[Aaron Poochigian]

How do you pronounce "Kuala Lumpur"?

I have mostly heard: ku-AL-a lum-PUR (on the news).

Does that sound right?

[Ann Drysdale]

On British (UK) news, it's more of double trochee - KWA-la LOOM-pa, almost running together as a four-syllable word.

Here, though, it's been around a long time and may be taken for granted - so many Asian place names are now being stressed differently in deference to their local pronunciations - Bombay to Mumbai and Calcutta to Kolkata, for example.

And I am old enough to remember when Malaysia was only Malaya...

[John Isbell]

I had a schoolfriend who grew up there, who pronounced it ku-a'-la lum'-pur. So, the first syllable of Lumpur, but three for Kua'la.

[Aaron Poochigian]

Ah, so I feared. Thank you both.

LUMpah (like Oompah Lumpah) in the UK

LUMpur in the US.

I will need a different rhyme-word.

[John Isbell]

There are lots of -purs in India: Jaipur, Jamalpur. I just found a bunch googling India -pur.

Cheers,
John