Ahmaja...huh?
On this downtime here I’d like to offer a tip on how to pronounce the last name of the newly elected leader of Iran. Think on it—five freakin’ syllables!
Since I don’t want to sound ridiculous when I’m discussing any middle east matters I try to get at least a few of the names right.
Therefore, I picture something(s) that will have me pronounce a name correctly and therefore make me look smarter than I am within my social circle.
So, I take my man, Ahmadinejad—yeah--no Smith or Jones here.
What seems to be working for me is “I’m-a-dinner-jar.” My Brooklyn background has me pronouncing “I’m” as “Ahm”—a glorious fit! And, as most of you know, Brooklynites don’t pronounce end-of-word “r’s”. So, “dinna” rolls glibly off my tongue. The “jar” thing is easy. All I gotta do is replace the “r” with a “d.” Easy to recall, even at my age.
I live in fear, however, that a country like Sri Lanka may some day become embroiled in some matters that would attract frequent world-media coverage. I’m just not ready for Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa to come up in conversation. Alas, I’d miss a lot of cocktail parties.
Perhaps I should consider myself lucky that there was not much press coverage for Sri Lanka in the mid-nineties when its illustrious leader was Dingiri Banda Wijetunge.
All things considered, you must admit that George Bush does have some redeeming qualities.
Since I don’t want to sound ridiculous when I’m discussing any middle east matters I try to get at least a few of the names right.
Therefore, I picture something(s) that will have me pronounce a name correctly and therefore make me look smarter than I am within my social circle.
So, I take my man, Ahmadinejad—yeah--no Smith or Jones here.
What seems to be working for me is “I’m-a-dinner-jar.” My Brooklyn background has me pronouncing “I’m” as “Ahm”—a glorious fit! And, as most of you know, Brooklynites don’t pronounce end-of-word “r’s”. So, “dinna” rolls glibly off my tongue. The “jar” thing is easy. All I gotta do is replace the “r” with a “d.” Easy to recall, even at my age.
I live in fear, however, that a country like Sri Lanka may some day become embroiled in some matters that would attract frequent world-media coverage. I’m just not ready for Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa to come up in conversation. Alas, I’d miss a lot of cocktail parties.
Perhaps I should consider myself lucky that there was not much press coverage for Sri Lanka in the mid-nineties when its illustrious leader was Dingiri Banda Wijetunge.
All things considered, you must admit that George Bush does have some redeeming qualities.
posted by rich at 4:15 AM
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