How is l'Hospital's name pronounced?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the pronunciation of the name "l'Hospital," exploring variations and historical context related to the name's spelling and its association with the mathematical rule attributed to Marquis de L'Hospital.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Historical

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest different pronunciations, including "LOH-pee-tahl," "LOHS-pee-tahl," and "Lo-Pih-tall."
  • One participant notes that in modern French, the name would be spelled "l'Hôpital" with a circumflex over the 'o,' indicating a historical change in pronunciation.
  • Another participant expresses a preference to refer to the rule as "Bernoulli's Rule" instead of using L'Hospital's name.
  • There is a discussion about the historical relationship between Marquis de L'Hospital and Johann Bernoulli, with claims that Bernoulli discovered the rule but L'Hospital received credit due to their agreement.
  • One participant questions the presence of an "s" in "L'Hopital," while another references a textbook that spells it with an "s."
  • A participant provides a link to a biography that mentions both spellings of the name as being equivalent in French.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the pronunciation and spelling of "l'Hospital," with no consensus reached on the correct form. The historical context of the name and its attribution also remains a point of contention.

Contextual Notes

There are unresolved questions regarding the historical spelling and pronunciation of the name, as well as the implications of the agreement between L'Hospital and Bernoulli on the attribution of the mathematical rule.

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LOH-pee-tahl or LOHS-pee-tahl?

Thanks! I have heard it both ways recently.
 
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Lo-Pih-tall
 
If it were modern French, it would be l'H\hat{o}pital with a circonflex, a little hat, over the o to denote the missing s. But even in the 17th century, the s was not pronounced. The only other language with spelling as weird as English is French.
 
Thanks for the info and explanation. Personally, I think we should just call it Bernoulli's Rule and be done with it! :)
 
There's a s in there?
 
According to my book, the name of the fellow who popularized the method was Marquis de L'Hospital. The rule was actually discovered by a Swiss mathematician named Johann Bernoulli. They cut some kind of a business deal where the Marquis bought the rights to Bernoulli's discoveries.
 
John Bernoulli was actually Marquis de l'Hospital's private tutor/teacher...their agreement (due to the large sum of money L'Hospital was paying Bernoulli) was that anything they discovered during their studies would be published and credited to L'Hospital. So, yes, Bernoulli acutally dicovered it, but L'Hospital was given credit for it.
 
I don't think there is an "s" in L'Hopital.

Njorl
 
ummm.. James Stewart spells it that way in the standard textbook Calculus, 5th edition.
Not that I trust him completely, but it is a pretty widely used textbook, and I would figure his editors would go to the trouble of fact-checking on that.

I like your jumpsuit, but the way. Red is my favorite color.
 

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