Sharjah is the
UAE natives pronounciation of Sharqah. Arabs have a variety of
accents based on region. Some
Arabic words containing Qaf are often pronounced as Jeem by Arab natives of the UAE. In addition, Jeem is pronounced as Ya, so you might hear some one saying yadeed (new) instead of jadeed, or yaddi (grand father) instead of jaddi. The majority of Arabs from
Moroco to the oil rich gulf pronounce a Qaf as a Qaf except for natives of the UAE.
In Arabic, the city is written with a Qaf, as can be seen in news papers and street signs, but the locals pronounce it with a Jeem, and it some how made its way into English, a more correct English writing of the city should be Sharqah.
The word Sharqah is taken from the 3 letter root word Sheen Ra Qaf, shrq, meaning east. It also means sun rise, depending on the context of the sentence.