Alphabet

From Al-Duroos

The Arabic language is written from right to left, in a cursive style of script with most letters in a word connecting with the following letter. There are a few non-connecting letters, which do not connect with the following letter, but do connect with the preceding letter.

The shape of each letter will vary, depending on its position within a word and how it connects with other letters.

There are four types of letters or positions:

• Non-connecting
• Initial
• Medial
• Final

The Arabic alphabet has 28 letters, though there are some additional symbols or diacritical marks in Arabic. As well, some other languages such as Urdu (spoken in Pakistan) use the Arabic script, but have some additional letters.

Final	Medial	Initial	Isolated	Letter	Notes
				alif
				ba
				ta
				tha
				gim
				ha
				kha

Example

Here is the letter س, used in different positions within a word:

• س - unconnected letter
• سيارة - initial position, this word means car, pronounced “sayyarra”
• فستان - medial position, this word means dress, pronounced “fustaan”
• طقس - final position, the word means weather, pronounced “taqs” or “tox”

References

• Rogers, Henry (2005). Writing Systems: A Linguistic Approach. Blackwell Publishing