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Article: How do you pronounce Qatar, Iraq, Saddam?(News)
- Article from:
- Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL)
- Article date:
- April 4, 2003
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Paddock Publications. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Dave Orrick
A daily feature with answers to readers' questions about the war.
Q. Why did everyone change the pronunciation of Qatar from "ku- TAR" to "cutter"?
A. Because ku-TAR means train in Arabic, but "cutter" is at least somewhat close to the Arabic pronunciation of the Persian Gulf country.
That nation, where allied Central Command is located, is just one of many places in the Middle East that has caused English speakers fits for years.
People who speak Arabic and English advise Americans to try to hit a note somewhere between "cutter" and "gutter." But don't pronounce the "t" as a "d," as some fans of da ...