James Tauber's Blog 2005/11/04


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Why the Q in IRAQ?

Hans Nowak asks:

Why is "Iraq" spelled with a q?

Iraq in Arabic is العراق

The final letter (Arabic is written right-to-left) is ق (qāf) which is a uvular plosive. A uvular plosive is produced like a velar plosive (English 'k') but with the back of the tongue touching the roof of the mouth further back.

Arabic also has a velar plosive ﻙ (kāf).

'k' is a common transcription for velar plosives and 'q' is a common transcription for uvular plosives.

So Iraq is spelled with a 'q' because the final consonant is a uvular plosive and not a velar plosive (even though English speakers pronounce it as if it were a velar plosive). Irak would be a different word in Arabic.

by : Created on Nov. 3, 2005 : Last modified Nov. 3, 2005 : (permalink)