A Chicago Tribune columnist, Eric Zorn, and I are having an argument about the pronunciation of "Muslim." He criticized Bernie Sanders for pronouncing "Muslim" like "MOOSE-lim." I believe Sanders is correct and that most of Americans pronounce it wrong. We hosted the Princess of Jordan once at our organization, and to prepare we had someone from the State Department teach us about etiquette. She said that Muslim is pronounced "MOOSE-lim." Indeed, she stressed "MOOSE." However, Zorn is right that the dictionary has that as the third pronunciation. And - almost no one (but Bernie Sanders and I!) pronounces it that way in the U.S. Yet, I have heard announcers on the BBC pronounce it my way.

What do you think?

I think it's weird to look to a different language to find out how to pronounce an English word.

The OED has a few pronunciations for the UK and the US, all with /z/. The vowel is either the vowel in "but" or "book".

The "moo" version is my preferred one. The "z" version makes me think of a type of cloth. Soooo, I'm with Bernie.

Me too, Geoff! Eric Zorn, who I think is an excellent columnist, called Bernie out for his pronunciation of Muslim, and I think Eric is wrong. My experience with the State Department representative was personal so I can understand his not believing me. However, Eric cited the dictionaries to me, so I cited them back to him - since they include MOOSE-lim as an acceptable pronunciation, though not the first one.

I agree, goofy, that different languages make it hard to pronounce (or spell) a word in English. I think of the multiple spelling and pronunciation of Hebrew and Yiddish words.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kalleh,

In the late 1700s - early 1800s the term used in the USA was Musselmen. I wonder what the dictionaries of the day gave as the preferred pronunciation.

I suppose the preferred pronunciation is simply what most people say.