Discovering MODERN STANDARD Arabic & Alphabet
Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), is the official language in the 22 Arab
countries represented in the Arab League. Arabic is the fourth most-commonly-spoken language in the world, It is the written language used for all Arabic books, Written MSA is the same throughout the Arab world, while the spoken can vary based on geographical location.
The Arabic writing system is easy to learn because the alphabet has a high correspondence between sound and symbol, a letter is pronounced almost the same in every word position.
The Arabic alphabet has 28 letters in addition to the hamza, with three long vowels:
alif (/aa/) ا
yaa’ (/ii/) ي
waaw (/uu/) و
and three short vowels (diacritical marks):
· fatHa َ
short vowel, above the letter
The first main vowel in Arabic is called a fatHa (feht-hah). It
is the equivalent of the short “a” in “hat”
· Damma ُ
short vowel, above the letter
The second main Arabic vowel is the damma (dah-mah). It
sounds like the “uh” in “foot”
· kasra ِ
short vowel, below the lett
The third main vowel in Arabic is the kasra (kahs-rah), It
sounds like the long “e” in “feet”
٥ أيلول سبتمبر ٢٠١٨
