I'm not usually the sort of person to complain especially about something so ... petty but this really irritated me.
In a documentary about nuclear weapons, why could they not find a narrator who could pronounce the word nuclear? She said the word twice a minute, pronouncing it new-kew-ler. I was interested in watching the programme but had to switch to another channel because it became so annoying.
Why did nobody at the production company notice that the most used word was being pronounced in an irritatingly incorrect way?
Well, I've just sought out and signed up to these forums for the sole reason mentioned in the previous post. I'm pleased to see I'm not the only one who got annoyed with this.
The voice over (by Gina Mckee) was irritating in the extreme. I know that lots of people are lazy in the way they pronounce the word nuclear but for the production company to let it pass without correction beggars belief.
This was a serious documentary about a serious event and it was completely ruined for me by the constant repetition of 'newkyalar' . It drove me to distraction.
Strangely enough, about 5 minutes before the end, I noticed that she pronounced it correctly - just the once, mind.
I am another person who was astonished that this programme was broadcast in this state. The narrator (Gina McKee according to the credits) must have mis-pronounced this key word well over 100 times and not only did the production company pass it, but surely someone at Channel 4 must have viewed it and passed it for showing. After all, the subject matter was not time-sensitive and it could have been sent back for re-editing. As it is, the documentary was ruined by this sloppy attitude.
To add to the comments already posted, my viewing of this documentary was spoiled too by the careless mispronunciation of the word NUCLEAR. This was a British production so there was no excuse for "Americanisation" of such words. All the other people interviewed in the programme managed to pronounce it correctly! It unfortunately shows how influenced we have become by such misuse. The programme itself was informative if a little over-long but the inclusion of the main spy protagonists helped to increase the credibility of the programme. How silly then to let such a fundamental error pervade the whole 1.5 hours. A final comment. Who would say that such a scenario of paranoia isn't still prevalent today? A very, very scary thought. We have little effective civilian emergency planning in the UK these days and perhaps the debate on whether a cataclysm should be survived might be instructive?
I have to say that I don't think it's 'Americanisation'.... just laziness. Nuclear isn't a word that the Americans pronounce differently. It's a word that the 'untutored' pronounce wrongly!
It annoyed me too... but did anyone else notice during the 'dramatisation' of Topaz using the spy device disguised as a calculator, he typed in "55378008" (hint: read it upside-down...)
The 'newcular' narrator thing really annoyed me too. Especially since all of the interviewees, American, Russian, German and British managed to pronounce the word nuclear correctly.
It destroyed my enjoyment of what should have been a compelling programme.
Originally posted by Eclectic Leopard: it's harumph a-gogo in here gina's narration disturbed people more than the fact we were almost blown to smithereens??? well there you go...
Well, I'm not sure if they are saying it actually disturbed them more, but that the constant repetition of a mispronounced word got in the way of proper concentration on the programme's actual subject. Hence underlining the importance of correct speech and grammar!
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