Ideal Rhombus brings up the point that even the President isn’t quite sure how to pronounce “Abu Ghraib.” While I thought it might be pronounced “ghrah-EEB,” I was at least positive it “doesn’t rhyme with ‘babe'” (as Slate explains), which is what you hear most commonly in the media. Apparently both of those attempts are wrong.
The first word is easy: “ah-BOO.” The trouble is the second word, which begins with a phlegmy, guttural “gh” sound uncommon in American English–the sound is peculiar to the Arabic letter “ghayn.” The “r” is easy, but the “ai” is a bit confusing: The word doesn’t share the diphthong vowel sound of “grave” or “grape” as many newscasters seem to think; instead, the vowel is closer to that in “ebb,” but is slightly more extended. So the proper pronunciation sounds something like a French person using a rolling “r” to render “grehhb.”
You say “eye-RAK,” and I say “ih-RAHK”… tomato, tomahto, let’s call the whole thing (“whole thing” to be pronounced in this instance as “unjustified U. S. occupation”) off.
2 replies on “ah-BOO grehhb”
“Jeff, was it *last week* you were in Abu Ghraib…?”
Ouch. So now we know there’s at least *one* context in which our favorite line doesn’t work… 😉
But agreed, let’s call the whole thing off. Where “whole thing” means the Iraq occupation and this administration!
After reading this post, I now know why I like Peter Jennings to deliver my world news. He is THE ONLY newscaster that I have heard who has (according to this pronunciation guide) actually said the name of the prison correctly.
And to think, I just thought he was being oh-so French Canadian in his speech…