Shakespeare famously noted that “A rose by any other name would smell the same,” which is probably not something anyone would argue over, or disagree with.
However, President Trump spent today in Qatar, which got me musing over the pronunciation of that country’s name. Almost everyone on American television pronounces it “Cut-ter,” but I heard a high mucky-muck in Qatar, while addressing Mr. Trump, pronounce it “cuh-tar” on TV.
I may not be the most educated person around, but it seems to me that we should at least pronounce a country’s name as close as to how its citizens pronounce it as possible.
Yes, I know. We say “France,” and the people who live there pronounce it “Fraaaaance.” At least we don’t pronounce it “fra-nice.”