THE ALPHABET:
The Vowels:
Arabic has only 3 short vowels (pronounced /a/ as in 'cat', /i/ as in 'piece', and /u/
(oo) as in 'zoo'): [
-
-
]; they are called Fatha /a/ [
], kasra /i/ [
], and Dhamma /u/ [
].
(For explanation purposes, a horizontal line was drawn in the center of the line, replacing
any consonant. Of course, this horizontal line never appears in written Arabic; instead, a
letter of the Arabic alphabet replaces it.)
Here is an example:
How do these diacritics sound?
1) The Arabic Fatha, /a/:
The Arabic Fatha, /a/ marked [
] sounds like the /a/ as in English [father, map, cap] or
the Spanish /a/ as in [casa, Maria] or the French /a/ as in [cartable, cahier].
Example:
= /wa-almursalaati/
2) The Arabic Kasra, /i/ marked [
], sounds like the English /i, e, ea/ as in [sin,
scene, clean], the Spanish /i/ as in [Mexico, pisa] and the French /i/ as in [lire, écrire]
Example:
= /wa-almursalaati/
3) The Arabic Dhamma ,/u/ marked [
], sounds like the /oo/ in English (but
shortened) [boom, groom] , or the French /ou/ in [joujou, clou] and the Spanish /u/ as in
[musica, mujer]
Example:
= /wa-almursalaati/
More vowels are produced by doubling or lengthening the sound or the initial
three short vowels, so they become long vowels as in English /get/ (short vowel) as
opposed to the sound /gate/ (long vowel). Long vowels do not exist in French or
Spanish, at least not officially even if there are some dialects where they are in use.
These long Arabic vowels are written inside the word so that the beginner learners may
mistake them for consonants. Long vowels appear below in pale grey [
,
,
,
(short
/a/),
,
(long /a/)-
(short /i/),
(long /i/)-
(short /u/),
,
(long /u/)]
1) The long /ee/ as in English [seen, scream] is rendered differently whether it
appears at the beginning of a word [
], at the center of a word [
], or the end of a word
[
], but it does not lose its two dots under the long vowel that characterizes it.
2) The long vowel /a/, written [aa] or [â] as in English [grasp, badge] is rendered
by the Arabic letter called ALIF [
] or by a ending form of the letter [
]. At the end of a
word, the letter alif, [
] can look like this [
]. Here is an example in red color:
= /wajiaa'/. Sometimes the letter alif, [
] is just a small vertical line between two
consonants and placed like a diacritic; it is called the ‘dagger alef’. See example in pink:
= /wa-almursalaati/.
With the consonant ‘L’ rendered by [
] in Arabic, [
] (alif) + [
] (the letter lam)
put together look like that: [
]. It is very often used in Arabic because it is an article; it
means 'the'.
NB: It is important not be confuse the Arabic words /la/: [
] and /al/: [
], which look a
little alike but mean different things. /La/ is rendered by [
] or [
] or the combination of
[
] + [
]; it means ‘the’.
Examples:
‘Al’, meaning ‘the’ in the word “Al Qur’an Al Kariim” meaning literally ‘The
Noble [the] Qur’an’: [
].
[
] is pronounced: /laa/ = /lâ/, or /laan/ because of the double stroke /a/ on top of
it:
=/rusulaân/.
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