Re: why can't the BBC

On May 27, 4:36 pm, "ranjit_math...@xxxxxxxxx"
<ranjit_math...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On May 20, 6:26 am, "Peter T. Daniels" <gramma...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

pronounce Barack Obama's name correctly?

They insist on saying "Barrick," like "garridge" for "garage."

The difference is that this is a person's name, and the person gets to
say how his name is pronounced.

I've never heard an Anglo pronounce "Omar" as [OmVr.] That's a short
open o halfway between the first vowels in "obedient" and "pock-
marked". If that's too difficult for an Anglo, [omVr.] or [omR] would
be acceptable substitutes in decreasing order of preference but I hear
only [o:mA:] and [o:mA:R].

It's always been OH-mar to me. But then I first learned it as the name
of a (Persian) cat. Never had a chance to ask him what pronunciation
he preferred. When eventually I heard Persian friends pronounce "Omar
Khayyam" I hardly recognized the name I had known in written form for
decades.

Ross Clark
.