/ nu 'man Ik /

[Laurence Horn]

At 1:48 PM -0500 12/28/07, Michael H Covarrubias wrote:
>I put this word in a recent final exam hoping to drive home the point of odd
>spelling/pronunciation correspondence as a good clue to borrowing and
>etymological information.
>
>Half of them (out of 30) transcribed it just as you show.
>
>I've heard it for years.
>
>michael

Possibly a blend of "mnemonic" and "pneumatic"?  The latter, after
all, also has a silent Greek initial consonant.

LH

>
>Quoting Jonathan Lighter:
>
>>  One of the nationally-famed Fox News
>>  anchors unmistakably pronounces
>>  "mnemonic"  (That's 'FNC,' in case
>>  you need a mnemonic.') as / nu'man Ik /.
>>  That makes it a homophone of
>>  "pneumonic," which usually designates a
>>  type of plague infection.
>>
>>    Probably not a big deal. Ignore this message.
>>
>>    JL
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org