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From: msb@sq.sq.com (Mark Brader)
Subject: Re: Name pronunciation
Message-ID: <1995Feb23.052222.6574@sq.sq.com>
Organization: SoftQuad Inc., Toronto, Canada
References: <3hd1sd$8h5@nz12.rz.uni-karlsruhe.de> <3i1014$h2a@nuscc.nus.sg> <rharmsen.261.000EC8DC@knoware.nl>
Date: Thu, 23 Feb 95 05:22:22 GMT
Lines: 87

> > What about Gadaffi v. Khadaffi v. Gadafy etc.?
> Does anybody know which Arabic letter is used in this name? Gh, Kh or 
> something else?

In "More of the Straight Dope" (Ballantine, 1988, ISBN 0-345-35145-2),
Cecil Adams says:

#  In standard Arabic, the initial consonant _qaf_ is pronounced
#  like a throaty k, midway between the English k and the German
#  ch, as in Bach.  The second consonant, _dhal_--two _dhals_,
#  actually--is pronounced like a double dh, which is similar to
#  English th, only with the tongue pulled back a bit behind the
#  teeth.  Regional pronunciation differences further complicate
#  matters.  Libyans tend to pronounce _qaf_ like a hard g, which
#  has inspired a whole different set of spellings.

[segue into a repeat of an article I posted in the fall]

In his first column on the topic, he lists these 12 spellings:

        Spelling          Seen in

        Gadaafi           "I know I've seen it somewhere"
        Gadaffi           World Press Review
        Gaddafi           Time
        Kaddafi           Newsweek
        Khadafy           Maclean's, New Yorker
        Qadaffi           Business Week
        Qadafi            Business Week
        Qaddafi           New Republic, New Yorker
        Qaddhafi          New York Review of Books, Wall St. Journal
        Qadhafi           US News & World Report, Wall St. Journal
        Qadhdhafi         Middle East Studies Association
        Qathafi           Libyan UN delegation

And this is just for the surname.  A 13th spelling turned up in 1986 when
the gentleman himself answered a school class's letter and the typed name
under the signature was "Moammar El-Gadhafi" -- many publications then
adopted this.

Cecil also attributed the Qadhdhafi spelling to the Library of Congress,
which prompted a letter pointing out that the LOC actually has *32*
variations on the name in its records.

        Muammar              Gadafi
        Moamar               Gaddafi
        Moamar            al-Gaddafi
        Mo'ammar             Gadhafi
        Mo'ammar          el-Gadhafi
        Muammar              Ghadafi
        Muammar              Ghaddafi
        Muammar              Ghaddafy
        Muammar              Gheddafi
        Mu'amar           al-Kadafi
        Muammar              Kaddafi
        Muammar              Kaddafi
        Muamar            Al-Kaddafi
        Moamar            El Kadhafi
        Moammar           El Kadhafi
        Moamer            El Kazzafi
        Moammar              Khadafy
        Muammar              Khaddafi
        Muammar           al-Khaddafi
        Mu'ammar             Qadafi
        Mu'ammar          al-Qadafi
        Muammar              Qaddafi
        Mu'ammar          al-Qaddafi
        Muammar              Qadhafi
  M. A. Mu'ammar M. A. M. al-Qadhafi (*)
        Muammar           al-Qadhafi
        Mu'ammar             Qadhdhafi
        Mu'ammar          al-Qadhdhafi
        Mu'ammar          Al Qathafi
        Muammar           Al Qathafi
        Muammar              Quathafi
        Moammar              Qudhafi

(*) Abbreviated to initials to fit my tabular format.  The full name is
Mulazim Awwal Mu'ammar Muhammed Abu Minyar al-Qadhafi.  If you must know.

I propose we start calling him "Al".
-- 
Mark Brader            | "I think it's safe to say that no person can hope to
msb@sq.com             |  achieve basic life competence without consulting my
SoftQuad Inc., Toronto |  work on a regular basis."     -- Cecil Adams

Original text in this article is in the public domain.
