Looking at the Arabic spelling of his name, it seems that the transliteration would be Qadaafee using the usual way of showing long vowels , which is not shown in the chart. One problem may be that there's a difference between the dark glottal qaaf sound which sounds like a 'g' to some ears and the sharper sound in an English 'q'. Someone who speaks Arabic fluently--why is would this not be a good spelling?
Also, the PRI chart admits 34, variations of the spelling, perhaps admitting more 'correct' spellings then it should for example, if you mix different transliteration schemes, that would be wrong, but admitted by the PRI char posted by delmoi at AM on September 21, As I read it, I cranked up White and Nerdy , put my hand over my heart, and shed one single tear of awe for my kind.
Thank you. Because apparently the goal of transliteration is to get as far from unambiguous phonetic representation of sounds while still retaining a tenuous connection to reality.
See also the letter "X" re: conversion of Chinese to a Latin alphabet. NPR and AP go with "Gadhafi," citing letters written by Gadhafi in , sent in response to letters sent from a second grade class.
I've always spelled it "Yelnik McWawa," but I have a background in linguistics. Ah, but are you sure it's not " Yelnick McWawa "? Eh, I don't really see how that one can be helped. There literally is no equivalent to the Chinese Pinyin "X" consonant in English.
At least that I know of. If anybody knows different, I would love to know. A bit more baffling is using "Zh" for the English "J" sound, though again the Pinyin "J" doesn't really have an English equivalent. It's " Jacuzzi ", obviously. What I don't understand is why there's no systematic way of transliterating Arabic letters.
The various Indian alphabets don't seem to give such problems either. Why hasn't it been standardized? Can someone explain what a deterministic finite automaton DFA is? At a guess, it's really hard to get all the countries who speak Arabic or all the English-speak countries to sit down and hash it out.
Arabic also has a lot of regional variation, which may or may not be a factor. But Russian transliteration is all over the place as well. Heck, I've gone and looked up whether Gauss and Weierstrass should have ess-zetts which, slightly ironically, I don't know how to type on an iPad.
Aw crap, that's wrong. I would go with the second answer: Easy Qadaffi Khadafy Qadafi Can someone explain what a deterministic finite automaton A DFA is a state machine used in compiler design. The idea would be create a state machine based on a DSL for defining correct spellings. But he pronounces it "Throat-Warbler Mangrove. There was a graphic of a bunch of variations on how to spell it, and I think the last one was something like, Qaddafi Duck.
I remember a standup comic back in the day that did a bit about trying to recite his airline confirmation code over the phone, although the internets is not letting me find it. The development of the Khaddhafi persona paved the way for later comic portrayals of Saddam Hussein, Ayatollah Khomeini, and eventually, Osama bin Laden. The most lasting caricature of a Middle East dictator would have to be the Ayatollah. Not for any particular Ayatollah parody, though the Naked Gun scene is quite good:.
Ayatollah Nakhbadeh, Ayatollah Zahedi… Even as we speak, Ayatollah Razmara and his cadre of fanatics are consolidating their power! We miss the dictators of our youth. Even eBay, with its deep trove of discount Morning Zoo compilation cassettes, could give me nothing.
The lyrics have yet to be transcribed. Stephen Hoban is a writer living in New York. Already a subscriber? Log in or link your magazine subscription. Account Profile. Shakespeare, Lenin, and Tolstoy have as many because their works have been translated into so many languages. Is it Lev Tolsztoj, L. The Library has settled, you may argue arbitrarily, on Leo Tolstoy as its standardized form.
I have read your book The Straight Dope and found it highly entertaining and informative. I look forward to many more collections of your best columns. Sorry if I unjustly accused you on the Qadhdhafi business, but you know how dealing with this guy can cloud the mind.
I mean, hey, are we talking a major campaign of Libyan disinformation here or what? I say we just call him Duckbreath. Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from.
By choosing I Accept , you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. The Straight Dope homepage. Filed under:. By Cecil Adams Jun 20, Reddit Pocket Flipboard Email. Dear Cecil: Does anyone know how to spell the "mad dog's" name? Johnsen, Chicago Illustration by Slug Signorino. Why is it called a restroom, anyway? How did public libraries get started?
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