# It's not "Ahk-med" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 16, 2006, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-ahk-med/344813 "2006-02-16T16:20:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [February 16, 2006, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-ahk-med/344813/1 "2006-02-16T16:20:22Z")
Media broadcasters are forever butchering this Arab name, which is commonly transliterated into English as Ahmed or sometimes Ahmad. Announcers often say “Ahk-med” or even “Ach-med” (like the German pronunciation of Bach). I don’t know where they get that. There is no K sound or throat scraping in this name. It is pronounced Ah-med where there is little unvoiced puff of air that comes out at the end of the Ah. Despite many difficult sounds in Arabic, this one is not out of reach of most English speakers. This isn’t a flame so it’s not in BBQ; hope it helps to stamp out ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![mrklutz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ebca7d/32.png) [@mrklutz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrklutz)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-ahk-med/344813/2 "2006-02-16T19:02:34Z")
[Carson] I did not know that. [/Carson] Thanks. I’ve been mangling that (on rare occasion) for years. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-ahk-med/344813/3 "2006-02-16T19:07:50Z")
Well, the spelling “Achmed” probaly makes people lean that way. suspect German influence myself. I’ll bet we got this from some German translation of something Arabic, and to them it seemed a natural transliteration, but it’s screwed up English pronunciation ever since, just like “Scheherazade” has (In my translations direct from the original, the name is given as something like “Sharzahd”). Besides which, we’ve heard that there are a lot of gutturals in Arabic. Not having structions on how to pronounce it, one opts for pseudo-German Ach-met, or else for American “I’ll make the closest stab with the letters we actually pronounce” Ak-met. Interesting to find out that they’re both wrong. Many thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-ahk-med/344813/4 "2006-02-16T19:17:07Z")
Also? “Saddam” is not pronounced “sa-DAHM”. It’s “sa-DAAM”. ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-ahk-med/344813/5 "2006-02-16T19:19:09Z")
I don’t know about you, but I pronounce ‘aa’ the same as ‘ah’ Both are AAAAA. ---
**Author:** ![RyJae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@RyJae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RyJae)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-ahk-med/344813/6 "2006-02-16T19:34:04Z")
I am not sure this is correct. I see a lot of conflicting accounts. > [@](#): > > Hmmm…. Some people still can’t pronounce ‘Ahmed’ properly. It appears to be a pretty common name in the Arabic world, so try to get it right. The ‘h’ is not silent, it’s like the German ‘ch’. You know that sound that Arabic speakers make, the one that sounds like they’re hocking up to spit? That’s the sound. So ‘Ahmed’ does not sound like ‘arm-ed’, it’s ‘arch-med’. Or ‘arc-med’ if you have trouble with the soft ‘ch’ sound. Or something like that [http://www.overspun.com/?p=1705](http://www.overspun.com/?p=1705) > [@](#): > > I have heard other people pronounce Ahmed without pronouncing the heavily aspirated -h " at all (making it come out as “Aamed”), [http://www.radioislam.org/historia/zionism/media\_myopia.html](http://www.radioislam.org/historia/zionism/media_myopia.html) ---
**Author:** ![RyJae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@RyJae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RyJae)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-ahk-med/344813/7 "2006-02-16T19:44:31Z")
> [@](#): > > Ben Bella, Ahmed (äkhmĕd’ bĕn bĕl’lä) > **[Answers - The Most Trusted Place for Answering Life's Questions](https://www.answers.com/redirectSearch?query=ahmed-ben-bella)** > > Answers is the place to go to get the answers you need and to ask the questions you want > [@](#): > > Ahmad Shah [äkhmäd’ shä’] [http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0802835.html](http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0802835.html) And in the interest of being difficult. > [@](#): > > Ibn Hanbal, Ahmad [ä’mud ib’un hăn’băl] [http://www.factmonster.com/ce6/people/A0824831.html](http://www.factmonster.com/ce6/people/A0824831.html) > [@](#): > > AL-BADAWI, JAMAL AHMED MOHAMMAD jah-MAHL AHH-mehd mo-HAH-mahd al BAHD-ah-wee [http://names.voa.gov/DailyAction.cfm](http://names.voa.gov/DailyAction.cfm) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-ahk-med/344813/8 "2006-02-16T19:53:48Z")
Count me among the clueless. I went to school with a boy who prounounced it Ahmed but the guy down the street who’s family owns a restaurant I frequent introduced himself to me as “Ach-med.” ::::shrug:::: ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-ahk-med/344813/9 "2006-02-16T19:56:00Z")
Dammit, I meant to also add that my understanding was that the /k/ sound was like the sound when correctly prounouncing the yiddish “chutzpah” it’s not a hard /k/ but more throaty. Pardon my lack of linguistic terminology, it’s been years and years since I studied it. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-ahk-med/344813/10 "2006-02-16T19:57:18Z")
> [@Jman](#): > > I don’t know about you, but I pronounce ‘aa’ the same as ‘ah’ Both are AAAAA. Okay, the way I mean it is. aa = a in rat or cat ah = a in far or car In the name “Saddam”, the second a is a “aa” sound, but held longer than we usually would in English. “Sadaaaaaam”. ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-ahk-med/344813/11 "2006-02-16T20:00:13Z")
When I was little, we had a German Shepherd named Achmed (it means “dark one”), and we pronounced it the right way (ACH-med, closer to ACH-mit). When I got older, I heard people saying Ahk-med and never even realized they were talking about the same name. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-ahk-med/344813/12 "2006-02-16T20:18:36Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > In the name “Saddam”, the second a is a “aa” sound, but held longer than we usually would in English. “Sadaaaaaam”. So it’s almost “Sa-damn?” I’m probably never going to get this right. This reminds me of a thread we had a few months ago about incorrectly ‘Frenchifying’ j sounds in Hindu. Anybody else have corrections like that? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2006, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-ahk-med/344813/13 "2006-02-16T21:28:54Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > Okay, the way I mean it is. > > aa = a in rat or cat > ah = a in far or car > > In the name “Saddam”, the second a is a “aa” sound, but held longer than we usually would in English. “Sadaaaaaam”. I’m going to have to ask for qualifications and confirmation from an expert in Arabic. > [@Marley23](#): > > This reminds me of a thread we had a few months ago about incorrectly ‘Frenchifying’ j sounds in Hindu. Anybody else have corrections like that? IIIoFI: A “Hindu” is someone who adheres to the Hindu religion. “Hindi” is a language. The set of Hindus and the set of speakers of Hindi are overlapping but not identical. Also, Hindi is only one of the many native languages of India. I think the phrase you were looking for is “in Indian words and names.” ---
**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:** [February 17, 2006, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-ahk-med/344813/14 "2006-02-17T01:07:19Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > I’m going to have to ask for qualifications and confirmation from an expert in Arabic. Let us know what you find out. My wife is Egyptian, and I’ll allow that almost all the Ahmeds I’ve met have been Egyptians. There could be some regional variation. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-ahk-med/344813/15 "2006-02-17T02:11:40Z")
Well, I"m hoping you’ll know about it as soon as I do. That was apparently too roundabout a way of asking for confirmation from someone else here who has displayed some knowledge about Arabic. (Johanna?) ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-ahk-med/344813/16 "2006-02-17T02:27:54Z")
I have a dark blue Betta (fish) named Ahmed. I pronounce it Ahh-med, but I believe there’s regional differences as mentioned. I lived in Turkey and heard it pronounced Ach-med too. I also have a red Betta named Pierre. Pronounced Pee-air. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-ahk-med/344813/17 "2006-02-17T02:54:34Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > I’m going to have to ask for qualifications and confirmation from an expert in Arabic. That’s how my Arabic professor pronounced it. I didn’t take it long enough to become an expert myself, but he seemed to know what he was about. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-ahk-med/344813/18 "2006-02-17T03:25:00Z")
> [@bonobo\_jones](#): > > I also have a red Betta named Pierre. Pronounced Pee-air. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-ahk-med/344813/19 "2006-02-17T03:29:53Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Also, Hindi is only one of the many native languages of India. I think the phrase you were looking for is “in Indian words and names.” I meant Hindi and not Hindu, yes. [It was your thread, actually](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=338504). You didn’t specify if it was Indian words in general or the Hindi language, since the real topic was foreign words. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-ahk-med/344813/20 "2006-02-17T05:13:56Z")
**CookingWithGas** and **Kyla** are both right about the pronunciation. It would be so cool if we could all post phonetic discussions in [IPA](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet) to avoid confusion. But I don’t know if the characters are all available to all browsers, using Unicode or what. The Character Map in Accessories \> System Tools does provide a lot of them. The low open mid-front vowel you’re talking about (as in dam, damn) is /æ/. It’s true as you said, **Kyla** , the long vowel in Arabic is usually this sound lengthened [æ:], although this phoneme can also have a different allophone [a:] depending on its consonantal environment. Nitpick: the d is doubled, so it ends the first syllable and also begins the second syllable: sad-DAM. The first vowel in Saddām is short and the second is long. The sound of the first short a, because of the consonant it follows, is pronounced like uh, so the first syllable sounds about the same as in “sudden.” Followed by “damn.” > [@beadalin](#): > > When I was little, we had a German Shepherd named Achmed (it means “dark one”) In what language? > [@](#): > > and we pronounced it the right way (ACH-med, closer to ACH-mit). That’s the right way in what language? The meaning of Ahmad in Arabic is ‘more praised’. The name Mahmud means ‘praised’, so the comparative form Ahmad means ‘more praised’. Does that make sense? The concept of “praise” is carried by the triliteral root H-M-D which also forms names like Muhammad or Hammād. The sound of this H does not occur in English. Arabic has two /h/ phonemes: one is the same sound as English /h/. This is the h in Mahdi, for example. But the H in Ahmad, Muhammad, etc. is an unvoiced pharyngeal sound. It is produced by tightly narrowing the pharynx (in the middle of the throat) and exhaling audibly through that narrowed opening, with a sort of hissing sound. Learning how to pronounce this, and its homologous sound ‘ayn, for the first time is an exercise in using speech muscles that one had never been aware of before. The sound of kh is never correct for Ahmad in Arabic, although in colloquial Uzbek the sound of h followed by a consonant sometimes changes to kh (IPA /x/). For example, the Uzbek word for “thank you” is _rahmat_ (originally the Arabic word for mercy), but is often pronounced “rakhmat.” My co-worker from Samarqand always says “rakhmat” when we talk in Uzbek. I suspect this may be a Russian influence. Russian lacks the sound of /h/ and so substitutes /x/. Khello, khow are you? Students of Central Asian languages come up against Russian mispronunciations all the time. It’s worse than Anglo Americans trying to pronounce “hombre.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-ahk-med/344813.md?page=2)