Nucular

This article is about the mispronunciation and/or misspelling of the word nuclear.

Nucular is a common alternative pronunciation of the word nuclear. While no dictionaries list this particular pronunciation as correct, several make mention of it because of its increased usage.

Notes

Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

Merriam-Webster receives enough questions about their mention of this mispronunciation in the dictionary that it is one of two mispronunciations which receives particular mention in their FAQ. "Though disapproved of by many, pronunciations ending in \-kyə-lər\ have been found in widespread use among educated speakers, including scientists, lawyers, professors, congressmen, United States cabinet members, and at least two United States presidents and one vice president. While most common in the United States, these pronunciations have also been heard from British and Canadian speakers."

American Heritage Dictionary:

"The pronunciation (noo'kyə-lər), which is generally considered incorrect, is an example of how a familiar phonological pattern can influence an unfamiliar one … [since] much more common is the similar sequence (-kyə-lər), which occurs in words like particular, circular, spectacular, and in many scientific words like molecular, ocular, and vascular."

Notable users

U.S. presidents who have used this pronunciation include Dwight D. Eisenhower, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. Other users include Homer Simpson, and Professor Marcus du Sautoy.

Edward Teller, "father" of the American hydrogen bomb, used this particular pronunciation, and this usage is a limited tradition within the American nuclear research establishment.

Motivation

Steven Pinker has proposed a phonotactic explanation for the conversion of nuclear to nucular: the unusual and disfavored sequence [kli.ər] is gradually transformed to a more acceptable configuration via metathesis.^{[citation needed]} However, Arnold Zwicky notes that [kli.ər] presents no difficulty for English speakers in words such as pricklier. He also regards the proposition of metathesis as unnecessary. Zwicky suggests a morphological origin, combining the slang nuke with the common sequence -cular (molecular, particular, etc.). Supporting Zwicky's hypothesis, Geoffrey Nunberg quotes a government weapons specialist: "Oh, I only say 'nucular' when I'm talking about nukes." Nunberg argues that this pronunciation by weapons specialists and by politicians such as Bush – who are aware of the more accepted pronunciation – may be a "deliberate choice". He suggests that the reasons for this choice are to "assert authority" or to sound folksy.

See also

• Bushism

References

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