I'm pretty sure I've heard someone in the Kernighan/Ritchie/Thompson camp (i.e guys who actually worked on the C Language) pronounce it like "care" in interviews before, so I'm not sure Stallman's pronunciation is really authoritative here. It really depends on whether you read it as its own word (like to "char" the grilled meat), or whether you read it as the first half of "character".

> official pronunciation

Stallman didn’t design C or invent ‘char’ if that’s what you’re thinking.

> What is also nice about this story, is that it gives an official pronunciation for ‘char’.

One thing I was surprised to learn is that people working with dead languages rely on puns and rhymes in order to figure out how to speak a language. And then it's like solving some rows in a crossword- the more you can figure out, the more it lets you figure out others.

(conch 1 2) -> (1 . 2)

(char (conch 1 2)) -> 1

(chdr (conch 1 2)) -> 2 ;; "chowder"