Re: Qatar?

["rogerkirk" <rogerkirk@mail.ttlc.net>]

Donna Halper wrote:
>I think the problem is that it has Arabic sounds which lack an exact 
>English equivalent.  I was told "GUT- tar" is pretty close, although I 
>have also heard Cutter and even people who live there say Kah-TAR 
>sometimes because that's how so many westerners say it...

Many years ago, I was told by an Arabic-speaking person
that the representation of Arabic Words is the consonants
with dots where "vowels" should be.  The pronunciation
of "vowels" varies from region to region and person to 
person.  

It is similar to the "shwa" sound (used to be upside-down 
"e", now a "&") we have in English e.g. the "e" in "water" 
- pronunced WO-t&r.

Therefore, Qatar is probably Q&t&r - pronouncing the 
"&" in many different ways.  Based on conversations 
with people who speak Arabic, "GUT-t&r" would be 
close - but the "G" is more likely pronounced with 
a slight coughing sound - "KH&T-t&r" 

Roger

Ccorroboration, further definition or disagreement?