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ArchivesRe: Pronunciation of Farah
in reply to a message by Arwen Troi
It actually looks like FARR-AH to me, with the guttural R like Mar said (it's like a double R that's barely rolled) and a harsher h sound at the end.
I haven't heard the name used on any Arab women that I have encountered, but the way it's spelled makes me think it's slightly more harsh in sound. I capitalized both syllables because if it is a guttural h at the end (the hah is used, instead of the heh; in Arabic the hah is a heavy, grating breath at the back of the throat, and the heh is comparable to the h in heavy) then the syllables will almost be even in emphasis.
I guess you could say it rhymes with Sarah if you pronounce it correctly, which is Suh-ruh.
I haven't heard the name used on any Arab women that I have encountered, but the way it's spelled makes me think it's slightly more harsh in sound. I capitalized both syllables because if it is a guttural h at the end (the hah is used, instead of the heh; in Arabic the hah is a heavy, grating breath at the back of the throat, and the heh is comparable to the h in heavy) then the syllables will almost be even in emphasis.
I guess you could say it rhymes with Sarah if you pronounce it correctly, which is Suh-ruh.
This message was edited 5/26/2008, 4:14 AM
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Replies
Farrah is Arabic and it means ‘happiness’. The proper Arabic pronunciation of it is /fæ’ræhh/ with the h at the end being stressed. Iran’s queen before the revolution in 1979 was named Farah Pahlavi. Two English pronunciations have been proposed: /‘fɑːrə/ and less frequently/‘ferə/ with no pronunciation of h at the end as h is not normally articulated after vowels in English.
Other Arabic words which are in the same family as farah are as follows:
ta’freeh = having a good time
mufa’rrah = causing happiness.
Other Arabic words which are in the same family as farah are as follows:
ta’freeh = having a good time
mufa’rrah = causing happiness.
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