The World Cup in… Qatar starts this Sunday? Qatar? Cater?
Awaiting the start of the matches, fans and commentators are trying to decide how to write and pronounce the name of the country that hosts the event, held from November 20 to December 18. Some, like this one Sheet, opt for the spelling Qatar with Q for “kibe”. Others prefer Qatar with a C for “curd”. There are also those who say the word out loud with a G for “chickpeas”. But who is right?
In a way, everyone is right and wrong. These spellings are attempts at transliteration – that is, to adapt letters from one alphabet to another. As there are a lot of letters and sounds in Arabic that have no equivalent in English, this process is quite arduous.
In the case of the country hosting the World Cup, the big problem is in the first letter. The name begins with a sound that linguists call the “unvoiced uvular stop”. It’s like a “cheese” Q, only produced further back in the throat, with more force. In the phonetic alphabet, this sound is represented by Q itself. That’s why the most technical spelling is this: Qatar. It is even what recommends the Writing Manual of the Sheet, on page 251. The Q has the advantage of differentiating a more guttural sound from the C that we use in Portuguese in words like “cabelo” and “carro”. But that doesn’t mean Qatar is wrong. It’s just another solution to a problem that’s always unsolvable.
Anyone interested in learning the pronunciation of the name in Arabic will need to put in a little more effort. Q is not the only challenge. The T of the second syllable of Qatar is also more emphatic than that of Portuguese. Again, the sound comes from deeper in the throat, with more effort. The R, on the other hand, is easier, because it looks like the one in the Portuguese word “cantar”. The stressed syllable is the first. In other words: QAtar and not qaTAR.
Only that? Not. Until now, this Orientalissimo blog was dealing with the pronunciation of the word Qatar in Standard Arabic. Only, in the dialect of Qatar itself, the name is said differently. The Q becomes G and the A leans to I. In other words, it looks like Gator or Guitar. It’s really complicated. Those who are curious can take a look at the video below, which explains – unfortunately, only in English – these pronunciation variations.
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
