Off-Topic

SUCH RUBES WE ARE. If you've watched television news coverage recently, you've learned that Qatar isn't "Qatar" at all. Oh, no, that's the pronunciation for stupid Americans. It's actually "Cutter" or "Gutter"!

Slate published an "Explainer" on the subject late last year. It said, in part:

The most accurate English estimate is something halfway between "cutter" and "gutter." It's not "KUH-tar," the pronunciation that has become the standard among TV newscasters.

And, later:

Click here to hear Terri DeYoung, a professor of Arabic, pronounce "Qatar."

What do you hear when you click on that link?

"KAH-tarr."

I guess our Arabic is better than we thought.