Nucular
- While no dictionaries list this mispronunciation as correct, several make mention of it because of its increased usage.[1][2][3][4]
Notes
- Merriam-Webster receive enough questions about their mention of this mispronunciation in the dictionary that it is one of two mispronunciations which receive 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." [5][6]
- "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." [7]
Notable users
U.S. presidents who have used this pronunciation include Dwight D. Eisenhower[citation needed], Jimmy Carter[citation needed], Bill Clinton[citation needed], and George W. Bush[citation needed]. Others who have used this pronunciation include Vice Presidents Walter Mondale[citation needed] and Dick Cheney[citation needed], former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin[citation needed], Star Trek actor DeForest Kelley[citation needed], actor Kiefer Sutherland[citation needed] in his role as Jack Bauer in the TV series 24, Homer Simpson[citation needed] and Professor Marcus du Sautoy[citation needed] in a 2011 BBC documentary called "Faster Than The Speed Of Light".
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.).[8] Supporting Zwicky's hypothesis, Geoffrey Nunberg quotes a government weapons specialist: "Oh, I only say 'nucular' when I'm talking about nukes."[9] 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
References
- ^ Nuclear - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
- ^ Nuclear - Definition from the American Heritage Online Dictionary
- ^ Arnold Zwicky (June 29 2004). "The thin line between error and mere variation". Retrieved 2006-10-23.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Geoff Nunberg (October 2 2002). "Going Nucular".
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ nuclear - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
- ^ "Your pronunciations of "often" and "nuclear" are wrong! How can you say they are correct?". Merriam-Webster online. Retrieved 2006-10-23.
- ^ Nuclear - Definition from the American Heritage Online Dictionary
- ^ Zwicky, Arnold (March 21, 2005). "Axe a stupid question". Retrieved 2008-09-14.
- ^ Nunberg, Geoffrey (October 2, 2002). "Going Nucular". Retrieved 2008-09-14.