DAY 2 – ARABIC CONSONANTS AND VOWELS

ARABIC CONSONATS AND VOWELS

In English, there are five vowels (a, e, i, o and u) and the remaining are consonants.  However, in Arabic there are two types of vowels namely: Short Vowels and Long Vowels.

Arabic Vowels

Users of Arabic usually write Long Vowels but omit short ones, so readers must utilize their knowledge of the language in order to supply the missing vowels. However, in the education system and particularly in classes on Arabic grammar these vowels are used since they are crucial to the grammar. An Arabic sentence can have a completely different meaning by a subtle change of the vowels. This is why in Qur’ān the three basic vowel signs (see below) are mandated, like the ḥarakāt:

Short Vowels

Short vowels may be written with “sign” placed above or below the consonant that precedes them in the syllable, called ḥarakāt. All Arabic vowels, long and short, follow a consonant; in Arabic.

Arabic Name	Urdu Name	Sound	Notation
fatḥah	Zabar	a or aa	َ
ḍammah	Pesh	u or oo	ِ
kasrah	Zeir	I or ee	ِ

ِ ُ َ = circle means any Arabic consonant.

Long vowels

In Arabic there are three long vowels also known as “Hroof-e-Eillat. They are:

 

1.      Alif (ا)

2.      Wow (و)

3.      Yey ( ي )

Repetition of a Consonant (Also known as Shadda)

 Shaddah or Repetition  is the doubling of a consonant. Instead of writing the letter twice, Arabic places a W-shaped sign called shaddah, above it.  In Urdu grammar it is known as “Tashdeed.”

General indication	Name	Transliteration	Examples
ّ ‎	shaddah	(consonant doubled)	The word Allah where the letter “Lam” has shaddah. In Urdu it is also known as Tashdeed

Tanwin (Nunation) or Double Vowel

Nunation (تنوين‎ tanwīn) is the addition of a final -n to a noun or adjective. The vowel before it indicates grammatical case. In written Arabic nunation is indicated by doubling the vowel at the end of the word.

ٍ = Two Kasra (or zeir – sound “in”)   كسرة

ٌ = Two Damma or Pesh – sound “un”  ضمّة

ً = Two Fatha or zabar – sound “an”   فتحة