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It's pronounced "NOO-klee-ar"!

Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 3:27 am
by Sentinel XIV
I was just listening to the BBC on NPR here in the U.S., and they had speakers for each of the presidential hopefuls trying to sway a voter that is still undecided. One of the topics being discussed was "yea or nay to nuclear energy?" Both speakers were pronouncing the word "nuclear" as if it were spelled "nucular". I was going absolutely crazy listening to them, and eventually became so frustrated that I turned the radio off as the only other option for radio around here is a shitty Top 20 station that employs quite possibly the most annoying disc jockeys known to the world today.

Is it just me, or is education in the United States a secondary issue? I would imagine these two gentlemen attempting to sway this voter are both college educated, yet they don't have the ability to correctly pronounce a simple word like "nuclear". Unbelievable.

Re: It's pronounced "NOO-klee-ar"!

Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 3:58 am
by InkL0sed
I hate that too...

Re: It's pronounced "NOO-klee-ar"!

Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 9:13 am
by saaimen
I once had a French teacher who kept pronouncing 'aéroport' as 'aréoport'. Couldn't believe it. She studied for that job.
And on top of that, she spat. Especially while pronouncing her French 'r'.

Re: It's pronounced "NOO-klee-ar"!

Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 9:25 am
by Grooveman2007
saaimen wrote:I once had a French teacher who kept pronouncing 'aéroport' as 'aréoport'. Couldn't believe it. She studied for that job.
And on top of that, she spat. Especially while pronouncing her French 'r'.


My highschool latin teacher was hungarian, she had the best accent I'd ever heard.

Re: It's pronounced "NOO-klee-ar"!

Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 9:27 am
by MeDeFe

Re: It's pronounced "NOO-klee-ar"!

Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 9:32 am
by Curmudgeonx
Noo-klar

That's right, the "S" is silent.








Anyone get the reference?

Re: It's pronounced "NOO-klee-ar"!

Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 10:08 am
by The1exile
Actually, it's Nyoo-clee-ar, if you assume it comes from Nucleus and that the OED (which is written by the Gods of English FYI) is correct. And it is. Nyah.

Re: It's pronounced "NOO-klee-ar"!

Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 10:27 am
by saaimen
The1exile wrote:Actually, it's Nyoo-clee-ar, if you assume it comes from Nucleus and that the OED (which is written by the Gods of English FYI) is correct. And it is. Nyah.


That's a difference between UK and American English. In the UK, you'd say nyoo. In the USA, I believe noo is more common. (Though I'm only Belgian :P)

Re: It's pronounced "NOO-klee-ar"!

Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 11:03 am
by muy_thaiguy
saaimen wrote:
The1exile wrote:Actually, it's Nyoo-clee-ar, if you assume it comes from Nucleus and that the OED (which is written by the Gods of English FYI) is correct. And it is. Nyah.


That's a difference between UK and American English. In the UK, you'd say nyoo. In the USA, I believe noo is more common. (Though I'm only Belgian :P)

I say "nyoo-klee-ar" AND "noo-klee-ar."

Re: It's pronounced "NOO-klee-ar"!

Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 11:16 am
by The1exile
saaimen wrote:
The1exile wrote:Actually, it's Nyoo-clee-ar, if you assume it comes from Nucleus and that the OED (which is written by the Gods of English FYI) is correct. And it is. Nyah.


That's a difference between UK and American English. In the UK, you'd say nyoo. In the USA, I believe noo is more common. (Though I'm only Belgian :P)

You mean "English" and "secessionist talk" ;-)

Re: It's pronounced "NOO-klee-ar"!

Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 11:44 am
by bspride
The1exile wrote:
saaimen wrote:
The1exile wrote:Actually, it's Nyoo-clee-ar, if you assume it comes from Nucleus and that the OED (which is written by the Gods of English FYI) is correct. And it is. Nyah.


That's a difference between UK and American English. In the UK, you'd say nyoo. In the USA, I believe noo is more common. (Though I'm only Belgian :P)

You mean "English" and "secessionist talk" ;-)

actually i think he means the UK and the people who whooped there ass in a war thus having the right to speak however the f*ck they want...but getting back on point...UK English is tons better than American English...all American English is heavily accented...I live in Texas and have family who live in New England...I cant understand a word they say

Re: It's pronounced "NOO-klee-ar"!

Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 11:50 am
by muy_thaiguy
bspride wrote:
The1exile wrote:
saaimen wrote:
The1exile wrote:Actually, it's Nyoo-clee-ar, if you assume it comes from Nucleus and that the OED (which is written by the Gods of English FYI) is correct. And it is. Nyah.


That's a difference between UK and American English. In the UK, you'd say nyoo. In the USA, I believe noo is more common. (Though I'm only Belgian :P)

You mean "English" and "secessionist talk" ;-)

actually i think he means the UK and the people who whooped there ass in a war thus having the right to speak however the f*ck they want...but getting back on point...UK English is tons better than American English...all American English is heavily accented...I live in Texas and have family who live in New England...I cant understand a word they say

I live in Wyoming and can differentiate a person from the East Coast and someone form the West Coast by their accent. As well as someone from Texas and someone from Florida.

Re: It's pronounced "NOO-klee-ar"!

Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 12:11 pm
by saaimen
bspride wrote:actually i think he means the UK and the people who whooped there ass in a war thus having the right to speak however the f*ck they want...but getting back on point...UK English is tons better than American English...all American English is heavily accented...I live in Texas and have family who live in New England...I cant understand a word they say

UK English, as in 'Oxford English', is the standard and thus better than all English. But don't forget that not the whole UK speaks Oxford English...
All language has accents, in fact I sometimes find it harder to understand what a heavily accented Brit says, than a heavily accented Texan... I find it quite risky to say US English is generally worse.

Re: It's pronounced "NOO-klee-ar"!

Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 12:32 pm
by pimpdave
Curmudgeonx wrote:Noo-klar

That's right, the "S" is silent.



Peter Griffin, a philosopher and sage of the age.

Re: It's pronounced "NOO-klee-ar"!

Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 3:11 pm
by Frigidus
I think that this US vs UK bit is missing the point. The correct form of English is the one I use.

Re: It's pronounced "NOO-klee-ar"!

Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 5:10 pm
by _42
homer simpson once said
nu ke lar
i belive him

Re: It's pronounced "NOO-klee-ar"!

Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 5:55 pm
by snow_lynx
I pronounce it as written: Nu - clear

New

clear