Why does the "first man" say that Gemini is "geminate"? NASA explains. Sorta.



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So what is it? How do you pronounce Gemini?

In "First Man", the new movie about Neil Armstrong and the landing on the moon, astronauts and NASA officials say "GEM-uh-knee. "But the first pronunciation of the fifth edition of Webster's New World College Dictionary, the standard work used by the New York Times to settle such questions, the first pronunciation is GEM-uh-neye,"As many of us say. Or, to use the precise typography of the dictionary, jem'ə nī versus jem'ənē.

Really, what is the right?

The 10 missions of the Gemini crewed program, with capsules that transported two people in space in 1965 and 1966, have never attracted the attention that the programs before and after the year. had received. Mercury and the seven original astronauts had Tom Wolfe as a columnist in "The Right Stuff". Apollo had the triumph of the moon landing, the tragedy of Apollo 1 and the bitter return of Apollo 13 crippled.

Gemini, on the other hand, is the child of the early space program, eager to please but likely to be ignored. And when it is time to pronounce the name aloud, there has always been confusion in the eyes. In this journal, a seemingly authoritative 1965 article attempted to resolve the "ongoing debate" with a statement by NASA that the proper pronunciation was "Jiminy", as in "Jiminy Cricket".

Tuesday, Bob Jacobs, a spokesman for NASA, said that the pronunciation of "knee" was part of the culture of the agency and almost served as an insider shibboleth – a word whose proper delivery identifies you as a connoisseur. "If you do it right, you're part of the space club." "Demon pickle juice." Mr. Jacobs also suggested that the pronunciation could be related to the Southernness of the early space program, in the way that "every driver speaks like Chuck Yeager."

Still, it was not always so clear, said Bill Barry, chief historian of the space agency. At the time of the Gemini program, "it depended on the type of person you were talking to and the day of the week," he explained.

For "First Man", NASA hosted a meeting between movie star Ryan Gosling and Apollo 11 member Michael Collins. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Dr. Barry asked M Collins to solve the question. "He has that kind of spark in his eyes," he recalls. "He used the word" Gemini "twice in his answer – and he pronounced it both ways."

With respect to filmmakers, Dr. Barry stated that he had suggested that they choose a pronunciation and stick to the clarity. "From my point of view, from 50 years later, whatever you want to use is good."

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