# Learn how to pronounce, "President" Bush **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 7, 2003, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/learn-how-to-pronounce-president-bush/159638 "2003-03-07T02:41:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/learn-how-to-pronounce-president-bush/159638/41 "2003-03-07T06:52:45Z")
Well it looks like I’m the one at the end. i knew that though, I saw them on preview but I didn’t want to put my good work to waste. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/learn-how-to-pronounce-president-bush/159638/42 "2003-03-07T06:53:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by scablet \* > \*\*Oh, Mum always told me how it would feel the day I ended up on the tail-end of a triple simupost… but I never believed her… ☹ \*\* Beat ya both! [/smug mode] But at least you knew the proper name for “curvy-line-thingy” ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/learn-how-to-pronounce-president-bush/159638/43 "2003-03-07T06:56:24Z")
What we have here folks is the collision between phonetics & dictionaries written without the phonetic alphabet. In short, I’m going to go with the way I hear the professional linguists pronounce the word. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/learn-how-to-pronounce-president-bush/159638/44 "2003-03-07T06:59:47Z")
Which, come to think of it, brings us back to the OP! (Can you believe that?) Bush is going with the way he’s always heard the people in his speech community pronounce the word written _nuclear_. It has nothing to do with laziness or stupidity. It’s just the way it’s pronounced in his speech community. So, we can all be happy now! ---
**Author:** ![mystic2311](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ccd318/32.png) [@mystic2311](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mystic2311)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/learn-how-to-pronounce-president-bush/159638/45 "2003-03-07T08:22:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Monty \* > \*\*Which, come to think of it, brings us back to the OP! (Can you believe that?) > > Bush is going with the way he’s always heard the people in his speech community pronounce the word written _nuclear_. It has nothing to do with laziness or stupidity. It’s just the way it’s pronounced in his speech community. > > So, we can all be happy now! \*\* That is pure bullshit, Monty. Bush is a dyslexic, ignorant fuck and everybody knows it. Why are you enabling his dry drunk dysphonics? ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/learn-how-to-pronounce-president-bush/159638/46 "2003-03-07T08:34:08Z")
(From an American stand up comedian whose name escapes me right now, early 80’s) _“What is up with all those people pronouncing it “noo-cue-ler”? Senators even pronounce it that way! Now, call me reactionary, but I don’t think you should get to vote on this shit until you learn how to pronounce it, OK?”_ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/learn-how-to-pronounce-president-bush/159638/47 "2003-03-07T08:41:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Monty \* > \*\*Oh, I see, kaylas. You don’t give a whit about facts. I’ll keep that in my notes. \*\* Now that stung, **Monty**. But I will rise above the dead husk of my former self and not flame you for it. Just to correct your impression, I do indeed give a whit about facts. I also hold very strong opinions, some of which include the notion (possibly parochial) that certain words have only one acceptable pronunciation. However, I will concede that, not being academically trained in linguistics, I do not have a comprehensive command of all of the _arcana_ of linguistic academia’s lore. I will therefore grant you your point about Phonotactics for the purposes of this discussion, and keep my opinions about Shrub’s pronunciation of the word “nuclear” to myself, while still retaining the right to instruct people in an appropriate and respectful manner should I personally encounter them using a “wrong” pronunciation. As to the controversy over the pronunciation of the word “larynx”, the site you directed us to gives [a pronunciation key](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=larynx) with: (l[sup]a[/sup]r’ • [sup]i[/sup]ngks). Okay, collision of phonetics and dictionaries without phonetic alphabets, as you say. I gather from what you have described that, phonetically, the short “i” sound does not properly belong in the pronunciation at all. Please correct me if I have misinterpreted. However, if I have not misinterpreted, it appears that the professional linguists of whom you speak choose to put one in anyway, and pronounce the second syllable to rhyme with “Styx,” rather than with “Sphinx.” That is, on what everybody else in this discussion is calling the wrong side of the “n” sound. Just as a favor to us all, could you maybe ask some of these professional linguists why they make this choice, when the letter “y” seems to be practically begging to be pronounced as a short “i” right before (as opposed to right after) the letter “n?” With any luck, they will be able to answer without being stricken by “larnigitis.” 🙂 Also, speaking of the collision between phonetics, and dictionaries that do not use the phonetic alphabet, might you be able to link to a site that _does_ use the phonetic alphabet? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/learn-how-to-pronounce-president-bush/159638/48 "2003-03-07T08:46:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Coldfire \* > \*\*(From an American stand up comedian whose name escapes me right now, early 80’s) > > _“What is up with all those people pronouncing it “noo-cue-ler”? Senators even pronounce it that way! Now, call me reactionary, but I don’t think you should get to vote on this shit until you learn how to pronounce it, OK?”_ > > 😃 \*\* I’m not sure, although I vaguely recall hearing the routine. Could it have been George Carlin? The attitude fits. ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/learn-how-to-pronounce-president-bush/159638/49 "2003-03-07T08:48:22Z")
Is the larynx an endangered species? ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/learn-how-to-pronounce-president-bush/159638/50 "2003-03-07T10:40:50Z")
> [@](#): > > So is President Bush incapable of saying clear then? An intelligent person would note that there’s a teensy-weensy bit of difference between a three-syllable word and a one-syllable word. > [@](#): > > The President also used a couple of redundancies tonight. One was “proceed forward.” One can “proceed backward”, you know. > [@](#): > > That is pure bullshit, Monty. Bush is a dyslexic, ignorant fuck and everybody knows it. If “everybody” knew it, then why is it even being debated? Oh. I see. Because small-minded partisan irrational dickheads can’t be troubled to make _valid_ criticisms of the man, and instead of debating his politics rationally and intelligently, they simply demonize him because such Jerry Springer-level tactics appeal to the bottom of the barrel of humanity… a subgroup to which they belong. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/learn-how-to-pronounce-president-bush/159638/51 "2003-03-07T10:46:59Z")
Well, there’s no reason why one _couldn’t_ rant about Bush’s lack of language skills. Politics aside, bitching about politicians saying stupid things is a legitimate thing, IMHO. I’m sure there plenty of Republicans who cringe at some of GWB’s mispronunciations as well. It’s completely separate from debating the man’s politics. If you’re saying “Bush is a bad president because he can’t pronounce _nuclear_”, then yeah, that’s a bad line of reasoning. After all, there’s plenty of policies the man can be rightfully bashed for, without ever having to refer to his language deficiencies. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/learn-how-to-pronounce-president-bush/159638/52 "2003-03-07T10:54:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SPOOFE \* > \*\*An intelligent person would note that there’s a teensy-weensy bit of difference between a three-syllable word and a one-syllable word. > \*\* You think it’s a _three_-syllable word? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/learn-how-to-pronounce-president-bush/159638/53 "2003-03-07T11:46:38Z")
What you don’t realise, is that Saddam really _ **does** _ Have Noocyular Weapons; his army of evil henchmen have been researching the potentially destructive capacities of Noocyules for many years now, that is why he must be stopped. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/learn-how-to-pronounce-president-bush/159638/54 "2003-03-07T11:49:08Z")
…And of course there is no evidence of his research into the properties Noocyules, he’s hiding it because he is evil and we know he is evil because he is secretly researching into Noocyules and hiding it, the evil bastard! ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/learn-how-to-pronounce-president-bush/159638/55 "2003-03-07T11:50:13Z")
He also stole the word ‘of’ from my post above, that is why he must be stopped. ---
**Author:** ![DasUnterMensch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DasUnterMensch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DasUnterMensch)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/learn-how-to-pronounce-president-bush/159638/56 "2003-03-07T12:24:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Beagle \* > \*\*It’s not a Southern thing either. \*\* Neither is Texas, just because we fought on the side of the confederacy doesn’t mean we have the same culture and modes of speech as our southern half-brethren. In short Texas is Texas. Uber: Be a mensch and get over it. Mensch ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/learn-how-to-pronounce-president-bush/159638/57 "2003-03-07T12:26:57Z")
**Monty** ’s point on phonotactics is … possible … but I don’t think it’s right. The combination “cl” is not uncommon in initial, medial and final positions in English words; if it wasn’t permitted (even only medially) in Bush’s dialect, this would surely be apparent in other circumstances too. (Does Bush pronounce “unclear” as “uncular”?) Moreover, the “nucular” pronunciation is used by speakers who don’t have a lot of dialectal elements in common - I’m pretty sure I remember Clinton using it, and Clinton sure as heck doesn’t speak the same dialect of American English as Bush. I wonder if this mispronunciation has some historical roots somewhere; after all, “nuclear” (which, by the by, I pronounce with three syllables “new-klee-uh” [I’m British, and hence non-rhotic]) started life as a moderately obscure technical term; I could see some general in the early Forties not quite getting what a scientist was saying to him, and passing the mispronunciation along, until it became ingrained in the language of policy makers, the “speech community”, in this case, of which **Monty** speaks. I suppose some people (including myself) find it irritating because it is, after all, a simple seven-letter word, and it _doesn’t_, really, include (there’s another “cl”) any unusual combinations of speech sounds … there’s no _reason_ for it to be mispronounced. (Or so it seems to me.) ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/learn-how-to-pronounce-president-bush/159638/58 "2003-03-07T12:35:53Z")
When I was a kid, I lived in Texas. I pronounced the word “nyook-you-ler” (also “illuminous” for “luminous” and various other things). My grandmother’s Caribbean dialect made her pronounce the word “chaos” as “cha-sos”. Eventually, both my granny and I discovered our pronunciations were ‘incorrect’ in a wider context, and altered our respective pronunciations accordingly. Has anyone informed the prez that this pronunciation makes him look like a bozo outside of the dialectical circles in which he moved, and a few linguistics scholars? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/learn-how-to-pronounce-president-bush/159638/59 "2003-03-07T12:44:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Steve Wright \* > **[I’m British, and hence non-rhotic]** **Steve** , it’s spelled _neurotic_. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/learn-how-to-pronounce-president-bush/159638/60 "2003-03-07T12:55:53Z")
Steve: There’s a bit of difference between the ‘cl’ in ‘unclear’ and ‘nuclear’ even if you pronounce ‘nuclear’ the way it’s pronounced in SAE. For ‘unclear’ the ‘k’ sound in the first word is at the beginning of a syllable and in the second word it’s at the end of a syllable. One doesn’t even have to address the fact of morpheme boundary present in ‘unclear.’ jj: Bush might very well realize that his pronunciations are considered, shall we say, odd by those not used to his dialect. Perhaps he uses that because he believes that the dialect is part of what got him into the White House; i.e, the people like him and that’s part of him. I’ve never asked the man, so I don’t know; however, it is possible. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/learn-how-to-pronounce-president-bush/159638.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/learn-how-to-pronounce-president-bush/159638.md?page=4)