| 11:46 UK time, Monday, 31 July 2006
A guide to words and names in the news, from Lena Olausson of the BBC Pronunciation Unit.
"Today's name is the Lebanese village Qana, pronounced KAA-nuh. The letter Q is a uvular consonant, a sound which does not exist in English. We always anglicise the Q in names like al-Qaeda, al-Aqsa, Umm Qasr etc. to a K sound."
(Click for a guide to our phonetic pronunciations (PDF).)
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Comments
Good point but let's face it, many BBC presenters think they are American because they continue to drop the indefinite or definite article.
They should all p*** off to America.
If they want to be American, ok, then go there.
The BBC lacks discipline. What do we have to do???
And please get rid of BBC breakfast and replace it with a serious news programme.
The BBC have tried to block this post, surprise surprise...
Any chance you might also give some pronunciation lessons for Israeli villages that have been hit by missiles?