If English is your only language, you've likely been pronouncing Qatar wrong without realising it.
Home to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Qatar is one of the most-talked-about destinations of the year. But that doesn't mean we've all been pronouncing the host state's name correctly. In fact, lots of people likely think they know how to say Qatar, despite making one of several common errors.
Thankfully, the World Cup is helping lots of people to learn how to pronounce Qatar. Even before the first game started, football fans took to social media to share the different pronunciations of 'Qatar' they had heard. And with the matches well underway, some viewers' confusion has ramped up a notch.
One person tweeted: "What a weird thing that English speakers WATCHING the World Cup still pronounce Qatar incorrectly. It's 'cutter' or 'gutter,' not qa-TAR. The 'Q' is a qaf, which is somewhere between a K sound and soft G. Just learn the name. It's not hard"
Another questioned: "Why do Americans pronounce Qatar 'Cutter'?" Meanwhile, in a Twitter poll of over 16,000 users, 'kuh-Tarr' was the most commonly used answer, triumphing over 'kotter', 'KAY-tarr' and 'cutter'.
So how should you pronounce Qatar? Well, the official pronunciation sounds similar to 'kuh-tar', as popular YouTuber Mr Q has previously explained.
In a video titled "Q-Tip, how to pronounce Qatar properly," "#TheQatariGuy" demonstrated how to make the correct sounds. Mr Q recommends you "close your throat a little bit" to produce the desired effect.
He added that the local pronunciation replaces the 'kuh' sound with a 'guh'. The result is "almost like guitar", thought he was keen to emphasise the two don't quite sound the same.
Mr Q confirmed you can also say 'Kataaar', referencing the common international pronunciation, but noted that it will always be appreciated when people opt for the local pronunciation.
Elsewhere, in conversation with CNN, Mouna Abdulhamid, executive director of the Alif Institute, explained the letters that make up the word do not have close English equivalents.
"The Arabic word for 'Qatar' actually only has three letters: qāf, ṭā and rā," she said. However, there are plenty of tips people can follow to learn how to pronounce the letters.
Explaining of the guttural qāf sound, she said: "To learn this sound, we recommend students put water in their mouth and use the back of their throat to keep from swallowing it."
"Be mindful that the beginning letter isn't a hard 'k' sound," Abdulhamid added. She also said ṭā is similar to an English 't' but spoken with a fuller tongue, meanwhile rā is shorter than an English 'r'.
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