Learn How to Pronounce Mahmoud Ahmadinejad | YouPronounce.it
How to Pronounce Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
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Meaning and Context
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, born in 1956 in Garmsar, Iran, served as the sixth President of the Islamic Republic of Iran from 2005 to 2013, following his election as mayor of Tehran. His presidency is defined by an ultra-conservative and populist political platform that dramatically shaped Iran's domestic and international trajectory. Domestically, his administration was marked by a crackdown on civil liberties, the suppression of reformist movements, and populist economic policies that initially bolstered his support among Iran's rural and urban poor, though they later contributed to severe inflation. On the global stage, Ahmadinejad's tenure was characterized by intense confrontation, most notably through his defiant stance on Iran's nuclear program, which led to escalating international sanctions and isolation. His inflammatory rhetoric, including public statements questioning the historical reality of the Holocaust, further strained relations with Western powers and defined an era of heightened geopolitical tension centered on Iran's nuclear ambitions and regional influence.
Common Mistakes and Alternative Spellings
The standard English transliteration of the name is "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad." Common variations and frequent errors arise from the translation of Persian script (محمود احمدینژاد) into the Latin alphabet. Alternative spellings include "Mahmoud Ahmadinezhad," which attempts to more closely represent the Persian "ž" sound, and "Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nezhad." A frequent typo or misspelling is "Ahmadinejad" (omitting the 'd' in Mahmoud) or "Ahmadenijad." The name is also sometimes incorrectly hyphenated as "Ahmadine-jad" or written as one word, "MahmoudAhmadinejad." In Persian, the correct pronunciation stresses the last syllable, "neh-ZHAD," which is often anglicized to "neh-ZHOD" or mispronounced with a 'j' sound as in "jam."
Example Sentences
During his presidency, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's fiery speeches at the United Nations General Assembly often drew condemnation from Western diplomats.
Historians frequently cite Ahmadinejad's 2005 election as a pivotal moment that halted Iran's brief period of domestic reform and détente.
The controversial legacy of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad includes both his administration's investment in rural infrastructure and its brutal suppression of the 2009 Green Movement protests.
Analysts argue that the international sanctions regime that tightened during Ahmadinejad's tenure over Iran's nuclear program crippled the nation's economy.
Despite leaving office in 2013, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad remains a polarizing figure in Iranian politics, occasionally attempting to re-enter the political fray but being blocked by the country's conservative establishment.
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