Lesson 14

The letter ح and the sound /ḥ/

The letter /ḥа̄’un/ indicates a voiceless pharyngeal fricative, a deep throat sound /ḥ/, which has no direct equivalent in English.

The consonant /ḥ/ is a moon consonant.

This sound is produced deep in the oral cavity (in the pharynx) without the direct involvement of the tongue. The epiglottis plays the main role in its pronunciation, which comes close to the back of the pharynx, forming a gap.

The pattern of the organs of speech necessary for the sound /ḥ/ can be obtained by pronouncing the long /a/ in a very loud whisper. By increasing the volume of the whisper, it is possible to produce a noisy ‘squeezed’ consonant sound similar to the Arabic /ḥ/. It is necessary to make sure that the mouth is wide open and the tongue is completely relaxed and not involved in the pronunciation of the sound. To ensure this, the tongue may even be put out of the mouth during the initial attempts, keeping it in a relaxed, flat position.

After the above pattern of the organs of speech has been realised and tested, it is necessary to refine the formation of the sound /ḥ/ by pronouncing /a/ in a very loud whisper, but without a ‘hard attack’. To do this, one should begin the pronunciation with a simple exhalation, gradually passing into a loud whisper.

A further refinement of the /ḥ/ sound is to pronounce it with a smaller opening of the mouth, again with a relaxed, passive tongue position.

The sound /ḥ/ is completely different from both English and Arabic /h/ sound.

In order to pronounce the consonant /ḥ/ followed by a vowel, it is necessary, before beginning to pronounce /ḥ/, to place the organs of speech in the position required for the following vowel. Keeping this position, one should start pronouncing /ḥ/ without voice, and then smoothly engage the voice, at the same time easing the tension in the pharynx. In doing so, one should endeavour to eliminate the ‘jolt’ of breathing that one gets at first at the moment of loosening the tension in the pharynx.

The vowel /a/ after /ḥ/ is pronounced normally, having the traces of /e/ sound.

Exercise 1. Correctly pronounce /ḥ/ followed by a vowel:

[ḥḥḥ-a, ḥḥ-aa, ḥ-aaa, ḥa]
[ḥḥḥ-i, ḥḥ-ii, ḥ-iii, ḥi]
[ḥḥḥ-u, ḥḥ-uu, ḥ-uuu, ḥu]

ح ح ح حَ حَ حَ حَ حُ حُ حِ حْ حْ حَ حُ حِ حْ حَ حُ حِ حْ

When pronouncing /ḥ/ after a vowel, it is necessary to observe the smoothness of the transition from the vowel to the ‘squeezed’ pharyngeal articulation. In the case of the preceding vowel /a/, the position of the tongue does not change; in the case of the preceding /i/ or /u/, the tongue is slightly lowered.

Exercise 2. Correctly pronounce /ḥ/ after a vowel.

[aḥḥḥ, aḥḥ, aḥ]
[iḥḥḥ, iḥḥ, iḥ]
[uḥḥḥ, uḥḥ, uḥ]

The audio for وَبَحْ (non-existent word):

The letter ح differs from the letter ج only by the lack of the distinguishing dot. It connects both ways and has four graphic shapes (see from right to left):

The letters ح and ج form ‘stepped’ ligatures with each other.

Exercise 3. Read and write it down 5 times with the transcription.

حَ حُ حِ حَحْ حُحْ حِحْ حِحُحَ حُحَحِ حَحِحُ

The audio for بْحِبْ (I like - 4 times, then - I like Arabic):

Exercise 4. Read and write it down with the transcription. Mark the main stress.

Exercise 5. Compare the pronunciation of ح and ه in the following syllables and words (words do not need to be memorised).

Exercise 6. Write down the transcribed words in Arabic letters.

/ḥа̄rrun, ḥaqīratun, ḥusajnun, naḥnu, ḥadīqatun, fallа̄ḥatun, ḥarа̄ratun, ḥamīrun, luḥūmun, malīḥun, ḥarbun, ’aḥzа̄bun, ’ittiḥа̄dun, ’alwа̄ḥun, biḥа̄run, ḥuʤʤatun, ḥuʤaʤun/

A predicate expressed by a noun with a preposition or an adverb

Nouns with prepositions, as well as adverbs هنا and هناك can act as a nominative predicate in a nominative sentence. At that, there can be two most typical cases:

1) When a sentence tells the location of a particular object, e.g.:

In this case, the subject is placed before the predicate and is expressed by a noun in the definite state.

2) When a sentence reports the presence of an object in a particular place, e.g.:

In this case, the subject is placed after the predicate and is expressed by a noun in the indefinite state.

First type sentences answer the question: ‘where (is) this and that’, and second type sentences answer the question: ‘what (is) there’. Also note that the first example is better translated this way: There is a new book in the library, where ‘there’ does not exist in the original sentence. There can be a little deviations from the original structure and the translation, so pay attention.

The corresponding question words in Arabic are أَيْنَ — where and مَاذَا — what, for example:

Interrogative sentences beginning with the interrogative words ماذا، اين etc., do not need the interrogative particle هل and are usually pronounced with a falling intonation. However, a rising intonation is also possible, especially if the speaker wants to make a semantic (emphatic) emphasis at the end of the sentence.

In sentences reporting the presence of objects, the verb corresponding to the English ‘exist’ can be used, all possible translations: there is/are, have, be, exist. This verb has two forms in Arabic:

The verb (توجد) يوجد, like the Arabic verbal predicate in general, is usually placed at the beginning of a narrative sentence, and in an interrogative sentence it gives way first only to the interrogative word or interrogative particle, for example:

Madda

Madda (or maddah, in Arabic مَدَّةٌ) is a spelling mark (ـٓ) that is written above alif when that alif is a base for hamza followed by a long vowel /ā/. Thus, alif with madda denotes the combination of hamza with the following long /ā/. The hamza itself is not written in this case, and the vowel mark /a/ is not used.

Madda is applied to avoid writing two alifs one after another, which is considered unacceptable, e.g.:

آنٌ /’а̄nun/ time — instead of the unacceptable أَانٌ
أَلْآنَ /’al-’а̄na/ now — instead of the unacceptable أَلْأَانَ
مِرْآةٌ /mir’а̄tun/ mirror — instead of the unacceptable مِرْأَاةٌ

The words for the text of lesson 14

Notes

1. There is the connecting hamza in the word إِتِّحَادٌ. Therefore, when the article is attached to it, the vowel mark of the letter lа̄m in the article changes from sukoon to /i/, and the word with the article is pronounced /’alittiḥа̄du/.
2. The name الاتِّحاد الروسيّ — the Russian Federation is always with the article, like in English.
   Additional note for the English speakers: Originally it is an old Russian course, so you need to respect that. This word, for example, could have been changed to the USA, but one small word requires a lot of changes, and it is hard to do especially with this right-to-left writing. The technical part of these texts is complicated.
3. The word حديقة garden is a synonym of the word بستان. However, بستان is not used in the meaning park.
4. The name السودان — Sudan is always with the article, unlike in English.
5. The word حليب milk is a synonym of the word لبن (The latter is used in Syria and Iraq to mean sour milk, curdled milk).
6. The adjectives كثير and قليل can be substantivised, i.e. fulfil the role of nouns. In this case they denote a great number and a small number, respectively.

English phrases like many (few) something or somebody can be translated into Arabic in two ways:

In the second way, the noun standing after the preposition من must be in the plural and in the definite state. من here means not ‘from’, but ‘of’. If, however, the noun is an uncountable object, it is used in the singular, e.g.: كثير من الماء — much/a lot of water; قليل من الحليب — a little milk (some milk).

Exercise 7. Make at least 10 sentences using the words given above.

Text of Lesson 14

In the 4th sentence مُتَواضِعٌ modest instead of حَقِيرٌ and the phrase عِنْدَهُ he has instead of يُوجَدُ لَهُ, which will be spoken of in the next lesson, as we have not learnt the letters ضع yet.
In the 5th sentence ساخِنةٌ is pronounced instead of حَارَّةٌ which also means hot.

١) الاتحاد الروسي بلد كبير. يوجد فى روسيا كثير من المدن الكبيرة. توجد الآن فى المدن الروسية بيوت جديدة. فى هذه البيوت شقق حسنة.
٢) اين انتم؟ نحن فى مدينة كبيرة. فى هذه المدينة كثير من البيوت الجديدة. هل البيوت القديمة كثيرة فى هذه المدينة؟ لا، البيوت القديمة فى هذه المدينة الآن قليلة.
٣) هل يوجد فى هذه المدينة مسرح؟ اجل، يوجد فى المدينة مسرح كبير. هذا المسرح قرب المدرسة. توجد امام المسرح حديقة حسنة. فى الحديقة كثير من النباتات الجميلة. توجد فى الحديقة الآن ورود كثيرة.
٤) من اين هذا الرجل؟ هذا الرجل من السودان. هو فلاح سودانى. هل له بيت جديد وحسن؟ لا، ليس له بيت جديد. له بيت قديم وحقير. هل له بقرة؟ لا، ليس له بقرة. يوجد له حمار. اين هذا الحمار؟ هذا الحمار فى الحقل قرب القرية. هل الحرارة فى السودان الآن شديدة؟ اجل، الحرارة فى السودان شديدة.
٥) ماذا فى هذا الفنجان؟ فى هذا الفنجان قهوة حارّة. واين يوجد حليب بارد؟ يوجد حليب بارد فى ذلك الكوب. وهل يوجد فى الشربة لحم؟ اجل، يوجد هناك كثير من اللحم. واين الملح؟ الملح فى المملحة.
٦) اين اللوح؟ اللوح هناك. هل توجد هناك ممسحة؟ اجل، توجد هناك ممسحة. وماذا فى هذه المحبرة الجميلة؟ فى هذه المحبرة قليل من الحبر. هل هذا الحبر جيد؟ لا، هذا الحبر قديم. توجد الآن لنا أقلام جديدة.

Exercise 8. Read the text, translate it, write it down with the vowel marks, and give a transcription of passage 4.

Exercise 9. Translate from English into Arabic.

1) Is the Russian Federation a big country? Yes, Russia is a big country. There are many big cities in this country. Now there are new good houses in the cities. There are good apartments in these houses. We have a new house.
2) Where are you? We are in a big library. Are there many books in this library? Yes, there are many good books in this library now. There are many new magazines.
3) What is in front of this theatre? In front of the theatre is a field and a park. In the park there are now many beautiful roses. Near the theatre is a new school.
4) Is this woman a teacher? No, she is a farmer. Is she a Russian farmer? No, she is a Sudanese farmer. Where is she now? She is now in the field near the village. Is there much water in this field? No, there is little water.
5) Is this milk cold? No, it is hot. Is there sugar in the milk? Yes, there is a little sugar. And is there a lot of sugar in coffee? Yes, there is a lot of sugar in coffee. And where is the salt? It is in the salt cellar.