It’s a known fact – Americans, for the most part, pronounce Pakistan – PACKistan. As much as I have tried to alter this pronunciation, one American at a time, (following a summer internship in college, for instance, most of Senator Harkin’s office had succumbed to my ‘Pahkistani’ wiles), I often question the source of such semantics. If we pronounce America, Amrika, and they pronounce Pakistan, Packistan, then is it a case of “you say tomato, I say tomahto?”
Much of my pondering came to head yesterday when I saw an amusing clip on CNN’s Situation Room, entitled, “Pronouncing Pakistan.” The news agency explored the different pronunciations of our country by U.S. presidential candidates, Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama. Much like the photo posted above, McCain says Paackistan (note the long ‘A’ sound emanating from his facial expression), while Sen. Obama, labeled by his critics as a “multi-culti fruitcake,” uses the more ‘ah’ sound, when pronouncing the word. Click here to see the clip.
Cute! I converted a bunch of people to the “correct” pronunciation during and post college as well! 🙂
The pronunciation is such a problem that sometimes i have to say it incorrectly for them to understand their error, and then correct them. Same thing with Afghanistan, all I get are blank expressions when i say it correctly.
The best:
Someone: Where are you from?
Me: Pakistan.
(silence)
Someone: Ohh, Boston?!
Seriously, that has happened several times to me.
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It’s the same thing with Iran…. I feel your pain
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This white football jock friend of mine in college would pronounce it “Paaakkkeeeestan”. After a while, I told him to shut it and go back to pronouncing it the way every other American did.
He started calling it “FudgePak-istan” after that. Go figure.
@ So what, USA has plenty of pendoos too !!!
LONG LIVE PAKISTAN
While PACKistan may be incorrect, POCKistan is not the way the natives pronounce it either. The natives I’ve met almost all pronounce it PECKistan.