02/28/2011
VDARE.com sees no need for consistency in spelling the name of Libyan Moammar al-whatshisname, because he never did himself.
Gadafi, Gadaffi, Gaddafi, Gaddaffi, Gadhafi, Gadhaffi, Ghadafi, Ghadaffi, Ghaddafi, Ghaddaffi, Ghadhafi, Ghadhaffi, Kadafi, Kadaffi, Kaddafi, Kadhafi, Khadafi, Khaddafi, Khaddaffi, Khadhafi, Khadhaffi, Qadafi, Qadaffi, Qaddafi, Qaddaffi, Qadhafi, Qadhaffi, Qadhdhafi, Qathafi, I give up.
The last hold-out for the Elizabethan approach to spelling. One of the few reasons that he'll be missed.
The Economist, whose style book does insist on using the spelling Muammar Qaddafi explains why:
If forced to pick, I'd say Qaddhafi represents the Arabic spelling pretty well, and Gaddafi represents the Libyan pronunciation pretty well. (The "al-" is optional. It’s always used in Arabic but frequently left out in English. The Economist’s style book recommends leaving it out in most names.) Our "Qaddafi" is a bit of a hybrid, but it’s not the worst. Stay away from the k’s and kh’s, though, in any case. Those sounds do exist in Arabic, but not in the name Qaddafi.
A Qaddafi by any other name would still be a bloodthirsty dictator
I think the UN should step in and force the next dictator of Libya to pick a spelling and stick to it.