A much-circulated 2009 ABCNews.com story found 112 different ways to render the Libyan leader’s last name in the Latin alphabet, used in English and most other Western European languages. In fact, no matter what new site you go to, you’re pretty much guaranteed to read a different spelling of “Gadhafi” — which is how we spell it here at HyperVocal.
The Los Angeles Times calls him “Kadafi,” the Washington Post “Gaddafi,” and the U.S. State Department “Qadhafi.” In March, a Denver-based blog caught the Denver Post using three different spellings in as many weeks. TheAtlantic.com International Channel uses “Qaddafi,” as does the New York Times, because, as they reason, “the letter Q is typically used to render the glottal stop that is so common in Arabic and that begins Qaddafi’s name.”
As it turns out, one of the best things about the oppositional forces storming into Tripoli and Gadhafi’s compound is the discovery of the diplomatic passport of eldest son Mohammed Gadhafi. Video of someone leafing through the passport reveals an interesting discovery: his honest to god preferred spelling of the family name.
According to this passport, and presumably the ousted dictator himself, the accurate Latinized spelling is one of the least commonly used combinations seen above. Yes, the actual way to spell Gadhafi should in fact be: “Gathafi.” With a T.
So, we were close. Very close. A lot closer than some of the other publications out there. The larger issue here is do you switch it up for accuracy going forward or do you just stick to your guns for consistency? Tough call. If Gadhafi/Gathafi wants to drop us an email with his stated preference we’d be happy to oblige him.