Arabic diacritics

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Template:Short description Template:Cleanup MOS

File:Elements of Arabic script improved.png
Early written Arabic used only rasm (in black). Later, ʾiʿǧām (in red) were added so that letters such as ṣād (Script error: No such module "Lang".) and ḍād (Script error: No such module "Lang".) could be distinguished. Ḥarakāt (in blue)—which is used in the Qurʾān but not in most written Arabic—indicate short vowels, long consonants, and some other vocalizations.

Template:Arabic alphabet

The Arabic script has numerous diacritics, which include consonant pointing known as Script error: No such module "lang". (Script error: No such module "Lang"., Template:Ipa), and supplementary diacritics known as Script error: No such module "lang". (Script error: No such module "Lang"., Template:Ipa). The latter include the vowel marks termed Script error: No such module "lang". (Script error: No such module "Lang"., Template:Ipa; Template:Singular Script error: No such module "Lang"., Script error: No such module "lang"., Template:Ipa).

The Arabic script is a modified abjad, where all letters are consonants, leaving it up to the reader to fill in the vowel sounds. Short consonants and long vowels are represented by letters, but short vowels and consonant length are not generally indicated in writing. Script error: No such module "lang". is optional to represent missing vowels and consonant length. Modern Arabic is always written with the ʾiʿǧām—consonant pointing—but only religious texts, children's books and works for learners are written with the full taškīl—vowel guides and consonant length. It is, however, not uncommon for authors to add diacritics to a word or letter when the grammatical case or the meaning is deemed otherwise ambiguous. In addition, classical works and historical documents rendered to the general public are often rendered with the full tashkīl, to compensate for the gap in understanding resulting from stylistic changes over the centuries.

Moreover, taškīl can change the meaning of the entire word, for example, the words: (دِين), meaning (religion), and (دَين), meaning (debt). Even though they have the same letters, their meanings are different because of the taškīl. In sentences without taškīl, readers understand the meaning of the word by simply using context.

Taškīl

Script error: No such module "anchor". The literal meaning of Script error: No such module "Lang". Script error: No such module "lang". is 'formation'. As the normal Arabic text does not provide enough information about the correct pronunciation, the main purpose of Script error: No such module "lang". (and Script error: No such module "lang".) is to provide a phonetic guide or a phonetic aid; i.e. show the correct pronunciation for children who are learning to read or foreign learners.

The bulk of Arabic script is written without Script error: No such module "lang". (or short vowels). However, they are commonly used in texts that demand strict adherence to exact pronunciation. This is true, primarily, of the Qur'an Template:Angle bracket (Script error: No such module "lang".), and poetry. It is also quite common to add Script error: No such module "lang". to hadiths Template:Angle bracket (Script error: No such module "lang".; plural: Script error: No such module "lang".) and the Bible. Another use is in children's literature. Moreover, Script error: No such module "lang". are used in ordinary texts in individual words when an ambiguity of pronunciation cannot easily be resolved from context alone. Arabic dictionaries with vowel marks provide information about the correct pronunciation to both native and foreign Arabic speakers. In art and calligraphy, Script error: No such module "lang". might be used simply because their writing is considered aesthetically pleasing.

An example of a fully vocalised (vowelised or vowelled) Arabic from the Bismillah:

Template:Block indent

Some Arabic textbooks for foreigners now use Script error: No such module "lang". as a phonetic guide to make learning reading Arabic easier. The other method used in textbooks is phonetic romanisation of unvocalised texts. Fully vocalised Arabic texts (i.e. Arabic texts with Script error: No such module "lang"./diacritics) are sought after by learners of Arabic. Some online bilingual dictionaries also provide Script error: No such module "lang". as a phonetic guide similarly to English dictionaries providing transcription.

Script error: No such module "anchor".

Ḥarakāt (short vowel marks)

The Script error: No such module "lang". Script error: No such module "Lang"., which literally means 'motions', are the short vowel marks. There is some ambiguity as to which Script error: No such module "lang". are also Script error: No such module "lang".; the Script error: No such module "lang"., for example, are markers for both vowels and consonants.

Fatḥah

ـَ

The Script error: No such module "lang". Template:Angle bracket is a small diagonal line placed above a letter, and represents a short Script error: No such module "IPA". (like the /a/ sound in the English word "cat"). The word Script error: No such module "lang". itself (Script error: No such module "Lang".) means opening and refers to the opening of the mouth when producing an Script error: No such module "IPA".. For example, with Script error: No such module "lang". (henceforth, the base consonant in the following examples): Template:Angle bracket Script error: No such module "IPA"..

When a Script error: No such module "lang". is placed before a plain letter Template:Angle bracket (Script error: No such module "lang".) (i.e. one having no hamza or vowel of its own), it represents a long Script error: No such module "IPA". (relatively close to the sound of "a" in the English word "dad", with an open front vowel /æː/, not back /ɑː/ as in "father"). For example: Template:Angle bracket Script error: No such module "IPA".. The Script error: No such module "lang". is not usually written in such cases. When a fathah is placed before the letter ⟨Script error: No such module "Lang".⟩ (yāʾ), it creates an Script error: No such module "IPA". (as in "lie"); and when placed before the letter ⟨Script error: No such module "Lang".⟩ (wāw), it creates an Script error: No such module "IPA". (as in "cow").

Although paired with a plain letter creates an open front vowel (/a/), often realized as near-open (/æ/), the standard also allows for variations, especially under certain surrounding conditions. Usually, in order to have the more central (/ä/) or back (/ɑ/) pronunciation, the word features a nearby back consonant, such as the emphatics, as well as qāf, or rāʾ. A similar "back" quality is undergone by other vowels as well in the presence of such consonants, however not as drastically realized as in the case of Script error: No such module "lang"..[1][2][3]

Script error: No such module "lang".s are encoded Template:Unichar, Template:Unichar, Template:Unichar, or Template:Unichar.

Kasrah

ـِ

A similar diagonal line below a letter is called a Script error: No such module "lang". Template:Angle bracket and designates a short Script error: No such module "IPA". (as in "me", "be") and its allophones [i, ɪ, e, e̞, ɛ] (as in "Tim", "sit"). For example: Template:Angle bracket Script error: No such module "IPA"..[4]

When a Script error: No such module "lang". is placed before a plain letter Template:Angle bracket (Script error: No such module "lang".), it represents a long Script error: No such module "IPA". (as in the English word "steed"). For example: Template:Angle bracket Script error: No such module "IPA".. The Script error: No such module "lang". is usually not written in such cases, but if Script error: No such module "lang". is pronounced as a diphthong Script error: No such module "IPA"., Script error: No such module "lang". should be written on the preceding letter to avoid mispronunciation. The word Script error: No such module "lang". means 'breaking'.[1]

Script error: No such module "lang".s are encoded Template:Unichar, Template:Unichar, Template:Unichar, or Template:Unichar.

Ḍammah

ـُ

The Script error: No such module "lang". Template:Angle bracket is a small curl-like diacritic placed above a letter to represent a short /u/ (as in "duke", shorter "you") and its allophones [u, ʊ, o, o̞, ɔ] (as in "put", or "bull"). For example: Template:Angle bracket Script error: No such module "IPA"..[4]

When a Script error: No such module "lang". is placed before a plain letter Template:Angle bracket (Script error: No such module "lang".), it represents a long Script error: No such module "IPA". (like the 'oo' sound in the English word "swoop"). For example: Template:Angle bracket Script error: No such module "IPA".. The Script error: No such module "lang". is usually not written in such cases, but if Script error: No such module "lang". is pronounced as a diphthong Script error: No such module "IPA"., Script error: No such module "lang". should be written on the preceding consonant to avoid mispronunciation.[1]

The word ḍammah (ضَمَّة) in this context means rounding, since it is the only rounded vowel in the vowel inventory of Arabic and because its sound is made by rounding the lips in an O shape.

Script error: No such module "lang".s are encoded Template:Unichar, Template:Unichar, Template:Unichar, or Template:Unichar.

ʾAlif Ḫanǧariyyah

ــٰ

The dagger Script error: No such module "lang". Template:Angle bracket (Script error: No such module "lang".), is written as short vertical stroke on top of a letter. It indicates a long Script error: No such module "IPA". sound for which Script error: No such module "lang". is normally not written. For example: Template:Angle bracket (Script error: No such module "lang".) or Template:Angle bracket (Script error: No such module "lang".).

The dagger Script error: No such module "lang". occurs in only a few words, but they include some common ones; it is seldom written, however, even in fully vocalised texts. Most keyboards do not have dagger Script error: No such module "lang".. The word Allah Template:Angle bracket (Script error: No such module "lang".) (God) is usually produced automatically by entering Script error: No such module "lang".. The word consists of Script error: No such module "lang". + ligature of doubled Script error: No such module "lang". with a Script error: No such module "lang". and a dagger Script error: No such module "lang". above Script error: No such module "lang"., followed by hāʾ.

Maddah

Script error: No such module "Distinguish". Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

ـٓ
آ

The Script error: No such module "lang". Template:Angle bracket is a tilde-shaped diacritic, which can only appear on top of an ʾalif (آ) and indicates a glottal stop Script error: No such module "IPA". followed by a long Script error: No such module "IPA"..

In theory, the same sequence Script error: No such module "IPA". could also be represented by two Script error: No such module "lang".s, as in *Template:Angle bracket, where a hamzah above the first Script error: No such module "lang". represents the Script error: No such module "IPA". while the second Script error: No such module "lang". represents the Script error: No such module "IPA".. However, consecutive Script error: No such module "lang".s are never used in the Arabic orthography. Instead, this sequence must always be written as a single Script error: No such module "lang". with a Script error: No such module "lang". above it, the combination known as an Script error: No such module "lang".. For example: Template:Angle bracket Script error: No such module "IPA"..

In Qurʾānic writings, a maddah is placed on any other letter to denote the name of the letter, though some letters may take on a dagger ʾalif. For example: Template:Angle bracket (lām-mīm-ṣād) or Template:Angle bracket (yāʼ-sīn)

ʾAlif Waṣlah

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote".

ٱ

The Script error: No such module "lang". Template:Angle bracket, Script error: No such module "lang". Template:Angle bracket or Script error: No such module "lang". Template:Angle bracket looks like the head of a small Script error: No such module "lang". on top of an Script error: No such module "lang". Template:Angle bracket (also indicated by an Script error: No such module "lang". Template:Angle bracket without a Script error: No such module "lang".). It means that the Script error: No such module "lang". is not pronounced when its word does not begin a sentence. For example: Template:Angle bracket (Script error: No such module "lang".), but Template:Angle bracket (imshū, not mshū). This is because in Arabic, the first consonant in a word must always be followed by a vowel sound: If the second letter from the Script error: No such module "lang". has a kasrah, the ʾalif-waṣlah makes the sound /i/. However, when the second letter from it has a dammah, it makes the sound /u/.

It occurs only in the beginning of words, but it can occur after prepositions and the definite article. It is commonly found in imperative verbs, the perfective aspect of verb stems VII to X and their verbal nouns (Script error: No such module "lang".). The ʾalif of the definite article is considered a Script error: No such module "lang"..

It occurs in phrases and sentences (connected speech, not isolated/dictionary forms):

  • To replace the elided hamzah whose ʾalif-seat has assimilated to the previous vowel. For example: Script error: No such module "Lang". or Script error: No such module "Lang". (Script error: No such module "lang".) 'in Yemen'.
  • In hamzah-initial imperative forms following a vowel, especially following the conjunction Template:Angle bracket (Script error: No such module "lang".) 'and'. For example: Script error: No such module "Lang". (Script error: No such module "lang".) 'rise and then drink the water'.

Like the superscript ʾalif, it is not written in fully vocalized scripts, except for sacred texts, like the Quran and Arabized Bible.

Sukūn

ـْ

The Script error: No such module "lang". Template:Angle bracket is a circle-shaped diacritic placed above a letter (ـْ). It indicates that the letter to which it is attached is not followed by a vowel, i.e., zero-vowel.

It is a necessary symbol for writing consonant-vowel-consonant syllables, which are very common in Arabic. For example: Template:Angle bracket (Script error: No such module "lang".).

The Script error: No such module "lang". may also be used to help represent a diphthong. A Script error: No such module "lang". followed by the letter Template:Angle bracket (Script error: No such module "lang".) with a Script error: No such module "lang". over it (Script error: No such module "Lang".) indicates the diphthong Script error: No such module "lang". (IPA Script error: No such module "IPA".). A Script error: No such module "lang"., followed by the letter Template:Angle bracket (Script error: No such module "lang".) with a Script error: No such module "lang"., (Script error: No such module "Lang".) indicates Script error: No such module "IPA"..

Script error: No such module "lang".s are encoded Template:Unichar, Template:Unichar, or Template:Unichar.

Template:Script/Arabic

The Script error: No such module "lang". may have also an alternative form of the small high head of Script error: No such module "lang". (Template:Unichar), particularly in some Qurans. Other shapes may exist as well (for example, like a small comma above ⟨ʼ⟩ or like a circumflex ⟨ˆ⟩ in Script error: No such module "lang".).[5]

Script error: No such module "anchor".

Tanwīn

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote".

ـٌ
ـٍ
ـً

The three vowel diacritics may be doubled at the end of a word to indicate that the vowel is followed by the consonant n. They may or may not be considered Script error: No such module "lang". and are known as Script error: No such module "lang". Template:Angle bracket, or nunation. The signs indicate, from left to right, Script error: No such module "lang"..

These endings are used as non-pausal grammatical indefinite case endings in Literary Arabic or classical Arabic (triptotes only). In a vocalised text, they may be written even if they are not pronounced (see pausa). See Script error: No such module "lang". for more details. In many spoken Arabic dialects, the endings are absent. Many Arabic textbooks introduce standard Arabic without these endings. The grammatical endings may not be written in some vocalized Arabic texts, as knowledge of Script error: No such module "lang". varies from country to country, and there is a trend towards simplifying Arabic grammar.

The sign Template:Angle bracket is most commonly written in combination with Script error: No such module "lang". Template:Angle bracket, Script error: No such module "lang". Template:Angle bracket, Script error: No such module "lang". Template:Angle bracket, or stand-alone Script error: No such module "lang". Template:Angle bracket. Script error: No such module "lang". should always be written (except for words ending in Script error: No such module "lang". or diptotes) even if Script error: No such module "lang". is not. Grammatical cases and Script error: No such module "lang". endings in indefinite triptote forms:

Šaddah

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote".

ـّـ

The šadda or šaddah Template:Angle bracket (Script error: No such module "lang".), or tašdīd Template:Angle bracket (Script error: No such module "lang".), is a diacritic shaped like a small written Latin "w".

It is used to indicate gemination (consonant doubling or extra length), which is phonemic in Arabic. It is written above the consonant which is to be doubled. It is the only Script error: No such module "lang". that is commonly used in ordinary spelling to avoid ambiguity. For example: Template:Angle bracket Script error: No such module "IPA".; Script error: No such module "lang". Template:Angle bracket ('school') vs. Script error: No such module "lang". Template:Angle bracket ('teacher', female). Note that when the doubled letter bears a vowel, it is the šaddah that the vowel is attached to, not the letter itself: Template:Angle bracket Script error: No such module "IPA"., Template:Angle bracket Script error: No such module "IPA"..

Script error: No such module "lang".s are encoded Template:Unichar, Template:Unichar, or Template:Unichar.

Script error: No such module "anchor".

ʾIʿǧām

File:Kufic Quran, sura 7, verses 86-87.jpg
7th-century kufic script without any ḥarakāt or ʾiʿǧām.

The ʾiʿǧām (Script error: No such module "Lang".; sometimes also called nuqāṭ, or niqāṭ)[6] are the diacritic points that distinguish various consonants that have the same form (Script error: No such module "lang".), such as Template:Angle bracket Script error: No such module "IPA"., Template:Angle bracket Script error: No such module "IPA".. Typically, ʾiʿǧām are not considered diacritics but part of the letter.

Early manuscripts of the Quran did not use diacritics either for vowels or to distinguish the different values of the Script error: No such module "lang".. Vowel pointing was introduced first, as a red dot placed above, below, or beside the Script error: No such module "lang"., and later consonant pointing was introduced, as thin, short black single or multiple dashes placed above or below the rasm. These ʾiʿǧām became black dots about the same time as the ḥarakāt became small black letters or strokes.

Typically, Egyptians do not use dots under final yāʾ (Script error: No such module "Lang".), which looks exactly like ʾalif maqṣūrah (Script error: No such module "Lang".) in handwriting and in print. This practice is also used in copies of the Script error: No such module "lang". (Qurʾān) scribed by ʿUṯmān Ṭaha. The same unification of yāʾ and ʾalif maqṣūrah has happened in Persian, resulting in what the Unicode Standard calls "<templatestyles src="smallcaps/styles.css"/>Arabic Letter Farsi Yeh", that looks exactly the same as yāʾ in initial and medial forms, but exactly the same as ʾalif maqṣūrah in final and isolated forms.

File:Arabic letter kaf forms with ‘alāmat al-ihmāl.png
Isolated kāf with ʿalāmātu l-ʾihmāl and without top stroke next to initial kāf with top stroke.
سۡ سۜ سۣ سٚ ڛ

At the time when the ʾiʿǧām was optional, unpointed letters were ambiguous. To clarify that a letter would lack ʾiʿǧām in pointed text, the letter could be marked with a small v- or seagull-shaped diacritic above, also a superscript semicircle (crescent), a subscript dot (except in the case of Template:Angle bracket; three dots were used with Template:Angle bracket), or a subscript miniature of the letter itself. A superscript stroke known as ǧarrah, resembling a long fatḥah, was used for a contracted (assimilated) sīn. Thus Template:Angle bracket were all used to indicate that the letter in question was truly Template:Angle bracket and not Template:Angle bracket.[7] These signs, collectively known as ʿalāmātu l-ʾihmāl, are still occasionally used in modern Arabic calligraphy, either for their original purpose (i.e. marking letters without ʾiʿǧām), or often as purely decorative space-fillers. The small Script error: No such module "Lang". above the kāf in its final and isolated forms Template:Angle bracket was originally an ʿalāmatu l-ʾihmāl that became a permanent part of the letter. Previously this sign could also appear above the medial form of kāf, when that letter was written without the stroke on its ascender. When kāf was written without that stroke, it could be mistaken for lām, thus kāf was distinguished with a superscript kāf or a small superscript hamzah (nabrah), and lām with a superscript l-a-m (lām-ʾalif-mīm).[8]

Hamzah

Script error: No such module "anchor". Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote".

ئ  ؤ  إ  أ ء

Although not always considered a letter of the alphabet, the hamzah Script error: No such module "Lang". (hamzah, glottal stop), often stands as a separate letter in writing, is written in unpointed texts and is not considered a taškīl. It may appear as a letter by itself or as a diacritic over or under an ʾalif, wāw, or yāʾ.

Which letter is to be used to support the hamzah depends on the quality of the adjacent vowels and its location in the word;

  • If the glottal stop occurs at the beginning of the word:
    • Indicated by hamzah on an ʾalif: above if the following vowel is Script error: No such module "IPA". or Script error: No such module "IPA". and below if it is Script error: No such module "IPA"..
      • In order to clarify a starting /a/ or /u/, a respective fatḥah or ḍammah can be used
  • If the glottal stop occurs in the middle of the word the following prioritization of writing qualities are used:
    • First: if hamzah is it is preceded or followed by Script error: No such module "IPA"., hamzah sits on a tooth; ex: <عَائِلَة>
    • Second: if hamzah is preceded or followed by /u/, hamzah sits on wāw, <ؤ>
    • Third: else hamzah sits on ʾalif, <أ>
  • If the glottal stop occurs at the end of the word (ignoring any grammatical suffixes),
    • First: if hamzah follows a short vowel it is written above ʾalif, wāw, or yāʾ the same as for a medial case;
    • Second: if it follows a long vowel, diphthong or consonant, hamzah is written on the line <ء>
  • Exception: Two Script error: No such module "lang".s in succession are never allowed: Script error: No such module "IPA". is written with ʾalif-maddah Template:Angbr and Script error: No such module "IPA". is written with a free Script error: No such module "lang". on the line Template:Angbr.

Consider the following words: Template:Angle bracket Script error: No such module "IPA". ("brother"), Template:Angle bracket Script error: No such module "IPA". ("Ishmael"), Template:Angle bracket Script error: No such module "IPA". ("mother"). All three of above words "begin" with a vowel opening the syllable, and in each case, ʾalif is used to designate the initial glottal stop (the actual beginning). But if we consider middle syllables "beginning" with a vowel: Template:Angle bracket Script error: No such module "IPA". ("origin"), Template:Angle bracket Script error: No such module "IPA". ("hearts"—notice the Script error: No such module "IPA". syllable; singular Template:Angle bracket Script error: No such module "IPA".), Template:Angle bracket Script error: No such module "IPA". ("heads", singular Template:Angle bracket Script error: No such module "IPA".), the situation is different, as noted above. See the comprehensive article on hamzah for more details.

Diacritics not used in Modern Standard Arabic

Diacritics not used in Modern Standard Arabic but in other languages that use the Arabic script, and sometimes to write Arabic dialects, include (the list is not exhaustive):

Description Unicode Example Language(s) Notes
Bars and lines
diagonal bar above گ Arabic (Iraq), Balti, Burushaski,
Kashmiri, Kazakh,
Khowar, Kurdish,
Kyrgyz, Persian,
Sindhi, Urdu,
Uyghur
  • Diagonal bar above kaf to create gaf: گ (IPA Script error: No such module "IPA".)
  • When writing Arabic, often used in Iraq to represent the sound Template:IPAslink. Often used in Iraq to represent the /g/ sound to write foreign words in Arabic script, while in Morocco the variant ݣ is seen.[9]
horizontal bar above Template:Script/Arabic Pashto
vertical line above ئۈ Uyghur
Dots
2 dots (vertical) Template:Script/Arabic Template:Script/Arabic Uyghur
4 dots Template:Script/Arabic ٿ ڐ ڙ Sindhi, Shina, Khariboli
dot below Template:Unichar ٜ   بٜ African languages[10]
  • also used in Quranic text in African and other orthographies[10]
Variants of standard Arabic diacritics
wavy hamza ٲ اٟ Kashmiri
  • The Kashmiri language written in Arabic script includes the diacritic or "wavy hamza".
  • In Kashmiri the diacritic is called āmālü mad when used above alif: ٲ to create the vowel Template:IPAslink.[11]
  • Kashmiri calls the wavy hamza sāȳ when below the alif: اٟ to create the sound Template:IPAslink.[12]
curly dammah above Template:Script/Arabic Rohingya
  • Latin "ou"
Rohingya
  • Latin "oñ"
double dammah above Template:Script/Arabic Rohingya
  • Latin "uñ"
inverted and regular curly dammahs above Template:Script/Arabic Rohingya
  • Latin "ouñ"
Tildes
diagonal tilde shape above Template:Script/Arabic Rohingya
  • Latin "o"
diagonal tilde shape below Template:Script/Arabic Rohingya
  • Latin "e"
Arabic letters
miniature Arabic letter hah (initial form) ﺣ above Template:Script/Arabic Rohingya
  • Sukūn (zero-vowel)
miniature Arabic letter ṭāʾ (ط) above Template:Script/Arabic Urdu
Eastern Arabic numerals[13]
Eastern Arabic numeral 2: ٢ above U+0775, U+0778, U+077A Script error: No such module "lang". Script error: No such module "lang". Script error: No such module "lang". Burushaski
Eastern Arabic numeral 3: ٣ above U+0776, U+0779, U+077B Script error: No such module "lang". Script error: No such module "lang". Script error: No such module "lang". Burushaski
Urdu number 4: ۴ above or below U+0777, U+077C, U+077D Script error: No such module "lang". Script error: No such module "lang". Script error: No such module "lang". Burushaski
Other shapes
Nūn ġunnah, "u" shape above ن٘ Urdu
  • Vowel nasalization is represented by nun ghunna, which in medial form is written as nun with the diacritic Script error: No such module "Lang". (also called ulta jazm, Unicode U+0658) above: ن٘.
"v" shape above ۆ ێ ئۆ Azerbaijani, Turkmen, Kurdish, Kazakh, Uyghur, Bosnian (Arebica)
inverted "v" shape above یٛ Azerbaijani, Turkmen, Bosnian (Arebica)
  • in Azerbaijani, used only on top of ye: یٛ (rarely used) is equivalent to Latin ı, Cyrillic ы, IPA Template:IPAslink
  • in Turkmen, used only on top of ye: یٛ is equivalent to Latin y, Cyrillic ы, IPA Template:IPAslink
dotted fatḥah Template:Script/Arabic Wolof Latin à
circle with fatḥah Template:Script/Arabic Wolof Latin ë
less than sign - below Template:Script/Arabic Wolof Latin e
greater than sign - below Template:Script/Arabic Wolof Latin é
less than sign - above Template:Script/Arabic Wolof Latin o
greater than sign - above Template:Script/Arabic Wolof Latin ó
ring ګ Pashto
  • kaf with ring (ګ) is used for IPA /Script error: No such module "IPA"./
Other shapes
"fish" shape above دࣤ࣬  دࣥ࣬  دࣦ࣯ Rohingya Ṭāna, e.g. Template:Script/Arabic written above or below other diacritics to mark a long rising tone (Template:IPAslink).[14][15]
Various Urdu
  • Special diacritics usually found only in dictionaries for clarification of irregular pronunciation include kasrah-e-majhool, fathah-e-majhool, dammah-e-majhool, and alif-e-wavi.[16]

Rohingya tone markers

Historically Arabic script has been adopted and used by many tonal languages, examples include Xiao'erjing for Mandarin Chinese as well as Ajami script adopted for writing various languages of Western Africa. However, the Arabic script never had an inherent way of representing tones until it was adapted for the Rohingya language. The Rohingya Fonna are 3 tone markers which are part of the standardized and accepted orthographic convention of Rohingya. It remains the only known instance of tone markers within the Arabic script.[14][15]

Tone markers act as "modifiers" of vowel diacritics. In simpler words, they are "diacritics for the diacritics". They are written "outside" of the word, meaning that they are written above the vowel diacritic if the diacritic is written above the word, and they are written below the diacritic if the diacritic is written below the word. They are only ever written where there are vowel diacritics. This is important to note, as without the diacritic present, there is no way to distinguish between tone markers and I‘jām i.e. dots that are used for purpose of phonetic distinctions of consonants.

Hārbāy

◌࣪ / ◌࣭

The Hārbāy as it is called in Rohingya, is a single dot that is placed on top of fatḥah and ḍammah, or curly fatḥah and curly ḍammah (vowel diacritics unique to Rohingya), or their respective fatḥatān and ḍammatān versions, and it is placed underneath kasrah or curly kasrah, or their respective kasratān version. (e.g. Template:Script/Arabic) This tone marker indicates a short high tone (Script error: No such module "IPA".).[14][15]

Ṭelā

◌࣫ / ◌࣮

The Ṭelā as it is called in Rohingya, is two dots that are placed on top of fatḥah and ḍammah, or curly fatḥah and curly ḍammah, or their respective fatḥatān and ḍammatān versions, and it is placed underneath kasrah or curly kasrah, or their respective kasratān version. (e.g. Template:Script/Arabic) This tone marker indicates a long falling tone (Script error: No such module "IPA".).[14][15]

Ṭāna

◌࣬ / ◌࣯

The Ṭāna as it is called in Rohingya, is a fish-like looping line that is placed on top of fatḥah and ḍammah, or curly fatḥah and curly ḍammah, or their respective fatḥatān and ḍammatān versions, and it is placed underneath kasrah or curly kasrah, or their respective kasratān version. (e.g. Template:Script/Arabic) This tone marker indicates a long rising tone (Script error: No such module "IPA".).[14][15]

History

File:Arabic script evolution.svg
Evolution of early Arabic calligraphy (7th–11th century). The basmala was taken as an example, from Kufic Qur'an manuscripts. (1) Early 7th century, script with no dots or diacritic marks (see image of early Basmala Kufic); (2) and (3) 7th–10th century under Abbasid dynasty, Abu al-Aswad's system established red dots with each arrangement or position indicating a different short vowel; later, a second black-dot system was used to differentiate between letters like Script error: No such module "lang". and Script error: No such module "lang".; (4) 11th century, in al-Farāhídi's system (system we know today) dots were changed into shapes resembling the letters to transcribe the corresponding long vowels.

According to tradition, the first to commission a system of ḥarakāt was Ali who appointed Abu al-Aswad al-Du'ali for the task. Abu al-Aswad devised a system of dots to signal the three short vowels (along with their respective allophones) of Arabic. This system of dots predates the Script error: No such module "lang"., dots used to distinguish between different consonants.

Abu al-Aswad's system

Abu al-Aswad's system of Harakat was different from the system we know today. The system used red dots with each arrangement or position indicating a different short vowel.

A dot above a letter indicated the vowel Script error: No such module "lang"., a dot below indicated the vowel Script error: No such module "lang"., a dot on the side of a letter stood for the vowel Script error: No such module "lang"., and two dots stood for the Script error: No such module "lang"..

However, the early manuscripts of the Qur'an did not use the vowel signs for every letter requiring them, but only for letters where they were necessary for a correct reading.

Al Farahidi's system

The precursor to the system we know today is Al Farahidi's system. Script error: No such module "lang". found that the task of writing using two different colours was tedious and impractical. Another complication was that the Script error: No such module "lang". had been introduced by then, which, while they were short strokes rather than the round dots seen today, meant that without a color distinction the two could become confused.

Accordingly, he replaced the Script error: No such module "lang". with small superscript letters: small alif, yā’, and wāw for the short vowels corresponding to the long vowels written with those letters, a small s(h)īn for shaddah (geminate), a small khā’ for khafīf (short consonant; no longer used). His system is essentially the one we know today.[17]

Automatic diacritization

The process of automatically restoring diacritical marks is called diacritization or diacritic restoration. It is useful to avoid ambiguity in applications such as Arabic machine translation, text-to-speech, and information retrieval. Automatic diacritization algorithms have been developed.[18][19] For Modern Standard Arabic, the state-of-the-art algorithm has a word error rate (WER) of 4.79%. The most common mistakes are proper nouns and case endings.[20] Similar algorithms exist for other varieties of Arabic.[21]

See also

References

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  1. a b c Karin C. Ryding, "A Reference Grammar of Modern Standard Arabic", Cambridge University Press, 2005, pgs. 25-34, specifically “Chapter 2, Section 4: Vowels”
  2. Anatole Lyovin, Brett Kessler, William Ronald Leben, "An Introduction to the Languages of the World", "5.6 Sketch of Modern Standard Arabic", Oxford University Press, 2017, pg. 255, Edition 2, specifically “5.6.2.2 Vowels”
  3. Amine Bouchentouf, Arabic For Dummies®, John Wiley & Sons, 2018, 3rd Edition, specifically section "All About Vowels"
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  9. Alkalesi, Yasin M. (2001) "Modern iraqi arabic: A textbook". Georgetown University Press. Template:ISBN
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