Talk:nucular

from Wikipedia
The following sections were in a Wikipedia page about this word. They may be appropriate for inclusion in this page but I'm not sure where. Rossami

Merriam-Webster dictionary:
 * "Though disapproved of by many, pronunciations ending in 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."

Oxford English Dictionary:
 * "The colloquial pronunciation … 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."

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."

Merriam-Webster receive enough questions about their inclusion of this pronunciation in the dictionary that it is one of two pronunciations which receive particular mention in their FAQ (along with "February").

Steven Pinker has proposed a phonotactic explanation for the conversion of nuclear to nucular: the unusual and disfavored sequence is gradually transformed to a more acceptable configuration via metathesis. However, Arnold Zwicky notes that 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.). Supporting Zwicky's hypothesis, Geoffrey Nunberg quotes a government weapons specialist: "Oh, I only say 'nucular' when I'm talking about nukes."

 Usage by politicians  U.S. presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush have all used this pronunciation.

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Misspelling
Is there actual evidence that this is a common misspelling rather than a phonetic spelling of a common mispronunciation? I am unaware that persons who pronounce it correctly commonly misspell it inadvertantly. Ningauble 16:40, 7 August 2008 (UTC)