how do you pronounce Qatar?

[muon2]

I tend to stress both syllables equally with an ah vowel when I say the name, so I checked box 6. I find that offers the least confusion among listeners when I say it.

[Joe Republic]

I've always said "Cuh-tar," but to my knowledge "cutter" is the appropriate way...which just doesn't sound right to me.

What?  No it isn’t.

[Nutmeg]

From Wikipedia: "In Standard Arabic, the name is pronounced [ˈqɑtˤɑr], while in the local dialect it is [ˈɡitˤar]." I'm not so good with the International Phoenic Alphabet. What does this mean in common parlance?

[Senator Incitatus]

We are not obligated to pronounce foreign names with non-English pronunciations. I've never understood why some smartasses feel differently about Qatar (and in America, Chile too) than they do about Pakistan, Mexico, or whatever other country.

What’s the right way to pronounce Pakistan? I usually say pah-KEY-stahn because I have a bad habit of listening to British newscasts.

[Progressive Pessimist]

I've always said "Cuh-tar," but to my knowledge "cutter" is the appropriate way...which just doesn't sound right to me.

What?  No it isn’t.

I took a class on Middle Eastern government back in college with a Professor who was from Iran, and that's how he pronounced it. I figured he was a more credible source than anyone.

[Senator Incitatus]

I've always said "Cuh-tar," but to my knowledge "cutter" is the appropriate way...which just doesn't sound right to me.

What?  No it isn’t.

I took a class on Middle Eastern government back in college with a Professor who was from Iran, and that's how he pronounced it. I figured he was a more credible source than anyone.

I think this may be a case where the pronunciation is archaic rather than “wrong.” I sometime pronounce it Qa-TAR and sometimes Qutr.

[7,052,770]

I've always said "Cuh-tar," but to my knowledge "cutter" is the appropriate way...which just doesn't sound right to me.

What?  No it isn’t.

I took a class on Middle Eastern government back in college with a Professor who was from Iran, and that's how he pronounced it. I figured he was a more credible source than anyone.

Could be an accent thing too. Apparently our British friends say the previous president's name like it rhymes with Derek.

[Ban my account ffs!]

Option 3.  Anything to make a Saudi national roll his eyes.

[#TheShadowyAbyss]

Qawt-r the Arabic way of course

[Crumpets]

From Wikipedia: "In Standard Arabic, the name is pronounced [ˈqɑtˤɑr], while in the local dialect it is [ˈɡitˤar]." I'm not so good with the International Phoenic Alphabet. What does this mean in common parlance?

In standard Arabic, Qatar is pronouned with the first syllable stressed and a sound that doesn't exist in English - sort of a K sound in the far-back of your throat made by clicking your tongue against your uvula. That sound has dropped out of a lot of modern colloquial Arabic dialects and has been replaced by other sounds. In the Gulf states and in most Bedouin communities, it's been replaced with the hard G sound, just like in "go." So the closest pronunciation you could get to how Qatar is said colloquially in Qatar would probably be something like "Guitar" with the first syllable stressed instead of the second syllable. That being said, basically any of these are valid pronunciations in some dialect, just given how varied Arabic is and how imprecise the art of transferring these sounds into English is.

This video has several examples of how Qatar is pronounced in the standard/classical Arabic style starting at around 0:44 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MnaLC2BRw4

I couldn't find any videos of people saying it in colloquial Gulf Arabic, mostly because people don't tend to record themselves having casual conversations about countries and posting them on YouTube.

[John Dule]

If you picked anything but option 2, I'm going to assume you also say "Moss-kow" instead of "Moss-ko" and "Chee-lay" instead of "Chilly."

That is the normal pronunciation of Moscow is American English (at least for everyone I know)

It's the normal mispronunciation.

[Wazza [INACTIVE]]

KUH-tah

[S019]

Option 2

[Santander]

We are not obligated to pronounce foreign names with non-English pronunciations. I've never understood why some smartasses feel differently about Qatar (and in America, Chile too) than they do about Pakistan, Mexico, or whatever other country.

What’s the right way to pronounce Pakistan? I usually say pah-KEY-stahn because I have a bad habit of listening to British newscasts.

Obama, the Muslim communist, pronounces it basically the way people in Pakistan do.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

If you picked anything but option 2, I'm going to assume you also say "Moss-kow" instead of "Moss-ko" and "Chee-lay" instead of "Chilly."

That is the normal pronunciation of Moscow is American English (at least for everyone I know)

It's the normal mispronunciation.

How can it be a mispronunciation when the Russian spelling and pronunciation is "Moskva"?

In any case, option 2 (not a sociopath).

[Figueira]

If you picked anything but option 2, I'm going to assume you also say "Moss-kow" instead of "Moss-ko" and "Chee-lay" instead of "Chilly."

That is the normal pronunciation of Moscow is American English (at least for everyone I know)

It's the normal mispronunciation.

Are you advocating that everyone call it "Moskva" in English?

[Sirius_]

It changes every time I say it tbh.