Not a long one today, folks. I've just been listening to NPR/MPR all morning and I'd like to remind everyone that we don't want to sound like George "nukular" Bush when we call in to national talk shows. Now, I don't claim to be an expert on the origins and local pronunciation of placenames in the middle east, and I certainly do not speak or write arabic, farsi, or any other language of the region, but here's what I do know about the "big players" in their proper anglicized form:
CORRECT:
ear-ROCK (Iraq)
ear-RAHN (Iran)
INCORRECT:
EYE-rack (Iraq)
EYE-ran (Iran)
This grates on me as if someone were talking about "Canadia" or "amer-EEK-ah" (Okay, so I actually think Canada should be called "Canadia." Sue me. It sounds cooler). Sorry for the pedantry. And I promise not to do this kind of thing with my diary again.