# Al Queda pronunciation **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 5, 2001, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-queda-pronunciation/85550 "2001-10-05T11:43:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2001, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-queda-pronunciation/85550/1 "2001-10-05T11:43:34Z")
How is “Al Queda” properly pronounced? I hear both “al KAY-da” and “al KI-da”. How would an Arab pronounce it? ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2001, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-queda-pronunciation/85550/2 "2001-10-05T12:19:47Z")
The pronunciation is difficult to express in English phonetics. This common spelling is a transliteration of Arabic letters, which have no exact equal in English. The Q represents a letter in Arabic for which we have no corresponding sound. It’s like a K but it’s pronounced farther back in the throat. The closest we come is the C in _calm_. The ae is a diphthong that starts out with an “ah” sound (as in _father_) and smoothly transitions to an “ay” sound (as in _pay_). This is how my Egyptian in-laws and friends say it. Try “al kah-AY-da” but the newscasters consistently drop the diphthong and say “KAY-da”, which is close enough. “al KI-da” is probably a poor reading of the transliteration. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2001, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-queda-pronunciation/85550/3 "2001-10-05T12:34:31Z")
earlier thread: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=88333](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=88333)