How To Pronounce Qatar
From a non-Arabic-speaking American
As an American, your first instinct is going to be to say, “What? How do I pronounce a Q,” not unlike when you saw someone bust out QAT in a game of Scrabble.
Your second instinct is going to be to pronounce the word as “kuh-TAR.”
This is the point when some pedant or know-it-all is going to say to you, “Actually, it’s ‘KUH-ter.’” And if they’re American, they’ll likely soften the T to a D and pronounce it as “KUH-der,” similar or identical to “cutter,” depending on the person. Most likely, this person doesn’t know what the fuck they’re talking about.
Both “kuh-TAR” and “KUH-der” are incorrect, but both are perfectly acceptable in conversational English. In fact, in Qatar, the actual place, when many local Qataris converse in English, they will default to “kuh-TAR” or “KUH-der,” knowing the Arabic sound is awkward in English — and in fact doesn’t exist in the English language.
Further complicating the issue is that in Qatar, there are a lot of Brits, and they pronounce Qatar as “KA-tar,” in which the Qat- sounds like “cat” the animal. This is also acceptable in conversational English. (Less acceptable is just calling it “gutter,” as official guides suggested in the 19th-Century UK.)
If you actually want to be correct, the Q sounds like a cross between a K and a G. Put another way, the Q sounds like a K spoken from the back of the throat. Imagine saying “Gutter” — like the Victorian Brits — but with that harder, throatier Q sound and you’re sort of there. Then, make sure you hit that T. Now say it: “QUH-tar.”
The problem, of course, is that if you weave that into an otherwise English sentence, you’re going to sound awkward and not just a little bit pompous — much like a news anchor. So, it’s perfectly acceptable to say “kuh-TAR” or “KUH-ter” in normal speaking.
If you’re a layman speaking to other laymen, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Dane A. Wisher is based in Brooklyn.
