# Why is this word so hard to pronounce correctly? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 18, 2003, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-word-so-hard-to-pronounce-correctly/162267 "2003-03-18T14:47:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-word-so-hard-to-pronounce-correctly/162267/41 "2003-03-18T21:03:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bordelond \* > \*\*_(in the commentary above, the asterisk indicates the neutralized vowel schwa)._ \*\* Don’t you mean the “asterix”? ---
**Author:** ![Hobie\_the\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e99b99/32.png) [@Hobie\_the\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hobie_the_One)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-word-so-hard-to-pronounce-correctly/162267/42 "2003-03-18T21:03:42Z")
I’m going to hijack my own post > [@](#): > > Now can we do “Febuary”? I pronounce the (missing) “R” February. Don’t most people? ---
**Author:** ![Judith\_Prietht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b19c9b/32.png) [@Judith\_Prietht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Judith_Prietht)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-word-so-hard-to-pronounce-correctly/162267/43 "2003-03-18T21:05:31Z")
Or go through the relator to buy a home. ---
**Author:** ![rjciii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecae2f/32.png) [@rjciii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjciii)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-word-so-hard-to-pronounce-correctly/162267/44 "2003-03-18T21:12:06Z")
“Y’all” is never ever, ever, ever EVER used as second person singular, despite what Yankees, Hollywood, and certain emails might say. Get it right. Also, we never say “Y’all come back now, ya hear” either. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-word-so-hard-to-pronounce-correctly/162267/45 "2003-03-18T22:28:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Biffy the Elephant Shrew \* > \*\*Don’t you mean the “asterix”? \*\* Believe it or not, it actually _is_ spelled “[asterisk](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=asterisk&r=2)”. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-word-so-hard-to-pronounce-correctly/162267/46 "2003-03-18T22:30:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hobie the One \* > \*\*I pronounce the (missing) “R” February. Don’t most people? \*\* Almost no one does, to my experience. It’s not unknown, but it’s rare. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-word-so-hard-to-pronounce-correctly/162267/47 "2003-03-18T22:41:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bordelond \* > \*\*Believe it or not, it actually _is_ spelled “[asterisk](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=asterisk&r=2)”. \*\* Oh, please. Next you’ll be telling me there’s no such word as “excape.” ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-word-so-hard-to-pronounce-correctly/162267/48 "2003-03-18T23:03:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by toadspittle \* > \*\*Here’s my hypothesis: > > “Nuclear” is the root word…\*\* Not to nitpick, but I believe the root word is “nucleus”, and “nuclear” means “of or related to a nucleus”. This could refer to biology (cell nucleus, nuclear transfer) or physics (atomic nucleus, nuclear energy). How do people usually pronounce “nucleus”? I always say new-clee-us. (For whatever it’s worth, I’m a native English speaking American and I’ve never had any trouble with the cl sound in the middle of a word. Maybe it’s regional.) It seems like the pronunciation should come from the root. Do people ever pronounce “nucleus” as new-cu-lus? New-cu-ler grates on me in the same way that aks (for ask) does. As do lie-berry, feb-yew-rary and ath-a-lete. Individuals who talk like that come off, rightly or wrongly, as uneducated to many people. It seems to me that someone who’s in a career that requires frequent public speaking would want to give the best possible impression and would hire a speech coach and try to learn to speak as correctly as possible. If you’re in politics you want to give people as little to pick on as possible! ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-word-so-hard-to-pronounce-correctly/162267/49 "2003-03-18T23:45:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by r\_k \* > \*\*I was going to make just that point, but then people did say “ye”, pronounced with a “y”, as a form of “you”. An example of this is the carol “God rest ye merry, gentlemen”. You’re quite right about “ye” for “the”, though. \*\* Wrong. In that song, `ye' is a dialectical formation of `you,’ as in `God rest _you_ merry, Gentlemen.’ (Note position of comma, essential in understanding what the verse means.) It isn’t that tough. The letter `y' was erroneously substituted for is the thorn, which used to represent the voiced /th/ sound at the beginning of `the’ and `that,' as opposed to the unvoiced /th/ at the beginning of `thin,’ which was represented by another letter that we’ve dropped from Modern English. The thorn looked somewhat like a reversed `y’ with the top closed and the descender extended above the closed area. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-word-so-hard-to-pronounce-correctly/162267/50 "2003-03-18T23:48:47Z")
Damn. DAMN! Sorry, **r\_k**. Ignore my first paragraph and focus on my second. I thought you’d actually made a mistake. :smack: :smack: :smack: (Silently goes to wipe egg off face, hopes to make omelette.) ---
**Author:** ![Fang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/96bed5/32.png) [@Fang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fang)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-word-so-hard-to-pronounce-correctly/162267/51 "2003-03-18T23:56:20Z")
In truth, I think Bush has purposefully been coached to keep saying “nucular”. While in the beginning it was probably his own error (using the term “error” liberally so as not to offend the linguistic relativists among us), imagine how it would look to have the president change the way he says a word. I believe there is an image of weakness and uncertainty associated with it. Sort of like FDR not giving speeches from his wheelchair, despite everybody knowing he was disabled. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-word-so-hard-to-pronounce-correctly/162267/52 "2003-03-19T00:03:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by davidm \* > **It seems to me that someone who’s in a career that requires frequent public speaking would want to give the best possible impression and would hire a speech coach and try to learn to speak as correctly as possible.** Who determines what is “correct” in pronunciation? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-word-so-hard-to-pronounce-correctly/162267/53 "2003-03-19T00:06:55Z")
Not quite. “Ye” was not a dialectal variant of “you”. “You” was the object form of “ye” (which was used as the subject form) just as “me,” “him,” “her,” and “them” are the object forms of “I,” “he,” “she,” and “they,” respectively (which are used as the subject forms). “Thou” was the object form of “thee.” At some point “you” took over as being both the subject and the object form of the second person plural pronoun and “thou” took over as being both the subject and the object form of the second person singular pronoun. Then “you” took over as being the second person pronoun in all cases and numbers. (And for some dialects, “you all” later became the second person plural pronoun.) ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-word-so-hard-to-pronounce-correctly/162267/54 "2003-03-19T00:09:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Biffy the Elephant Shrew \* > \*\*Oh, please. Next you’ll be telling me there’s no such word as “excape.” \*\* :rolleyes: ek cetera, ek cetera…:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Doctordec](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Doctordec](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctordec)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-word-so-hard-to-pronounce-correctly/162267/55 "2003-03-19T01:46:30Z")
Somewhere on the web recently, maybe on SDMB, I saw a new drinking game growing in popularity. Everybody has to watch the George Bush speech and every time he says “nuke you ler” you have to do a shot. I tried it two speeches ago and I got trashed. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-word-so-hard-to-pronounce-correctly/162267/56 "2003-03-19T02:05:33Z")
Making fun of GWB’s accent, or are you making fun of the Texas accent? If so what’s next, making fun of the black man’s accent? Are you sure you want to go down this road? ---
**Author:** ![n5tp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@n5tp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/n5tp)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-word-so-hard-to-pronounce-correctly/162267/57 "2003-03-19T03:10:40Z")
Wikipedia has some words on the subject at this link: > **[Nucular](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nucular)** > > Nucular is a commonly prescribed spelling of the word "nuclear". It is a rough phonetic spelling of the common mispronunciation /ˈnjuːkjələr, ˈnuː-/. > Merriam-Webster Dictionary receives enough questions about their mention of this mispronunciation in the dictionary that it is one of two mispronunciations 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... ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-word-so-hard-to-pronounce-correctly/162267/58 "2003-03-19T03:25:45Z")
In Loogotee, Indiana, it’s pronounced “nway-cool-your.” That shows you what they know in Loogotee. * * * The difference between **nuclear and unclear** depends on how you use the **UN**. --Biff Rose:D ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-word-so-hard-to-pronounce-correctly/162267/59 "2003-03-19T05:44:15Z")
The poor fellow just wasnt taught to speak properly in the first place. A degree at Harvard is not going to correct for a poor education. Anyway, consecutive consonants and consecutive vowels are a nuisance. This can be easily fixed. Simply start by inserting a ‘u’ between any consecutive consonants eg attrition --\> att-u-riton ignorant --\> ig-u-norant imbecile --\> im-u-becile and contract consecutive vowels eg carrion --\> carron managerial --\> manageral cereal --\> ceral Now we can have words like: nuclear --\> nuc-u-lar triangular --\> tran-u-gular factual --\> fac-u-tal Christian --\> Chris-u-tan distinction --\> dis-u-tinc-u-ton function --\> fun-u-c-u-ton ---
**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 19, 2003, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-word-so-hard-to-pronounce-correctly/162267/60 "2003-03-19T05:56:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bordelond \* > \*\*Believe it or not, it actually _is_ spelled “[asterisk](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=asterisk&r=2)”. \*\* Yeah, and pronounced that way too where I come from. _I am aware that this post and, particularly, the one it relates to, may have been written in jest. However, I have learned not to take things like pronunciation accross regions for granted, and so I am forced to assume that there may actually be people out there who pronounce the word asterix and believe it to be spelled that way too._ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-word-so-hard-to-pronounce-correctly/162267.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-word-so-hard-to-pronounce-correctly/162267.md?page=4)