> I didn’t have any money when I started the company to purchase a domain name so I built an algorithm that iterated phonetic domain names and printed out a list of what was available. My wife and I went through the list and “Kaggle” was the one we picked. It’s algorithmically generated.
> It’s a terrible name because most Americans pronounce it “kagel” [rhymes with “bagel”] which sounds like the pelvic floor exercises. Australians pronounce it “kaggel” [rhymes with “haggle”].
Ah, interesting. I was thinking there must have been a German immigrant to the US whose name, Kegel, was anglicized as Kaggle (the officials at Ellis Island have not always been known for their deep knowledge of English orthography). But I could find no evidence of such a person.
-- Also, I see by following your link that the company was founded in Australia, so the pronunciation that rhymes with "haggle" is actually the original one! Cool! I'll use it.
> It’s a terrible name because most Americans pronounce it “kagel” [rhymes with “bagel”] which sounds like the pelvic floor exercises. Australians pronounce it “kaggel” [rhymes with “haggle”].
Speaking as an American, this is an awful example. Why are "bagel" and "haggle" not supposed to rhyme with each other? What difference is there in Anthony Goldbloom's mind?
I'll accept bagel basically anywhere along the continuum you're trying to describe. (Well, assuming you think the vowel in the first syllable of "haggle" is like "bag" and not like "bog".)
As a self-described redneck in Arizona - the latter seems most appropriate.
Why anyone would pronounce it to rhyme with "bagel" makes no sense to me (same as pronouncing "gif" with a soft "G"); IIRC (and I am no linguist), in english there's a rule about how something is pronounced based on surrounding letters - and I think that double consonant vs singular consonant preceded by a vowel is one of those rules.
I'm sure there are exceptions, after all (it's english...) - but I have a feeling that if you looked at such words you would find the general pattern to fit.
Again - I am willing to admit that I really don't know what I am talking about; I'm not a linguist, I'm not an expert in english. I'm just some guy who last studied english in high school years ago...
Do you mean kegel, the exercise?