Listen

[prog]

[NOOK-yoo-lur] is a perfectly fine way to pronounce the word. It is a legitimate variant and in fact how I learned to say it, growing up. If you think that getting snarky over this is the way to fight a culture war, then you personify everything that's wrong with this side. Shape up and focus

Comments

[dougo.livejournal.com]

I agree that it's a cliche (and a cheap shot) to pick on that particular thing, and I agree that people learn to pronounce things differently and that "correct" pronunciation is subjective. But I also think "perfectly fine" is a bit too strong. "Nucular" (like "y'all" or "ain't") has a particular connotation of class and/or education, regardless of whether it's "legitimate" or not—it's not the same as "envelope" or "aunt" which have distinct pronunciations that are pretty much vestigial. Some people train themselves to avoid saying it in order to avoid this connotation, others don't, and still others choose to say it as a deliberate affectation. I think all three of these choices (and probably some gray areas in between) are indications of one's character, even if fairly insignificant or irrelevant indications.

I also think there's a lot more wrong with this side than snarkiness. But that's a different topic.