There's some discussion of this exact topic on Language Log here: http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=2989 http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=2989 Fr

There's some discussion of this exact topic on Language Log here: http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=2989 http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=2989 From the post and the comments I found the following two links interesting: http://www.economist.com/blogs/johnson/2011/02/libya http://www.economist.com/blogs/johnson/2011/02/libya http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/513/how-are-you-supposed-to-spell-muammar-gaddafi-khadafy-qadhafi http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/513/how-are-you-sup...