set -- a b c x=(a b c); IFS='|' echo "${*/#/x}" echo "${x[*]/#/x}" echo "$*" echo "${x[*]}" echo "$@" echo "${x[@]}" echo "${@/#/x}" echo "${x[@]/#/x}" echo "${*:1:2}" echo "${x[*]:1:2}" echo "${@:1:2}" echo "${x[@]:1:2}" IFS=$' \t\n' set -- xa xb xc x=(xa xb xc) IFS='|' echo "${*#x}" echo "${x[*]#x}" echo "$*" echo "${x[*]}"