How to pronounce "ReLU" (Rectified Linear Unit)?

Question

A Rectified Linear Unit is a common activation function in deep neural networks and is often abbreviated as "ReLU".  I usually pronounce it as /rel-you/ (with the "e" as in "relative" or "rectified"), but I often hear colleagues pronounce it /ray-loo/.

Is there a consensus on the correct pronunciation of "ReLU"?

Josh Wolff · Answer

I've always heard professors in classes I've taken at Stanford, such as CS230 and CS231N, pronounce it as /ray-loo/ and /reh-loo/, and I've always used /ray-loo/.
However, the lecturer in this video uses the /rel-you/ pronunciation, which prompted the search that brought me here. The lecturer clearly has extensive ML experience.
I'd hazard a guess based on my anecdotes that /ray-loo/ is more common, but I'd definitely say all three seem to be accepted, given the involvement all parties have in the ML community.

How to pronounce "ReLU" (Rectified Linear Unit)?

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