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etymology - Why "science fiction" and not "scientific fiction"?


Everybody knows the term "science fiction" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_fiction


But I am wondering why "science fiction" and not grammatically more correct form "scientific fiction"?


Consider similar case:


"nucleus reaction" vs "nuclear reaction"


I am sure that "nuclear reaction" is the correct one.


So, why "science fiction" is more used than "scientific fiction" if "scientific fiction" is the more correct form when considering grammar?



Answer



One early candidate for what we now call SF was "scientifiction," a term coined by Hugo Gernsback, an early SF editor and publisher for whom the Hugo Awards are now named. This term neatly overlaps the final syllable of "scientific" and the first of "fiction." However, although he preferred "scientifiction," Gernsback also coined the term "science fiction." The latter is what caught on with the public and was later shortened to "sci-fi."


You'd have to ask him why "science fiction" and not "scientific fiction." Unfortunately, he died in 1967. I assume it was because the doubled "fic" syllable was awkward to pronounce and made the speaker sound like he had a stutter. "Scientifiction" might have been an attempt to ameliorate that issue but it, too, is awkward, in my opinion. "Science fiction" does slide more easily off the tongue.


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