Nucular

Look up nucular in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Nucular is a rough phonetic spelling of /ˈnjuːkjələr/, the commonly prescribed-against pronunciation of the word "nuclear".

Notes in dictionaries[]

Merriam-Webster Dictionary receives enough questions about their mention of this pronunciation in the dictionary that it is one of two contentious pronunciations 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.^[1][2]

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.^[3]

Oxford English Dictionary:

The colloquial pronunciation British /ˈnjuːkjʊlə/, U.S. /ˈn(j)ukjələr/ (frequently rendered in written form as nucular[...]) has been criticized in usage guides since at least the mid 20th century [...] although it is now commonly given as a variant in modern dictionaries.^[4]

The Oxford English Dictionary's entry for nucular, representing the colloquial pronunciation, dates the first published appearance of the word to 1943.^[5]

In his 1999 book The Big Book of Beastly Mispronunciations, logophile Charles Harrington Elster noted that the vast majority of those he spoke with during the writing of his book as well as 99 percent of the 1985 usage panel of Morris & Morris' Harper Dictionary of Contemporary Usage specifically condemned the use of the word and characterized it as a mispronunciation. Elster's own view on the matter derives from the root of the word: "nucleus". Arguing by analogy, Elster suggests that "Molecular comes from molecule, and particular comes from particle, but there is no nucule to support nucular."^[6][7]

Notable users[]

U.S. presidents who have used this pronunciation include Dwight D. Eisenhower, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush^[8] as well as U.S. vice president Walter Mondale.^[9] In his 2005 book, Going Nucular, linguist Geoffrey Nunberg suggests that the reasons underlying the differing pronunciations of this word may be different from president to president. Whereas Eisenhower's pronunciation most likely arose from his lack of familiarity with the word (having first learned it in mid-life), Bush's usage may represent a calculated effort to appeal to populist sentiment,^[10] though this theory is rejected by linguist Steven Pinker.^[9] This analysis is repeated in the second edition of Charles Harrington Elster's The Big Book of Beastly Mispronunciations.^[6]

Oxford professor Marcus du Sautoy was heard to use it in a BBC documentary.^[11] The actor and narrator Orson Welles said "nucular" while speaking at the 1982 "No Nukes" rally in New York City's Central Park.^{[citation needed]}

Edward Teller, "father" of the American hydrogen bomb, supposedly used this particular pronunciation, and this usage is a limited tradition within the American nuclear research establishment.^[12] In a 1965 interview with Teller on the ill-fated Project Plowshare, Teller can be heard using the standard pronunciation of "nuclear".^[13]

In popular culture[]

This article appears to contain trivial, minor, or unrelated references to popular culture. Please reorganize this content to explain the subject's impact on popular culture, providing citations to reliable, secondary sources, rather than simply listing appearances. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2017)

In popular culture, the "nucular" pronunciation has often been used to signify inferiority, low intellect or foolishness.

In Woody Allen's 1989 film Crimes and Misdemeanors, Mia Farrow's character says she could never fall for any man who says "nucular".^[14] The pronunciation was satirized in the 1996 science fiction film Mars Attacks!. Later, the pronunciation was utilized earnestly by the titular character in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull after Indiana survives an atomic bomb test by crawling inside a lead-lined refrigerator.

In Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, Skipper corrects Gloria's standard pronunciation of the word "nuclear" to "nucular."^[15]

In Don Delillo's 1997 novel Underworld, Marvin mentions nuclear weapons and it is said "He pronounced it nucular".^[16]

Homer Simpson (a nuclear power plant employee) of the popular American animated TV series The Simpsons^[17] and Peter Griffin of the animated comedy series Family Guy^[18] both pronounce nuclear this way (in these episodes, Homer Simpson and Peter Griffin both "correct" someone else's correct pronunciation of the word).

In Get Smart, the President, in a clear parody of George W. Bush, says "nucular", only for the exasperated Chief of CONTROL to loudly correct him.

Motivation[]

Steven Pinker has proposed^[19] 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.).^[20] Supporting Zwicky's hypothesis, Geoffrey Nunberg quotes a government weapons specialist: "Oh, I only say 'nucular' when I'm talking about nukes."^[21] Nunberg argues that this pronunciation by weapons specialists and by politicians such as Bush may be a deliberate choice. He suggests that the reasons for this choice are to assert authority or to sound folksy.

See also[]

• Bushism
• Political gaffe

References[]

Listen to this article (5 minutes)

Menu

0:00

This audio file was created from a revision of this article dated 20 January 2006 (2006-01-20), and does not reflect subsequent edits.

(Audio help · More spoken articles)