Many folks noticed during last night’s debate that Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin pronounced the word “Nuclear” as “NuCUlar”. It wasn’t a gaffe — that’s just how this lil’ lady pronounces it. Here she is saying to the dignified face of ABC’s Charlie Gibson. But one can’t really blame her, considering our President George Bush has been saying it for about 8 or so years. So, in this case, being 62 years, or his age. Here is a fairly humorous sketch depicting this phenomenon, and here is the actual man saying the word.
And then you know what happened? I started doubting myself. “Maybe,” I paused, “Maybe… it’s an actual… word?”
So I Googled “Nucular”. And do you know what I discovered? Thanks to so many people’s mispronunciation of “Nuclear”, Nucular has its own Wikipedia page. Cross yourselves and read this:
Nucular
Nucular is an ad hoc spelling of an incorrect pronunciation of the word nuclear, representing the IPA: /ˈnjuËkjÉ™lÉ™r/ (NEW-cue-lurr) pronunciation of that word instead of the correct /ˈnjuËkliËÉš/ (NEWK-lee-urr).
This pronunciation is incorrect, although some dictionaries recognize it because of its increasing usage.[1]
DID YOU READ THAT, AMERICA? So many people — not just people, our President and possible Vice-President — mispronounce this crucial (one might even say deadly) word, that the DICTIONARY is adding it into its lexicon. And not just any Farmer’s Almanac that tells you when the sun’s gonna rise and how to grow corn… but, like, the Oxford English Dictionary! And the fact that the people mispronouncing “Nuclear” are the very same people who can deploy said weapon is, at the very least, mildly terrifying. This is the end of our times, don’t you see?!?!
Though I have to hand it to Merriam-Webster. They may have added the word, but they’re certainly not d*cking around when it comes to defining it:
“Though disapproved of by many, pronunciations ending in [kjÉ™.lÉ™(ɹ)] 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, who are, in other respects, educated. While most common in the United States, these pronunciations have also been heard from British and Canadian speakers.”
Way to say it like it is, Mir-Webz.
