Lesson 3

Arabic Letter Connections

The characteristic feature of Arabic script, both in manuscript and printed form, is the cohesive lettering within a word. As a consequence, the graphic form of each letter changes depending on its position in the word. There can be four such forms:

1. Isolated (not connected).
2. Initial (connected only on the left side).
3. Medial (connected on both sides).
4. Final (connected only on the right side).

The six letters learnt (ادذرزو) form an exception to this rule. They are not connected on the left side, and therefore each of them has not four, but two graphic forms (unconnected and connected on the right side).

The letter ب and the sound /b/

The letter ب (bā) is pronounced identically to the English sound /b/. It is connected on both sides and has four graphic forms (see from right to left):

The size of this letter and its position on the line are clear from a comparison with alif:

ا ب بـ ـبـ ـب

The main part of the letter bā is its initial stroke combined with the distinguishing dot (i.e. its initial form). In the medial form, this stroke, combined with the line of connection from the preceding letter, forms a kind of a denticle; in the isolated and final forms, an ornamental ‘tail’ in the form of a flat arc is added, and the distinguishing dot is brought down to about the centre of this ‘tail’. This is how several letters bā written in a row look like:

ببببب

Note that Arabic text may look slightly different on different devices or learning materials. Ideally you shouldn’t be bothered by the difference, but for beginners it can cause a problem. The site uses a set of fonts taken from wikipedia tutorial pages. These pages are very complex and are probably checked/created by the Arabs themselves. Therefore, if they decided to keep this set of fonts, then these are the fonts that must be used. No complaints will be accepted. First in the font set is a font called ‘Scheherazade’. Install it on your computer by downloading it from this link (you need to unpack the archive into the folder with fonts), restart your browser.

Exercise 1. Read from right to left. Write it down 5 times.

بَ بُ بِ بَبْ بُبْ بِبْ بَبِبُ بِبَبُ بُبَبِ

The audio for بَ بُ بِ:

Note. If there are several ‘teeth’ in a row, their height and the distance between them can be varied slightly for readability. The letter bā connects to the left side with all other letters, including the six letters learnt. Alif after bā is written from bottom to top (با), dal and thaal slightly straighten the ‘back’ (بذ بد), with the connecting arc touching the line of the string; before rā and zajn the connecting arc lies slightly above the line (ببز ببر بز بر); when linking to waw the connecting line coming from bā goes directly into the waw loop (بو).

Exercise 2. Read by pronouncing the consonant and vowel sounds correctly and paying attention to long vowels (the main stress is on the first syllable and, if it’s long, on the long syllable). Write down in columns and give the transcription.

The letter ت and the sound /t/

The letter ت (tā) is pronounced similar to the English /t/. It is written the same way as bā, but with two dots instead of one. These dots are placed side by side horizontally; in cursive writing they are often ‘merged’ and replaced by a short horizontal stroke. These are the graphic forms of the letter tā (see from right to left):

Exercise 3. Read from right to left. Write it down 5 times.

تَ تِ تُ تِتْ تَتْ تُتْ تَتُتِ تِتُتَ تُتَتِ

The audio for تَ تُ تِ:

The letter ث and the sound /θ/

Буква ث (thā, also: ṯā) is pronounced similar to the English ‘th’ /θ/ in words like ‘tooth’ /tu:θ/ or ‘three’ /θri:/. It is written the same way as bā and tā, but with three dots above.

The dots are pyramidal, but in cursive writing they are sometimes replaced by a small ‘angle’ with the top upwards. These are the graphic forms of the letter thā (see from right to left):

Exercise 4. Read from right to left. Write it down 5 times.

ثَ ثُ ثِ ثَثْ ثُثْ ثِثْ ثَثِثُ ثِثُثَ ثُثَثِ

The audio for ثَ ثُ ثِ:

Exercise 5. Read comparing voiceless and voiced consonant sounds.

Exercise 6. Read by pronouncing the consonant and vowel sounds (long and short) correctly. The main stress is on the first syllable and, if it’s long, then it’s on the long syllable. Write down in columns and give the transcription.

Exercise 7. Write down the following transcribed words in Arabic letters. Read them, paying attention to the pronunciation of the /-un/ vowel.

/bardun, darbun, tabruzu, tariθu, bābun, widādun, ðātun, bārizun, тадбуру, dārun, ðubābun, zādun, θabātun, θābitun, bāridun, wariθat, rātibun, rawātibu, wāridun, θāra, zārat, zurtu, rutabun, tudābiru, wāriθun/

Numerals

The Arabs use numerals different from our so-called ‘Arabic’ numerals, although both are of common (Indian) origin. Here are the numerals:

In multi-digit numbers, Arabic numerals are arranged in the same way as English numerals, i.e. from left to right, e.g.:

Exercise 8. Transcribe and memorise the following words, write them down.

The audio for words 1, 3, 5-7 without the ending -un (In modern spoken language it is omitted):