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Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: space-time
Date: August 19, 2015 11:49AM
Poll
Nuclear or Nucular?
Only registered users are allowed to vote for this poll.
37 votes were received.
Nuclear 33
 
 89%
Nucular 4
 
 11%


I hear the term "Nucular" all the time (just heard a Senator using it) and I had to look it up, to understand if it is a mispronunciation or it is a correct term.

I found this wiki entry interesting

[en.wikipedia.org]

How do you say it? I just decided to make this a Poll
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Re: Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: Paul F.
Date: August 19, 2015 11:55AM
Nuclear is correct, but as with so many other "regional" pronunciations in English, "Nucular" is pretty common.
Just like "Axing someone a question", wrong, and annoying, but common. Or "Ekcetera"...


Paul F.
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Re: Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: N-OS X-tasy!
Date: August 19, 2015 11:59AM
How hard is it to spell it correctly? smiley-laughing001

Quote

Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?


It is what it is.
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Re: Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: Steve G.
Date: August 19, 2015 12:02PM
nucular:
1) Favored by the same people who say "hone in" and "it is what it is".
2) "Reading? Yeah, I used to do that."
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Re: Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: ka jowct
Date: August 19, 2015 12:05PM
Makes me cringe whenever I hear it. Same people tend to say "nuculus".

I worked with someone years ago who didn't know that Latin was a language: thought it was a synonym for Spanish.

I also worked with someone who reported that our Fax machine was broken when she saw a received fax in a foreign language in the machine. "Look at it. You can't even read it."



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/19/2015 12:10PM by ka jowct.
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Re: Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: NewtonMP2100
Date: August 19, 2015 12:11PM
......it sounds like.....NOOKie.......


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Re: Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: Speedy
Date: August 19, 2015 12:13PM
Quote
ka jowct
I also worked with someone who reported that our Fax machine was broken when she saw a received fax in a foreign language in the machine. "Look at it. You can't even read it."

smiley-laughing001 "Born in the USA"


Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.
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Re: Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: Lew Zealand
Date: August 19, 2015 12:13PM
I'm M A V I C.
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Re: Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: M A V I C
Date: August 19, 2015 12:33PM
I guess I'm a little confused by the poll...

Does "Nuclear" mean it's pronounced like "new clear" - two syllables?
and thus does "Nucular" mean it's pronounced like this [www.youtube.com] - three syllables?



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Re: Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: 3d
Date: August 19, 2015 12:38PM
What?
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Re: Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: rz
Date: August 19, 2015 12:50PM
Quote
ka jowct

I worked with someone years ago who didn't know that Latin was a language: thought it was a synonym for Spanish.

Whenever I hear about "Latin Music", I always say, "Oh, you mean like Gregorian Chant?"
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Re: Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: DavidS
Date: August 19, 2015 01:20PM
[youtu.be]
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Re: Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: davester
Date: August 19, 2015 01:26PM
I work at a facility that has a lot of nuclear physicists. I think that if I walked into the accelerator complex and yelled out that I needed a "nucular" physicist nobody would even look up. Either that or they'd glare scornfully.


"In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion." (1987) -- Carl Sagan
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Re: Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: $tevie
Date: August 19, 2015 01:47PM
I'm pretty sure that I said "nucular" when I was a child. I am going to assume that it was either peer influence or a regionalism, but at some point I figured out what I was doing and stopped. I still tend to say "Porkypine" instead of "Porcupine" but I blame Walt Kelly for that.


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Re: Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: silvarios
Date: August 19, 2015 01:55PM
Quote
$tevie
I'm pretty sure that I said "nucular" when I was a child. I am going to assume that it was either peer influence or a regionalism, but at some point I figured out what I was doing and stopped. I still tend to say "Porkypine" instead of "Porcupine" but I blame Walt Kelly for that.

Yeah, I have the same trouble with porcupine, but nuclear somehow slithered through without any deviations.
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Re: Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: Yoyodyne ArtWorks
Date: August 19, 2015 02:18PM
"Spigot" or "spicket"
"Supposedly" or "supposably"

There's millions of 'em...


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Re: Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: pdq
Date: August 19, 2015 02:57PM
IIRC, former pres Jimmy Carter used to pronounce it "nucular", and he was a trained as a nucular "nuclear officer" (whatever that is) on a sub in the Navy.
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Re: Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: RE:up
Date: August 19, 2015 03:02PM
carry-okie anyone?
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Re: Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: bazookaman
Date: August 19, 2015 03:11PM
I think there's a difference. Axing someone a question is a regional thing. Whereas supposably or nucular are just plain wrong, whatever your region.


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Re: Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: N-OS X-tasy!
Date: August 19, 2015 03:39PM
Quote
$tevie
I'm pretty sure that I said "nucular" when I was a child. I am going to assume that it was either peer influence or a regionalism, but at some point I figured out what I was doing and stopped. I still tend to say "Porkypine" instead of "Porcupine" but I blame Walt Kelly for that.

With my sister, it was "pasghetti."


It is what it is.
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Re: Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: Paul F.
Date: August 19, 2015 03:58PM
Quote
bazookaman
I think there's a difference. Axing someone a question is a regional thing. Whereas supposably or nucular are just plain wrong, whatever your region.

The word is Ask. A. S. K.
"Axe" is wrong, regardless of your region.
So it "Ekcetera"... it's etcetera.

OK, sure, some people have actual pronunciation problems... I can make allowances... but saying that it's "not wrong" is, itself, incorrect. smiling smiley


Paul F.
-----
A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
----
Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
--

--

--
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Re: Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: DeusxMac
Date: August 19, 2015 04:44PM
Quote
M A V I C
I guess I'm a little confused by the poll...

Does "Nuclear" mean it's pronounced like "new clear" - two syllables?
and thus does "Nucular" mean it's pronounced like this [www.youtube.com] - three syllables?

Three syllables, accent on the first syllable - noo-klee-er
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Re: Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: cbelt3
Date: August 19, 2015 04:48PM
Potato, potah-to.

New-Clear
Nuclear.

Both pronunciations are correct.

Nu-Cu-lar is derived from ignorance.

The German is much better... Atom....



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/19/2015 04:50PM by cbelt3.
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Re: Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: Steve G.
Date: August 19, 2015 05:09PM
Quote
M A V I C
"new clear"


LIMPADORES CONCENTRADOS
[www.newclear.com.br]
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Re: Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: AllGold
Date: August 19, 2015 05:12PM
Quote
Paul F.
... but saying that it's "not wrong" is, itself, incorrect. smiling smiley

thumbs up
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Re: Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: billb
Date: August 19, 2015 05:36PM
Quote
Paul F.
Quote
bazookaman
I think there's a difference. Axing someone a question is a regional thing. Whereas supposably or nucular are just plain wrong, whatever your region.

The word is Ask. A. S. K.
"Axe" is wrong, regardless of your region.
So it "Ekcetera"... it's etcetera.

OK, sure, some people have actual pronunciation problems... I can make allowances... but saying that it's "not wrong" is, itself, incorrect. smiling smiley

Ay up, like Sears: Good, better, best.


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Re: Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: m.paris
Date: August 19, 2015 05:53PM
And how many (few) of us say Feb-ru-ary?
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Re: Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: space-time
Date: August 19, 2015 06:10PM
Quote
m.paris
And how many (few) of us say Feb-ru-ary?

what is the alternative?
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Re: Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: DeusxMac
Date: August 19, 2015 07:33PM
Quote
space-time
Quote
m.paris
And how many (few) of us say Feb-ru-ary?

what is the alternative?

Mispronounced commonly as Feb-u-ary.
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Re: Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: Article Accelerator
Date: August 20, 2015 01:30AM
I can't believe "nucular" got four votes…

On the other hand, Laliberte gets pronounced as lally-berty and Favre as farve.
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Re: Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: GeneL
Date: August 20, 2015 01:48AM
Liberry???


gl @ Dana Point, CA
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Re: Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: RAMd®d
Date: August 20, 2015 02:54AM
but I blame Walt Kelly for that.

Same here.

And I still say porkypine from time to time.

On the plus side, thanks to Walt, I knew to keep all my thumbs on one side of the hand crank when starting a Ford Model A.

I hear Febuary and libery from time to time and "axe me" ALL the time.

Just a few days ago, I was watching TV and saw/heard an artist say her next alblum would be out soon.

I once told a supervisor that I would "one day I'd like to immolate you". And yes, that was a joke, son. Very inside as the sup was flattered.

And I *still* hear/see the "mute" for "moot" thing, right spelling, wrong pronunciation.





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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/20/2015 02:58AM by RAMd®d.
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Re: Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: M A V I C
Date: August 20, 2015 12:15PM
Quote
DeusxMac
Quote
M A V I C
I guess I'm a little confused by the poll...

Does "Nuclear" mean it's pronounced like "new clear" - two syllables?
and thus does "Nucular" mean it's pronounced like this [www.youtube.com] - three syllables?

Three syllables, accent on the first syllable - noo-klee-er

Quote
cbelt3
Potato, potah-to.

New-Clear
Nuclear.

Both pronunciations are correct.

Nu-Cu-lar is derived from ignorance.

The German is much better... Atom....

Thanks. I retract my original answer then. I thought it was more like noo-kleer vs noo-klee-er.



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Re: Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: Speedy
Date: August 20, 2015 01:22PM
Quote
pdq
IIRC, former pres Jimmy Carter used to pronounce it "nucular", and he was a trained as a nucular "nuclear officer" (whatever that is) on a sub in the Navy.

Laura Bush could pronounce it correctly, unlike her husband.


Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.
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Re: Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: freeradical
Date: August 20, 2015 02:42PM
I nuke leftovers in the microwave oven.
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Re: Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: Janit
Date: August 22, 2015 08:13PM
Quote
Paul F.
Quote
bazookaman
I think there's a difference. Axing someone a question is a regional thing. Whereas supposably or nucular are just plain wrong, whatever your region.

The word is Ask. A. S. K.
"Axe" is wrong, regardless of your region.
So it "Ekcetera"... it's etcetera.

OK, sure, some people have actual pronunciation problems... I can make allowances... but saying that it's "not wrong" is, itself, incorrect. smiling smiley

Ask is standard modern American English, but it has not always been so:

[en.wikipedia.org])

Quote

Metathesis is responsible for some common speech errors, such as children acquiring spaghetti as pasketti. The pronunciation ... ask, now considered standard, descends from a northern version of the verb that in most midland and southern texts through the 1500s was spelled with "x" or "cs".... Chaucer, Caxton, and the Coverdale Bible use "ax"; Shakespeare and the King James Bible have "ask".
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Re: Nucular; how hard is it to pronouce it correctly?
Posted by: silvarios
Date: August 23, 2015 03:05PM
Janit,
Thanks for the info. Fascinating.
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