Some of these characters are required for correct writing, while others are optional in most texts and seldom written.Īrabic writing is highly phonemic, i.e. These include variant spellings, short vowel markers, various other markers of pronunciation and grammar, and a peculiar shape-shifting consonant called hamzaŧ. The Arabic language is written not only with the letters of the alphabet, but also with a number of characters which are not considered part of the alphabet. Most of the letters are arranged in groups of two or three with similar shapes, and are distinguished only by the presence and placement of small dots above or below the basic structure of the letter. Short vowels are not part of the alphabet. Three letters can also represent long vowels in certain contexts, namely Āalif ( ا), wāw ( و), and yāĀ ( ي). There are 28 letters in the Arabic alphabet, all of which represent consonants. For example, a connector will take an initial shape in word-medial position if it follows a non-connector, and a non-connector will take an independent shape in word-final position if it follows another non-connector. It is important to distinguish between the shape a letter takes (independent, initial, medial, final) and the position of that letter in a word (word-initial, word-medial, word-final), as the two will not necessarily coincide. Shown below are the two shapes of the Arabic letter Āalif, which is one of the six non-connectors. Shown below, as an example, are the four shapes of the Arabic letter bāĀ.

Final: connected to the preceding letter only.

Medial: connected to the preceding and subsequent letters.

Initial: connected to the subsequent letter only.

Independent: not connected to any other letter.

Most letters are connectors there are only six non-connectors. a letter that does not connect to the subsequent letter.

a letter that connects from both sides, or as a non-connector, i.e. Therefore, every letter may be classified either as a connector, i.e. to the preceding letter), but some do not connect from the left side (i.e. All letters can connect from the right side (i.e. In Arabic script, letters take different shapes depending upon their position in the word and whether they are connected to a preceding letter.

An Arabic edition of One Thousand and One Nights, showing the beginning of the story “The Fisherman and the Jinni” there is no distinction between upper-case and lower-case letters. This script is written from right to left in a cursive style, in print as well as in handwriting. Farsi, Pashto, Sorani, Urdu), is written with the Arabic script. The Arabic language, along with a number of other languages (e.g. 5.5 Variant Spellings of Āalif in Arabic Script.5.4.4 The Pronunciation and Transcription of ي in Lebanese Arabic.5.4.3 The Pronunciation and Transcription of و in Lebanese Arabic.5.4.2 The Pronunciation and Transcription of ا in Lebanese Arabic.5.4.1 The Pronunciation and Transcription of word-final kasraŧ in Lebanese Arabic.4.4.6 Silent Consonants in Lebanese Arabic.4.4.5 Additional Consonant Sounds in Lebanese Arabic.4.4.4 The Pronunciation and Spelling of ق in Lebanese Arabic.4.4.3 The Pronunciation and Spelling of ظ in Lebanese Arabic.4.4.2 The Pronunciation and Spelling of ذ in Lebanese Arabic.4.4.1 The Pronunciation and Spelling of ث in Lebanese Arabic.

4.4 Lebanese Arabic Consonant Variations.

Word spelling alphabet