How do you pronounce the name of the author of the popular topology book?

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SUMMARY

The pronunciation of the name "Munkres," associated with the author of the topology book "Elementary Differential Topology," has sparked debate among forum participants. Various pronunciations were suggested, including "Mun-kers," "Munk-rees," and "moon-kruh." A participant noted that their topology professor pronounced it "Mun-kers," while another suggested it rhymes with "bunkers." The discussion highlights the uncertainty surrounding the correct pronunciation, with no definitive source provided.

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Does anyone know how to pronounce the name of the author of the popular topology book?
 
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moon-kruh
 
I say Mun-kers.
 
Uh, how is this a math question? Should be moved to GD or something.
 
http://say.expressivo.com/jennifer/munkres%20topology (but this is not definitive)

From "Elementary Differential Topology",
http://say.expressivo.com/jennifer/Differential%20topology%20may%20be%20defined%20as%20the%20study%20of%20those%20properties%20of%20differentiable%20manifolds%20which%20are%20invariant%20under%20differentiable%20homeomorphisms .
 
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I've always heard it pronounced Munk-rees
 
I thought Munkres was a French last name. That's why I said moon-kruh.

How would anyone who doesn't know Munkres personally know how to pronounce his last name. Just because your professor pronounces it a certain way does not mean he's right, because how does he know?
 
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This page (I know, I know, it's not really an ideal source) makes me believe it's Mun-kers, which is how my topology professor pronounced it.
 
morphism said:
This page (I know, I know, it's not really an ideal source) makes me believe it's Mun-kers, which is how my topology professor pronounced it.

Since that page admits that there are various pronunciation of Munkres, is it possible that James Munkres himself doesn't know the pronunciation of his own last name (i.e. how it was pronounced by his ancestors)?
 
  • #10
I took two classes from Professor Munkres in college. (He is a magnificent teacher, by the way.) His name rhymes with the English word "bunkers."
 

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