hyperforeign 'jihad'

[Seán Fitzpatrick]

I’ve noticed something similar in the way NPR reporters pronounce “Mahdi” as
Mockdi, as in “al-Sadr’s Mockdi Militia”.  Likewise, they aspirate the “h”
in the name of Iran’s president to make it “Achmadinejad”, even when
Iranians are saying “Ahmadinejad”.

 

Back in the ‘80s, if you tuned in late to an interview, you could tell where
a person was on the Left-Right spectrum by whether he said 

Nik-r-AH-gwa or the so-ethnic Neek-gahrrrr-ACH-kwa.

 

Seán Fitzpatrick
It’s a Gnostic thing. You wouldn't understand.
http://www.logomachon.blogspot.com/

-----Original Message-----
From: Wilson Gray [mailto:hwgray at GMAIL.COM] 
Sent: Saturday, 10 March, 2007 02:15
Subject: Re: hyperforeign 'jihad'

 

"Jihad" as pronounced by Arabs speaking Arabic isn't relevant to

Matthew's observation regarding the pronunciation of foreign words by

Americans.

 

-Wilson

 

On 3/6/07, Paul Johnston <paul.johnston at wmich.edu> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>

> Poster:       Paul Johnston <paul.johnston at WMICH.EDU>

> Subject:      Re: hyperforeign 'jihad'

>
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> 

> As i remember, the pronunciation of Arabic jiim can be either one,

> depending on area; as I recall it, Moghrebi and the Levantine

> dialects tend to have the fricative; Iraq and a lot of Saudi Arabia

> the affricate; and Egypt & Sudan, /g/.  I think there are areas that

> have merged this sound with IPA /j/ in the Gulf, too.

> 

> Paul Johnston

> On Mar 5, 2007, at 3:05 PM, Matthew Gordon wrote:

> 

> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header

> > -----------------------

> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>

> > Poster:       Matthew Gordon <gordonmj at MISSOURI.EDU>

> > Subject:      hyperforeign 'jihad'

> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------

> > ---------

> >

> > Last night's 60 Minutes featured a piece on the use of the internet

> > for

> > terrorist propaganda. The reporter, Scott Pelley, repeatedly

> > pronounced

> > 'jihad' with an initial fricative which I suspect is not uncommon for

> > journalists. It was striking here, however, since everyone

> > interviewed for

> > the piece used the affricate pronunciation.

> >

> > You can watch the piece online:

> > http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/02/60minutes/main2531546.shtml

> >

> > I'm assuming the affricate is closer to the Arabic which is why I'm

> > labeling

> > this an example of hyperforeignism.

> >

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> 

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> 

 

 

--

All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to

come from the mouths of people who have had to live.

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                                                      -Sam'l Clemens

 

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