As a nonce word, the pronunciation of maemo isn't something you can check in a dictionary. And given its provenance, I'd venture that most people first encountered this word in print, and not orally.

Should each vowel be pronounced, making this one really short three-syllable word? Could be.

Should the first syllable be pronounced the same as the month of May? Makes sense.

Or does a followed by e represent the ae diphthong, which if really stretched out would be "maaa-eee" but which English speakers consider a long i: "my"? Well, yes, why not?

I've heard all these pronunciations used at OSiMWorld the past couple days, plus the "two-and-a-half-syllable" variation (really short e) and the "silent a"

Now some might argue that, as a trademark, Maemo's pronunciation is properly decided by Nokia. But I figure if Sony couldn't dictate that its corporate name be pronounced "sunny" (intended as a slang-y spelling of sonny"-boy), that argument doesn't hold water.

Someone said this evening that "I expect it to be 'may-mo' but I think of it as 'my-mo'." Me, too.

The first Maemo Summit begins Friday in Berlin. Since this event is birthing the Maemo Community to formally represent all the non-Nokia participants involved in our pocket revolution -- that would be us enthusiasts, the users and developers -- I'd like to point out that one good reason for preferring "my-mo" is simply how it subliminally confers this new status. Maybe Nokia has the trademark, but it is sharing ownership with us. With me. And now it truly is my Maemo.

Originally Posted by pomokey

I say may-mo. like sallie mae.