems our help desk gives instructions over the phone about how to get the computers etc. back up... "poooosh the button."

(10/30/07 08:50PM) — Keith Perry - REALTOR® -West Metro Atlanta

Ok Maureen, the tech guy came by today and said rooter and with no British accent. But he was awesome with the work he did that I did't ask him where he picked it up from. ;)

(10/30/07 10:12PM) — Maureen McCabe - Central Ohio real estate

It's a conspiracy. He's probably seen the video... they are all going to start saying "rooter" now to sound classy... or maybe not.