Is the "id" in id Software meant to be pronounced "i-dee" or "eed"?

[Crazy_Deer]

When I was a kid with a pretty small knowledge of english, I always pronounced it "eed" cuz that's how it would be read in my language, and after I started learning english for real I started saying "i-dee". But I have seen people use both so I'm a little confused.

[volleyvalley]

I use the latter pronunciation myself, but I guess it's not wrong to use the former pronunciation as well.

[Jello]

It's pronounced exactly how it's spelled "id". Just like the Freudian concept of the id, ego, and superego, with the id being composed of subconscious, instinctual desires and impulses. It rhymes with words like "kid" or "bid".

 

 

Although when I was a kid I always pronounced it eye-dee, before I was aware of Freud or the concept of the id. 

 

Edit: And apparently Tom Hall actually confirmed this on Reddit, so it's not just me:

 

 

Edited July 8, 2023 by Jello

[brick]

Originally they used to spell ID as an abbreviation for In Demand, so this one would've been i-dee (if you see the logo in the Commander Keen games it has the "We're In Demand!" tag going with it). Then they decided to have it pronounced like the Freudian term id, but that's not pronounced as eed, it's a soft i, so literally id. Like "is" but with a d instead of the s.

[FecalMystAche]

Every time I’ve heard it by journalists, reporters, interviewers, etc, going as far back as this.. it’s been said that way and I have never heard anyone say it like “I.D.”. Something tells me that is for sure how it was always meant to be pronounced despite initially being an acronym. Every time I’ve heard any of the Id founders or employees talk about their time at Id, they have all said it the same way. I think if it was meant to be “I.D.” they would’ve addressed this a long time ago. 

Edited July 8, 2023 by FecalMystAche

[Andrea Rovenski]

ih-d, ideas from the deep

[FecalMystAche]

John Carmack says it like this in the first few seconds of that clip and he was the founder. I think that settles it. 
 

It actually was quite hard for me to find clips of him saying Id by name by the way, as he tends to not do that in most interviews and presentations.

Edited July 8, 2023 by FecalMystAche

[Shakariki Heisenberg]

i say eye dee when im saying the full ID software name
but i usually just say id(like how you say kID) when im not saying the full word like "id bois" or something like that

[Wo0p]

Say whatever you want. Pronounciation cannot be owned. But if you wish to be polite, say it like the founder (See above).

[Herr Dethnout]

I stilla pronuncing it as is in My language (spanish).

 

In other words, "i-de"

[aRottenKomquat]

As a kid, I pronounced it I.D., and later on I switched to "id" when I heard someone else pronounce it that way. 

[Individualised]

It's pronounced id, but most languages don't have the sound that the "i" represents so to your ears it may sound like "eed". To English speakers "eed" would sound weird though unless you always pronounce "ih" sounds like "ee".

Edited July 8, 2023 by Individualised

[Midway64]

I sometimes switch from "i-dee" to "eed" randomly, don't know why, but it happens.

[TheNoob_Gamer]

3 hours ago, FecalMystAche said:

Carmack was the founder

Id was founded by multiple people, including Tom Hall, who as seen above provided a different view on how to spell the name.

[FecalMystAche]

13 minutes ago, TheNoob_Gamer said:

Id was founded by multiple people, including Tom Hall, who as seen above provided a different view on how to spell the name.

Of course it was founded by multiple people, but at the time that video was made, none of the other primary founders were still at Id, and still, Hall states it is pronounced just like how Carmack and Romero do when they have said it, when reporters, interviewers, etc. have said it as well. None of them are saying “I.D.”. 
 

It’s fine people may pronounce it as “I.D.”, but as far as I can tell, it was never intended to be pronounced as such nor is it technically the correct way to refer to the company. 

Edited July 8, 2023 by FecalMystAche

[ENEMY!!!]

I always called it "I.D." (as you would say when abbreviating, say, identification documents) when I was growing up in the 1990s, as did a number of my friends at the time.  During the 2000s I increasingly heard that it was officially pronounced "id" (as in rhyming with "did"), but for many years I rejected it and persisted with "I.D.".  Since around 2010, though, I have increasingly been won over by the "id" pronunciation.

[OliveTree]

rhymes with "kid"

[Maximum Matt]

The real question, though: how do you pronounce Cthon??

[Wo0p]

17 minutes ago, Maximum Matt said:

The real question, though: how do you pronounce Cthon??

 

You don't. Elder speak is not for mortal tongues ;_; I'a Dagon! C'thulhu f'taghn! *Coughs* Sorry

[Gez]

1 hour ago, Maximum Matt said:

The real question, though: how do you pronounce Cthon??

Χθων

[plums]

40 minutes ago, Gez said:

Χθων

Which is basically like "hThon," with the first h being just a small breathy sound. In English you could just say Thon, as in Chthonic.

 

(I don't know why Google thinks the translation for chthon is "yesterday")

Edited July 9, 2023 by plums

[Dubbag]

when i was a child I thought it pronounced like "Eye Dee" software.

 

[ebrl]

Trick question, I never said it out loud in 30 years of playing Doom

[Matthias]

Yee

[0swalld2]

i pronounce ID as i - dee

[Panzermann11]

Yeah, I'm one of the folks who pronounce it as "eye-dee".

Edited September 7, 2023 by Panzermann11

[Maximum Matt]

Like in "eye-dee-dee-queue-dee".

Or "id-piss-pod" or whatever

[Murdoch]

Like many here, I pronounced it as an acronym as a kid, even though I believe as far back as the Wolfenstein 3D help screens there was an explanation of the correct pronunciation. I did not till later I corrected myself, most likely because I thought "what the hell is all this id stuff they are talking about?".

Edited July 18, 2023 by Murdoch