To think if you are going to narrate a BBC science documentary

[FraidyCat]

involving nuclear physics, you should be able to pronounce "nuclear" and "nucleus." (Hint: "Nucular" and "Nuculus" are wrong.)

(Documentary was "Faster than the speed of light" on BBC4 last night, now on iplayer.)

To me that particular mispronunciation makes the speaker sound like a toddler struggling to get their tongue around a new word.

Oh dear, have just found a Wikipedia article that says this pronunciation is so established some dictionaries mention it, though none say it's correct. I suppose it's only a matter of time before this idiocy is legitimised.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nucular

They have emoticons now!

Documentary people always mispronounce "harassment" (they always say it hair-iss-ment instead of hair-rass-ment) and a few other words I can't remember but make me cringe when I hear it.

We have a burrito place called Chipotle and it gets mispronounced all the time and drives me nuts (It's Chi-polt-lay).

But I'm not really one to talk. I get on DH's nerves by pronouncing espresso as ex-presso and a few others. He's given up on correcting me.

I have the urge to punch gordon Ramsey when he says restaurant he says it like ristirint drives me mad

Beeb haven't done science properly since Horizon in the mid 80s.

Jeremy Paxton saying meatry-ology

Ah, or was it metrology ?

Neil Oliver is a fantastic narrator.

I could listen to him narrate all day long...he should read the news too.

And you don't have to be an expert to narrate anything.

Oh listening to his 'expressive' voice feels like having nails hammered into my brain. Watching him strut purposefully across a beach with his hair tossing around in the breeze is torture.

Too.much.Neil.Oliver.

You've obviously seen enough of him to build up that dislike :)

A mate of mine wrote some lovely slash in which Brian Cox and Neil Oliver vie for position while standing dramatically on windswept mountain peaks and end up in each other's arms. Whenever DH and I catch a bit of a Neil Oliver docco on telly we always end up doing "Oh Brian!" "Oh Neil!". With the accents, obvs.

To return to the OP, DH and I watched some of this and got more and more cross. I like Professor de S, but he doesn't have a particularly nice voice (to be fair, our judgement is tainted by the fact that we think he sounds like Garth Marenghi - which is not something that would trouble many people), he's not a physicist, (no, being a mathematician is not the same thing, it's like getting Darcy Bussell to present a docco about opera) and he can't pronounce one of the key words (there was another as well as nu-cu-lar but I've forgotten it). We yelled "get a physicist or get a professional voice artist) and switched off.

Anyone who says 'docco' deserves to be irritated

We watch a lot of them, we don't have time for the extra 3 syllables. Am aware that it is not the most elegant useage though.

"News at ten the other night and the newsreader pronounces the word secretary and seck-uh-terry."

Actually that is the correct way to pronounce the word when it refers to the position in government.

It's pronounced the other way (seck-re-terry) when referring to the typist...

Funny but true

Ponders (because it's either this or do the hoovering)....is it 3 syllables or 2?

Docu/o - men/try
Docu/o - men-tar-y

I'm a lazy mare - I squeeze it down to 2

Five syllables please. DOCK-YEW-MEN-TARRY

2 or 3 syllables after the first 2, that is

I'm going with 4, but an elongated 4th.

Did somebody mention Neil Oliver?

OOOOOOHHHHH I adore Neil Oliver!

We will go up and down windswept beaches, I shall be thin and we shall do all sorts of interesting things in the caves.

Well, if we're going to have a debate about the bestest ever science presenters, I point out that the most superbest is Professor Iain Stewart, who, as a geologist, goes to dangerous places, all the while being able to articulate perfectly, and doesn't have to face into the wind to keep his hair out of his eyes.

But, seriously, I've just about given up on science documentaries, aka "edutainment". These days they seem to be more about entertainment than education.

Actually, Neil Oliver is already married to me - so you can take your grubby mitts off him. Seriously.

Did ian stewart do a thing about monkeys this year maybe I am on the wrong man

Oh dear the neil oliver groupies are getting a bit out of hand

Yes, it's most frustrating and tiresome when these harlots throw themselves at my Neil.

Mrsjayy - I don't know what man you might be on, but there is a difference between Iain Stewart and Ian Stewart. One's a geologist, and the other is a mathematician who co-writes the Science of the Discworld books.

It's kind of like the difference between the different Mr Banks' personas, except they're not the same person.

I know nothing about the monkeys.