# Pronunciation: Qatar **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 7, 2019, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-qatar/835164 "2019-06-07T14:29:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [June 8, 2019, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-qatar/835164/21 "2019-06-08T14:04:34Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Brokaw also pronounces “Oregon” wrong. (Despite growing up far enough west to have known the right way.) He seems to have effected the speech of the NE upper class. > > I wouldn’t use him as a pronunciation guide. He also swallows his L’s. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2019, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-qatar/835164/22 "2019-06-08T16:01:48Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Brokaw also pronounces “Oregon” wrong. (Despite growing up far enough west to have known the right way.) He seems to have effected the speech of the NE upper class. > > I wouldn’t use him as a pronunciation guide. Well, Oregon is pronounced differently even by people who live there. So the only way to pronounce it “wrongly” would be to pick some version not used by any native Oregonians. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2019, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-qatar/835164/23 "2019-06-08T20:58:00Z")
Here is an old clip from _The Daily Show with Jon Stewart_ where John Oliver sits down with the Qatari UN ambassador for an hilariously uncomfortable interview. The pronunciation of ‘Qatar’ is contested between them: > **[Oliver's Travels - Qatar - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart | Comedy Central US](https://www.cc.com/video/3o4qw4/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-oliver-s-travels-qatar)** > > John Oliver enjoys some awkward silence with the Qatari ambassador. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2019, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-qatar/835164/24 "2019-06-08T21:16:59Z")
To my English ears, these people are saying Katar, certainly not Kotar or Gutter… [https://vimeo.com/14490749](https://vimeo.com/14490749) Perhaps my English vowels are different to your American ones. ---
**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:** [June 9, 2019, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-qatar/835164/25 "2019-06-09T21:55:26Z")
The vowel a in both syllables is that of our words car and tar, except that its duration is short, instead of long as in English. It’s produced for half the length of time it is in English. The stress accent is on the first syllable. The q is articulated with the back of the tongue contacting the back of the throat. The t as in Qatar is pronounced the same as t, except with the back of the tongue raised. It’s transliterated as t with a dot under it. The r in Arabic is trilled, similar to Italian or Spanish. ---
**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:** [June 9, 2019, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-qatar/835164/26 "2019-06-09T22:00:52Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > The vowel a in both syllables is that of our words car and tar, except that its duration is short In other words, the same vowel sound as in car and tar, except in English it’s a half note (minim) and in Arabic it’s a quarter note (crotchet). ---
**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:** [June 9, 2019, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-qatar/835164/27 "2019-06-09T22:12:37Z")
I said how to pronounce it in Arabic. If you want an English-friendly approximation of the Arabic pronunciation, say it with conventional English k, t, and r sounds, and make the vowel the same as in car (minus the -r) and tar. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-qatar/835164.md?page=1)