Q: My question concerns the country of Qatar. My dictionary and encyclopedia has the accent on the first syllable, while a recent commercial puts the accent on the second syllable. Newscasters can’t seem to agree, either. Which one is correct?
—Julie Crost, Decatur
A: The correct pronunciation of Qatar is difficult to replicate in English, but sounds more like "cutter" or "gutter," Slate.com reported, not "KUH-tar" or "Kuh-TAR."
The single “t” makes Qatar sound somewhat like English words that have a double “t” in the middle of the word.
It is pronounced as a “velarized consonant, which means the back of the tongue must be pressed against the mouth’s roof to achieve the requisite effect,” the article stated.
A correct pronunciation can be heard here:
“‘Cutter,’ for ease, is probably the best for America,” Dana Shell Smith, who is now the U.S. Ambassador to Qatar, said in a video from a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in June 2014, posted on Washingtonpost.com.
Q: I read the article about the American flag, and I was wondering if you had any numbers for the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts so I can do something with the flag, as was suggested.
—Dorothy Portnoy, Decatur
A: To retire an American flag, you can call the Atlanta Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America at 770-989-8820 or contact the organization at atlantabsa.org.
You can call Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta at 800-771-1139 or contact the organization at girlscoutsatl.org.
Andy Johnston with Fast Copy News Service wrote this column. Do you have a question? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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