Dumb Question: Gaddafi's name?

[Akoto]

Hi,

Stupid question, but it's one I've been wondering about: what is the proper spelling of Gaddafi's name?

I watch the news daily, and it seems that I wake up every morning to a new name. Gaddafi, Khaddafy, Qaddafi, etc.

[Unvanguard]

1. It's a transliteration from Arabic, so there is no "proper" spelling. n/t

[Liberal Veteran]

2. There are actually 12 rulers in Libya and they spell their name slightly different to confuse.

[TheCowsCameHome]

5. Hahahaha. Reminds me of the #2 Al Qaeda men.

There were dozens of them.

[TheCowsCameHome]

3. And if there's a good answer to that....

....what is that stupid thing on his head called?

[Liberal Veteran]

7. Women call it a wig. We call it a toupee.

[Buzz Clik]

4. Quack-Daddy.

West side, yo!

[in_cog_ni_to]

6. Wiki:

<snip>
Name

Because of the lack of standardization of transliterating written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in many different ways. Even though the Arabic spelling of a word does not change, the pronunciation may vary in different varieties of Arabic, which may cause a different romanization. In literary Arabic the name معمر القذافي can be pronounced /muˈʕamːaru lqaðˈðaːfiː/. <ʕ> represents a voiced pharyngeal fricative (ع). Geminated consonants can be simplified. In Libyan Arabic, /q/ (ق) may be replaced with <ɡ> or (or even <χ>); and /ð/ (ذ) (as "th" in "this") may be replaced with or . Vowel often alternates with in pronunciation. Thus, /muˈʕamːar alqaðˈðaːfiː/ is normally pronounced in Libyan Arabic . The definite article al- (ال) is often omitted.

"Muammar Gaddafi" is the spelling used by TIME magazine, BBC News, the majority of the British press and by the English service of Al-Jazeera.<190> The Associated Press, MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News use "Moammar Gadhafi". The Library of Congress uses "Qaddafi, Muammar" as the primary name. The Edinburgh Middle East Report uses "Mu'ammar Qaddafi" and the U.S. Department of State uses "Mu'ammar Al-Qadhafi", although the White House chooses to use "Muammar el-Qaddafi".<191> The Xinhua News Agency uses "Muammar Khaddafi" in its English reports.<192> The New York Times uses "Muammar el-Qaddafi". The Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times of Tribune Company use "Moammar Kadafi".<193><194>

In 1986, Gaddafi reportedly responded to a Minnesota school's letter in English using the spelling "Moammar El-Gadhafi".<195> The title of the homepage of algathafi.org reads "Welcome to the official site of Muammar Al Gathafi".<196>

An article published in the London Evening Standard in 2004 lists a total of 37 spellings of his name, while a 1986 column by The Straight Dope quotes a list of 32 spellings known at the Library of Congress.<197> ABC made a post on its blog identifying 112 possible spellings.<198> This extensive confusion of naming was used as the subject of a segment of Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update on 12 December 1981.<199>

In short, the alternative spellings for each part of his name are shown in brackets:

ME (the brackets are at the link.

<snip>

However, not all are possible, as some alternatives are most probably combined with others, or even impossible with other (for example, simplification of geminated usually implies simplification of ).<snip>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muammar_Gaddafi#Name

[Davis_X_Machina]

8. Wikipedia..

....says 'Qaḏāffī', which is surprisingly easy to type on a Mac....

[calimary]

9. Shoot! I was thinking that same thing just a few moments ago!

Marveling at all the exotic spellings of this guy's name.

I remember when the hostage crisis in Iran was the story of the day, and having to write Ho-MAY-nee when I'd go on the air so I wouldn't mispronounce the Ayatolla's name. I still find myself reflexively starting to write it that way.

[kenny blankenship]

10. He doesn't care how you spell it. Just get his body count right.

Also, photograph him from his right. That's his fabulous side.

[Sonicwall]

11. It really looks like he's been on too much crack..

Or opium. Or whatever designer drugs Libya came up with.

[bluestate10]

12. "Duck". nt

[geckosfeet]

13. Mud?

Dumb answer.

[Blue-Jay]

14. "Jeff"

Jeff Gaddafi.

[DJ13]

15. Gadaffi duck?

[KoKo]

16. lol's...so far the MSM's Spelling is about 4-5 different spellings...we go on "auto-pilot" when

we post his name. We pray that folks reading understand what we are talking about. :D

[Jamastiene]

17. The Wiki page about him mentions that there are numerous

variations on the spelling.