In a recent Slate article How Do You Pronounce "Abu Ghraib"? - Hint: It doesn't rhyme with "babe.", Sam Schechner offers up something close to - but not quite like - Ahboo Grah-eeb as the proper pronunciation.
The first word is easy: "ah-BOO." The trouble is the second word, which begins with a phlegmy, guttural "gh" sound uncommon in American English—the sound is peculiar to the Arabic letter "ghayn." The "r" is easy, but the "ai" is a bit confusing: The word doesn't share the diphthong vowel sound of "grave" or "grape" as many newscasters seem to think; instead, the vowel is closer to that in "ebb," but is slightly more extended. So the proper pronunciation sounds something like a French person using a rolling "r" to render "grehhb."
Charless Apple of The American Press Institute offers some help to the confused with How do you pronounce all those names, anyway?, which acts as a linguistic guidebook of sorts, for the Middle East "interveners."
Even if the name-game isn't completely solved, it is comforting to know that I am not alone .
Article comments
1 - bhw
Eee-Rack, Aye-Rack, and Eh-Rack aren't the only choices. Lots of people end the word with "rock" instead of "rack."
Also, there's the Ear- first syllable. It's different, I think, from Eee-.
So you could have:
Ear-rack or Ear-rock
Eee-rack or Eee-rock
Aye-rack or Aye-rock
Eh-rack or Eh-rock
That might cover it. I say "Ear-rock," but I don't know if it's right.
2 - susan
Abu Grah-Eeb is the correct pronunciation of the name of the prison. The words were transliterated from Arabic, wh/ like many languages does not combine vowels to make a new sound but rather assigns each a consistent value. A is always "ah" and I is always "ee."
If the vowel were meant to sound like A in fate they'd have written it Grabe.
That said, it'd probably have been simpler to transliterate it Grah-Eeb for us. I've noticed many reporters are aware the word has two syllables but can't bring themselves to break in the middle so say Guh-Rabe.
3 - BRICKLAYER
Susan, I believe you are misinformed. The correct pronunciation is: Yabboo, Graboo, doo.
4 - David
Who cares? Once the motherfucker is bulldoozed it'll be called a fucking dirt pile!
5 - David
All kidding aside, hostage Paul Johnson has been beheaded. Fuck Abu Ghraib. I wish they would kill all of those fuckers.