I don’t know why this word is a tongue twister, but clearly it is. It is pronounced nu-klee-ar, not nu-cu-lar. Nu-cu-lar is not, not, not an acceptable alternative. Former President Jimmy Carter served on a nuclear submarine, for crying out loud, and still couldn’t get the word right. Neither could George W. Bush, but he committed murder on the entire English language.
My beloved dictionary, the American Heritage College, has a usage note that may explain the pervasive and irritating problem. It says that the correct pronunciation is not as familiar to our tongues as is the incorrect. It cites examples such as particular and spectacular to justify (OK, explain; justify may be too strong a word) the slaughter of a perfectly good word.
BTW, the nu can be pronounced as noo or knee-oo, so be free with that part.
My final word: If you can’t pronounce it, you can’t write, pass or defeat legislation on it. So, no nuclear dumps, no nuclear powerplants, no nuclear bombs until you can pronounce the word. So, there.
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