When I was a student a few decades ago, everybody I knew pronounced it as "vee-eye". Then in the late nineties / early aughts, I heard the first people pronounced it as "vie" in a different city I had found employment in. It sounded odd to me, and it seemed to come from people who in fact didn't use it much. But the pronounciation I was used to still applied, mostly.
Nowadays, I almost never talk about VI to anyone anymore, nor do I hear anyone say the name. It's become mostly a typed thing for me. But - coincidence? - this week I heard three people talk about it (younger, non VI users) and they all said "vie".
And now I'm watching this video from the reasonably famous and definitely not young and not VI newbie NCommander and he too says "vie" in the video.
I'm beginning to worry that I'm the one who's been saying it wrong all this time because of my misguided college buddies and teachers way back when ๐
So I'm curious: how do YOU say it? VEE-EYE or VIE?
That would've made 209 friendlier.