The Arabic Alphabet

By Bryce Casper

There are 28 letters in the Arabic Alphabet. There are no capitol or small letters.

Arabic Alphabet And Writing System

• Based on a consonantal Root System

• Represented by a general/neutral concept

• No capitol or lowercase letters

• Consists of purely of consonants and has a base of patterns .

• Looks like a type of speed writing

• Problem for people trying to learn the language

Arabic Alphabet And Writing System (cont.)

• 4 major characteristics to this language

1. Letters are connected

2. Letters have different shapes

3. Script consists of 2 separate layers of script

4. Made of consonants and long vowels• Second layer of script is called vocalization• Vowel markings are used to introduce new

Vocabulary.

Arabic Alphabet and Writing System (cont.)

• Arabic writing system is regularly phonetic

• Words generally written as pronounced

• Arabic sounds use a wider range of mouth and throat positions than English.

The first letter of the Arabic Alphabet is Alif. It sounds closer to

father in the Gulf Region and closer to bad in the Mediterranean.

The second letter is baa. It is pronounced like the English b.

The third letter is taa. Its pronounced like an English t and it is a frontal letter.

The fourth letter is thaa. Its pronounced like the first sound in three and represents the sound in three.

The Fifth letter is jiim. The transliteration for it is j. You pronounce it like the sound in measure.

The sixth letter in the Arabic Alphabet is Haa’. It’s pronounced like the English H.

Conclusion

• The Arabic Alphabet has had a long and rich history

• It is greatly intertwined with Islam

• It was used to write the Qur’an

• Some of the greatest scholars wrote some of the greatest books in Arabic

• It is widespread across the world

• It is spoken by millions