Arabic Transliteration - Revision history

Asmith: Asmith moved page Arabic letters and diacritics to Arabic Transliteration: innacurate title

2026-02-20T01:50:34Z

Asmith moved page Arabic letters and diacritics to Arabic Transliteration: innacurate title

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Revision as of 01:50, 20 February 2026

Asmith: /* The Arabic Letters */ cleaning up language

2026-02-20T01:50:04Z

The Arabic Letters: cleaning up language

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:50, 20 February 2026
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	==The Arabic Letters==		==The Arabic Letters==
	The ~~basic~~ 28 letters:		The Arabic alphabet used for Arabic has 28 letters:

	*ا ب ت ث ج ح خ د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ع غ ف ق ك ل م ن ه و ي (with spaces between letters)		*ا ب ت ث ج ح خ د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ع غ ف ق ك ل م ن ه و ي (with spaces between letters)
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	**Arabic letters don't have upper case and lower case forms.		**Arabic letters don't have upper case and lower case forms.

	The Arabic "alphabet~~" is~~ not ~~compatible~~ with the English ~~alphabet~~. There are letters in English, which ~~cannot be transliterated using the~~ Arabic ~~alphabet~~ and vice versa.		The Arabic alphabet does not have a one-to-one correspondence with the Latin alphabet used by English. There are letters in English, which clack direct Arabic equivalents and vice versa.

	The word "alphabet" is derived from the words "'''a'''lpha" and "'''b'''eta", but Arabic doesn't have a letter like "a" (it has a letter "alif", which is however more complicated). Also many Arabic words consist of only consonant letters and the vowels are added by diacritics. So "alphabet" might not be the best way to describe the Arabic letters and abjad is used instead (الأَبْجَدِيَّة العَرَبِيَّة‎‎, ''al-abjadīyah al-ʻarabīyah'', the Arabic abjad).		The word "alphabet" is derived from the words "'''a'''lpha" and "'''b'''eta", but Arabic doesn't have a letter like "a" (it has a letter "alif", which is however more complicated). Also many Arabic words consist of only consonant letters and the vowels are added by diacritics. So "alphabet" might not be the best way to describe the Arabic letters and abjad is used instead (الأَبْجَدِيَّة العَرَبِيَّة‎‎, ''al-abjadīyah al-ʻarabīyah'', the Arabic abjad).

	Although there are letters which represent vowels, they are used only to represent long vowels. The short vowels in words are either indicated by (optional) diacritics, or just not indicated at all and the reader just has to know how to pronounce it. There are two "levels" of diacritics. The first is I‘jām (إِعْجَام), small dots which are considered to be a part of the letter. They were not present in the earliest Qur'anic manuscripts. They are absolutely important as they determine the consonant. For example:		Although there are letters which represent vowels, they are used only to represent long vowels. The short vowels in words are either indicated by (optional) diacritics, or just not indicated at all and the reader just has to know how to pronounce it. There are two "levels" of diacritics. The first is I‘jām (إِعْجَام), small dots which are considered to be a part of the letter. They were not uniformly present in the earliest Qur'anic manuscripts as they are today in modern Arabic typesets. They are absolutely important as they determine the consonant. For example:

	*ب b		*ب b
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	*ث th		*ث th

	Then there is the next "level" of diacritics, the harakat (حَرَكَات), which is optional and often not present in ~~the~~ Arabic ~~text~~. The Arabic word "harakat" حَرَكَات without the harakat, would look like this: حركات. The three little lines above the letter determine the three "a" in h'''a'''r'''a'''k'''a'''t.		Then there is the next "level" of diacritics, the harakat (حَرَكَات), which is optional and often not present in modern standard Arabic texts. The Arabic word "harakat" حَرَكَات without the harakat, would look like this: حركات. The three little lines above the letter determine the three "a" in h'''a'''r'''a'''k'''a'''t.

	===Missing Arabic letters===		===Missing Arabic letters===
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	====G like in '''G'''abriel====		====G like in '''G'''abriel====
	There is no letter g (like in '''g'''arden) in Arabic. So '''G'''abriel is '''J'''ibreel (جبريل).		There is no seperate letter for g (like in '''g'''arden) in Arabic as it is pronounced in most countries today. So '''G'''abriel is '''J'''ibreel (جبريل).

	*The Arabic letter ج (''jim'') is read as "g" in the Egyptian Arabic.		*The Arabic letter ج (''jim'') is read as "g" in the Egyptian Arabic (this was also likely the pronunciation of the letter in Muhammad's day).

	====CH like in '''Ch'''arles====		====CH like in '''Ch'''arles====
	The "ch" letter is also missing in Arabic. But this sound can be emulated using a combination of the letters t (ت) and sh (ش). This sound is also described with two letters in English, but there is still a little difference between "ch" and "tsh", because "ch" really sounds like one letter.		The "ch" letter is also missing in Arabic. But this sound can be emulated using a combination of the letters t (ت) and sh (ش). This sound is also described with two letters in English, but there is still a little difference between "ch" and "tsh", because "ch" really sounds like one letter. Arabic dialects such as Iraqi use a special symbol چ for this sound which is not found in standard Arabic texts.

	===Arabic letters compatible with the English alphabet===		===Arabic letters compatible with the English alphabet===
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	There are Arabic pairs of letters which are pronounced a little differently, but they are transliterated into English as the same letter. For example the words سلام (''salaam'', peace) and صلاة (''salah'', prayer) start on a different kind of "s".		There are Arabic pairs of letters which are pronounced a little differently, but they are transliterated into English as the same letter. For example the words سلام (''salaam'', peace) and صلاة (''salah'', prayer) start on a different kind of "s".

	These letters (t, d, s) have two versions~~. The difference is like "je vais" and "je veux" in French~~. The best way to learn the difference would be to watch some videos on the Arabic alphabet and hear the difference.		These letters (t, d, s) have two versions. The best way to learn the difference would be to watch some videos on the Arabic alphabet and hear the difference.

	*d		*d
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	The calligraphy often shows some common Islamic phrase, so if you know the Islamic Arabic phrases, you can guess what it is just from the first few letters.		The calligraphy often shows some common Islamic phrase, so if you know the Islamic Arabic phrases, you can guess what it is just from the first few letters.

	==~~Conclusions~~==		==High Levels Notes==

	*The Arabic alphabet is not perfect. It cannot express some basic sounds, which can be pronounced. So considering the Arabic language to be the best or universal is not accurate, since it is limited from the beginning by its limited alphabet (abjad).		*The Arabic alphabet is not perfect. It cannot express some basic sounds, which can be pronounced. So considering the Arabic language to be the best or universal is not accurate, since it is limited from the beginning by its limited alphabet (abjad).

Asmith: cleaning up intro

2026-02-20T01:09:47Z

cleaning up intro

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:09, 20 February 2026
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	{{QualityScore\|Lead=2\|Structure=3\|Content=4\|Language=3\|References=1}}		{{QualityScore\|Lead=2\|Structure=3\|Content=4\|Language=3\|References=1}}
	The original Qur'an and many other Islamic sources ~~(some of them not translated yet)~~ are in the Arabic language. ~~Also when~~ discussing Islam in English, ~~there are~~ many Arabic words ~~used~~, like salah, Allah, masjid, ~~Muhammad~~ and others. Many Arabic words cannot be properly transliterated into English, due to the ~~incompatibility~~ of the ~~alphabets~~.		The original Qur'an and many other Islamic sources are written in the Arabic language. When discussing Islam in English, it is normal to use many Arabic words, like salah, Allah, masjid, takbir, and many others. Many Arabic words cannot be properly transliterated into English without extra markings (diacritics) or spelling conventions, due to the lack of certain sounds or distinctions in English and the Latin alphabet.

	A ~~person with~~ knowledge of the ~~alphabet (and~~ diacritics~~) can correctly read the Islamic terms~~ and ~~be less confused about their~~ pronunciation ~~(and also look more professional). This article is intended for people who speak~~ English and ~~have little to no knowledge of Arabic~~.		A knowledge of the diacritics used for Arabic facilitates easy reading and pronunciation of words found in English and other Western languages when discussing Islam.

	==The Arabic Letters==		==The Arabic Letters==

IbnPinker at 00:38, 8 March 2021

2021-03-08T00:38:39Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:38, 8 March 2021
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	*[[Arabic]]		*[[Arabic]]
	*[[Arabic Terms]]
	*[[Glossary of Islamic Terms]]		*[[Glossary of Islamic Terms]]
	*[[Diacritical Marks of the Qur'an]]		*[[Diacritical Marks of the Qur'an]]

Asmith: /* References */

2021-02-26T00:17:42Z

References

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:17, 26 February 2021
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	[[Category:Arabic]]		[[Category:Arabic]]
	[[Category:Qur'an]]		[[Category:Qur'an]]
	[[Category:Qur'anic ~~Textual History~~]]		[[Category:Qur'anic textual history]]

Asmith at 00:17, 26 February 2021

2021-02-26T00:17:30Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:17, 26 February 2021
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	==References==		==References==
	<references />		<references />

			[[Category:Arabic]]
			[[Category:Qur'an]]
			[[Category:Qur'anic Textual History]]

IbnPinker at 01:45, 11 August 2020

2020-08-11T01:45:00Z

Show changes

IbnPinker at 23:03, 30 July 2020

2020-07-30T23:03:49Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:03, 30 July 2020
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			{{QualityScore\|Lead=2\|Structure=3\|Content=4\|Language=3\|References=1}}
	The original Qur'an and many other Islamic sources (some of them not translated yet) are in the Arabic language. Also when discussing Islam in English, there are many Arabic words used, like salah, Allah, masjid, Muhammad and others. Many Arabic words cannot be properly transliterated into English, due to the incompatibility of the alphabets.		The original Qur'an and many other Islamic sources (some of them not translated yet) are in the Arabic language. Also when discussing Islam in English, there are many Arabic words used, like salah, Allah, masjid, Muhammad and others. Many Arabic words cannot be properly transliterated into English, due to the incompatibility of the alphabets.

Prekladator: /* See also */

2017-03-26T19:59:19Z

Prekladator: /* See also */

2016-12-05T15:19:21Z

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	* [[Glossary of Islamic Terms]]		* [[Glossary of Islamic Terms]]
	* [[Diacritical Marks of the Qur'an]]		* [[Diacritical Marks of the Qur'an]]
			* [[Arabic pronouns and the Quran\|Arabic pronouns and the Qur'an]]

	==References==		==References==

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:19, 5 December 2016
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	* [[Arabic Terms]]		* [[Arabic Terms]]
	* [[Glossary of Islamic Terms]]		* [[Glossary of Islamic Terms]]
			* [[Diacritical Marks of the Qur'an]]

	==References==		==References==