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Why do English transliterations of Arabic names have so many Qs in them?


Are English homonyms distinguishable by pitch profile?Is the word “abjad” borrowed from Arabic or was it coined in English then borrowed by Arabic?Why did English lose declensions while German retained them?How come I cannot get my “oral” English to a native speaker level after 25 years of trying?Detailed “quality” of /ð/When transliterating English words to Korean, why does the first F become a ㅎ?Do we know anything more about the semantic shift of “with” in Middle English?Which is closer to Biblical Hebrew - Modern Hebrew, or Modern Arabic?Algorithm for figuring out the pronunciation of a word






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6















I remember when the Muslim holy book was the Koran when I was in middle school, but now it's the Quran. But it's always been Qatar and Iraq (but still Kuwait.)
Who decided that 'Q' was going to be represent that sound instead of 'K', and why?










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  • 3





    k and q are distinct consonants in Arabic

    – ngn
    9 hours ago


















6















I remember when the Muslim holy book was the Koran when I was in middle school, but now it's the Quran. But it's always been Qatar and Iraq (but still Kuwait.)
Who decided that 'Q' was going to be represent that sound instead of 'K', and why?










share|improve this question







New contributor



John Q. Guest is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
















  • 3





    k and q are distinct consonants in Arabic

    – ngn
    9 hours ago














6












6








6








I remember when the Muslim holy book was the Koran when I was in middle school, but now it's the Quran. But it's always been Qatar and Iraq (but still Kuwait.)
Who decided that 'Q' was going to be represent that sound instead of 'K', and why?










share|improve this question







New contributor



John Q. Guest is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.











I remember when the Muslim holy book was the Koran when I was in middle school, but now it's the Quran. But it's always been Qatar and Iraq (but still Kuwait.)
Who decided that 'Q' was going to be represent that sound instead of 'K', and why?







english arabic transliteration velar






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  • 3





    k and q are distinct consonants in Arabic

    – ngn
    9 hours ago













  • 3





    k and q are distinct consonants in Arabic

    – ngn
    9 hours ago








3




3





k and q are distinct consonants in Arabic

– ngn
9 hours ago






k and q are distinct consonants in Arabic

– ngn
9 hours ago











2 Answers
2






active

oldest

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10
















In Arabic, in fact, they've always been separate sounds! The sound we write "k" is spelled with the letter ك in Arabic, and is pronounced a little bit further forward in the mouth; the sound we write "q" is spelled with the letter ق and pronounced a little bit farther back. In phonetic terms, "k" is a velar sound, and "q" is a uvular sound.



English doesn't distinguish between these two different sounds. But since we've got a spare letter lying around—the English letter "q" is actually related to the Arabic letter ق, if you go back far enough!—it's become conventional to separate them in writing. "Kuwait" is spelled with a ك, so it gets a "k"; "Qatar" is spelled with a ق, so it gets a "q".



Nowadays, by the way, the letter Q has started to be associated with Arabic in particular, since it shows up significantly more there than in English. So in pop culture, you'll sometimes see names like "Hakeem" respelled to "Haqim"—even though the original Arabic has a ك in it! Linguistically, this is called hypercorrection, and it's the same reason you'll see words like "forté" and "afficioñado": English-speakers associate é with Romance languages and ñ with Spanish, but they have no special meaning in English, so they sometimes get inserted where they aren't actually needed.






share|improve this answer


































    3
















    I was going to propose Julius Klaproth, in his 1823 book Asia Polyglotta. He notates the difference between ك and ق as k versus q. In earlier works such as Hamer 1806 Ancient alphabets
    both were represented as "k" with a note that [q] ق is "hard".
    However, I see that
    Christian Ravis 1649 in A discourse of the orientall tongues : viz. Ebrew, Samaritan, Calde, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic together with a generall grammer for the said tongues p. 96 or 97 (in the "General grammar" part) notates the kaf / qaf distinction with k versus q as well.
    Subsequently, it emerged that Otho Gualtperius 1590 in Grammatica linguae sanctae described the analogous Hebrew kaph / qoph distinction as kaph c,ch (=[k,x]) versus qoph "q or k".



    So at this point I would say that it is unknown who first devised that convention.






    share|improve this answer






















    • 2





      This is definitely going off on a tangent, but if the use of Q for a uvular dates back to 1590, I wonder how old it actually is? For example did any Classical-era Roman authors use Q for the Phoenician or Punic uvular? I just asked about that on another site, if you have any insights.

      – Draconis
      6 hours ago













    Your Answer








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    2 Answers
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    2 Answers
    2






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    active

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    active

    oldest

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    10
















    In Arabic, in fact, they've always been separate sounds! The sound we write "k" is spelled with the letter ك in Arabic, and is pronounced a little bit further forward in the mouth; the sound we write "q" is spelled with the letter ق and pronounced a little bit farther back. In phonetic terms, "k" is a velar sound, and "q" is a uvular sound.



    English doesn't distinguish between these two different sounds. But since we've got a spare letter lying around—the English letter "q" is actually related to the Arabic letter ق, if you go back far enough!—it's become conventional to separate them in writing. "Kuwait" is spelled with a ك, so it gets a "k"; "Qatar" is spelled with a ق, so it gets a "q".



    Nowadays, by the way, the letter Q has started to be associated with Arabic in particular, since it shows up significantly more there than in English. So in pop culture, you'll sometimes see names like "Hakeem" respelled to "Haqim"—even though the original Arabic has a ك in it! Linguistically, this is called hypercorrection, and it's the same reason you'll see words like "forté" and "afficioñado": English-speakers associate é with Romance languages and ñ with Spanish, but they have no special meaning in English, so they sometimes get inserted where they aren't actually needed.






    share|improve this answer































      10
















      In Arabic, in fact, they've always been separate sounds! The sound we write "k" is spelled with the letter ك in Arabic, and is pronounced a little bit further forward in the mouth; the sound we write "q" is spelled with the letter ق and pronounced a little bit farther back. In phonetic terms, "k" is a velar sound, and "q" is a uvular sound.



      English doesn't distinguish between these two different sounds. But since we've got a spare letter lying around—the English letter "q" is actually related to the Arabic letter ق, if you go back far enough!—it's become conventional to separate them in writing. "Kuwait" is spelled with a ك, so it gets a "k"; "Qatar" is spelled with a ق, so it gets a "q".



      Nowadays, by the way, the letter Q has started to be associated with Arabic in particular, since it shows up significantly more there than in English. So in pop culture, you'll sometimes see names like "Hakeem" respelled to "Haqim"—even though the original Arabic has a ك in it! Linguistically, this is called hypercorrection, and it's the same reason you'll see words like "forté" and "afficioñado": English-speakers associate é with Romance languages and ñ with Spanish, but they have no special meaning in English, so they sometimes get inserted where they aren't actually needed.






      share|improve this answer





























        10














        10










        10









        In Arabic, in fact, they've always been separate sounds! The sound we write "k" is spelled with the letter ك in Arabic, and is pronounced a little bit further forward in the mouth; the sound we write "q" is spelled with the letter ق and pronounced a little bit farther back. In phonetic terms, "k" is a velar sound, and "q" is a uvular sound.



        English doesn't distinguish between these two different sounds. But since we've got a spare letter lying around—the English letter "q" is actually related to the Arabic letter ق, if you go back far enough!—it's become conventional to separate them in writing. "Kuwait" is spelled with a ك, so it gets a "k"; "Qatar" is spelled with a ق, so it gets a "q".



        Nowadays, by the way, the letter Q has started to be associated with Arabic in particular, since it shows up significantly more there than in English. So in pop culture, you'll sometimes see names like "Hakeem" respelled to "Haqim"—even though the original Arabic has a ك in it! Linguistically, this is called hypercorrection, and it's the same reason you'll see words like "forté" and "afficioñado": English-speakers associate é with Romance languages and ñ with Spanish, but they have no special meaning in English, so they sometimes get inserted where they aren't actually needed.






        share|improve this answer















        In Arabic, in fact, they've always been separate sounds! The sound we write "k" is spelled with the letter ك in Arabic, and is pronounced a little bit further forward in the mouth; the sound we write "q" is spelled with the letter ق and pronounced a little bit farther back. In phonetic terms, "k" is a velar sound, and "q" is a uvular sound.



        English doesn't distinguish between these two different sounds. But since we've got a spare letter lying around—the English letter "q" is actually related to the Arabic letter ق, if you go back far enough!—it's become conventional to separate them in writing. "Kuwait" is spelled with a ك, so it gets a "k"; "Qatar" is spelled with a ق, so it gets a "q".



        Nowadays, by the way, the letter Q has started to be associated with Arabic in particular, since it shows up significantly more there than in English. So in pop culture, you'll sometimes see names like "Hakeem" respelled to "Haqim"—even though the original Arabic has a ك in it! Linguistically, this is called hypercorrection, and it's the same reason you'll see words like "forté" and "afficioñado": English-speakers associate é with Romance languages and ñ with Spanish, but they have no special meaning in English, so they sometimes get inserted where they aren't actually needed.







        share|improve this answer














        share|improve this answer



        share|improve this answer








        edited 9 hours ago

























        answered 9 hours ago









        DraconisDraconis

        23.3k2 gold badges43 silver badges92 bronze badges




        23.3k2 gold badges43 silver badges92 bronze badges


























            3
















            I was going to propose Julius Klaproth, in his 1823 book Asia Polyglotta. He notates the difference between ك and ق as k versus q. In earlier works such as Hamer 1806 Ancient alphabets
            both were represented as "k" with a note that [q] ق is "hard".
            However, I see that
            Christian Ravis 1649 in A discourse of the orientall tongues : viz. Ebrew, Samaritan, Calde, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic together with a generall grammer for the said tongues p. 96 or 97 (in the "General grammar" part) notates the kaf / qaf distinction with k versus q as well.
            Subsequently, it emerged that Otho Gualtperius 1590 in Grammatica linguae sanctae described the analogous Hebrew kaph / qoph distinction as kaph c,ch (=[k,x]) versus qoph "q or k".



            So at this point I would say that it is unknown who first devised that convention.






            share|improve this answer






















            • 2





              This is definitely going off on a tangent, but if the use of Q for a uvular dates back to 1590, I wonder how old it actually is? For example did any Classical-era Roman authors use Q for the Phoenician or Punic uvular? I just asked about that on another site, if you have any insights.

              – Draconis
              6 hours ago
















            3
















            I was going to propose Julius Klaproth, in his 1823 book Asia Polyglotta. He notates the difference between ك and ق as k versus q. In earlier works such as Hamer 1806 Ancient alphabets
            both were represented as "k" with a note that [q] ق is "hard".
            However, I see that
            Christian Ravis 1649 in A discourse of the orientall tongues : viz. Ebrew, Samaritan, Calde, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic together with a generall grammer for the said tongues p. 96 or 97 (in the "General grammar" part) notates the kaf / qaf distinction with k versus q as well.
            Subsequently, it emerged that Otho Gualtperius 1590 in Grammatica linguae sanctae described the analogous Hebrew kaph / qoph distinction as kaph c,ch (=[k,x]) versus qoph "q or k".



            So at this point I would say that it is unknown who first devised that convention.






            share|improve this answer






















            • 2





              This is definitely going off on a tangent, but if the use of Q for a uvular dates back to 1590, I wonder how old it actually is? For example did any Classical-era Roman authors use Q for the Phoenician or Punic uvular? I just asked about that on another site, if you have any insights.

              – Draconis
              6 hours ago














            3














            3










            3









            I was going to propose Julius Klaproth, in his 1823 book Asia Polyglotta. He notates the difference between ك and ق as k versus q. In earlier works such as Hamer 1806 Ancient alphabets
            both were represented as "k" with a note that [q] ق is "hard".
            However, I see that
            Christian Ravis 1649 in A discourse of the orientall tongues : viz. Ebrew, Samaritan, Calde, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic together with a generall grammer for the said tongues p. 96 or 97 (in the "General grammar" part) notates the kaf / qaf distinction with k versus q as well.
            Subsequently, it emerged that Otho Gualtperius 1590 in Grammatica linguae sanctae described the analogous Hebrew kaph / qoph distinction as kaph c,ch (=[k,x]) versus qoph "q or k".



            So at this point I would say that it is unknown who first devised that convention.






            share|improve this answer















            I was going to propose Julius Klaproth, in his 1823 book Asia Polyglotta. He notates the difference between ك and ق as k versus q. In earlier works such as Hamer 1806 Ancient alphabets
            both were represented as "k" with a note that [q] ق is "hard".
            However, I see that
            Christian Ravis 1649 in A discourse of the orientall tongues : viz. Ebrew, Samaritan, Calde, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic together with a generall grammer for the said tongues p. 96 or 97 (in the "General grammar" part) notates the kaf / qaf distinction with k versus q as well.
            Subsequently, it emerged that Otho Gualtperius 1590 in Grammatica linguae sanctae described the analogous Hebrew kaph / qoph distinction as kaph c,ch (=[k,x]) versus qoph "q or k".



            So at this point I would say that it is unknown who first devised that convention.







            share|improve this answer














            share|improve this answer



            share|improve this answer








            edited 7 hours ago

























            answered 8 hours ago









            user6726user6726

            39.5k1 gold badge27 silver badges77 bronze badges




            39.5k1 gold badge27 silver badges77 bronze badges










            • 2





              This is definitely going off on a tangent, but if the use of Q for a uvular dates back to 1590, I wonder how old it actually is? For example did any Classical-era Roman authors use Q for the Phoenician or Punic uvular? I just asked about that on another site, if you have any insights.

              – Draconis
              6 hours ago













            • 2





              This is definitely going off on a tangent, but if the use of Q for a uvular dates back to 1590, I wonder how old it actually is? For example did any Classical-era Roman authors use Q for the Phoenician or Punic uvular? I just asked about that on another site, if you have any insights.

              – Draconis
              6 hours ago








            2




            2





            This is definitely going off on a tangent, but if the use of Q for a uvular dates back to 1590, I wonder how old it actually is? For example did any Classical-era Roman authors use Q for the Phoenician or Punic uvular? I just asked about that on another site, if you have any insights.

            – Draconis
            6 hours ago






            This is definitely going off on a tangent, but if the use of Q for a uvular dates back to 1590, I wonder how old it actually is? For example did any Classical-era Roman authors use Q for the Phoenician or Punic uvular? I just asked about that on another site, if you have any insights.

            – Draconis
            6 hours ago












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