"Joker"

[Joel S. Berson]

Is "Joker" what they're using because an acquaintance from Dzhokhar
Tsarnaev's Cambridge schooldays said that was the nickname that had
been bestowed on him?

The New York Times (April 20) gives the pronunciation "joe-HARR",
which I've been hearing more and more.  (And "tsar-NAH-yev"; and for
his brother "tam-arr-lawn" --apparently unaccented).  Seems to me
"Joeharr" is just as easy for Anglos to pronounce -- but perhaps less
humorous or derogatory (or exalted, for a fan of Batman).

And I'm wondering about the "joe" sound.  Is that what corresponds to
the sound of the (transliterated, I assume) "Dzho"?  Or is it closer
to the French "jeux"?

Joel

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