Language Learning

Vowels in Arabic Vowels in Arabic are called harakat حَرَكَات, the singular of which is haraka حَرَكَة. Fortunately for the learners of Arabic as a foreign language, vowels in Arabic are simple and limited. They are simple in that they are easily produced which makes the articul…

What is shadda? What is shadda? shadda شَدَّة is a diacritical mark that is indicated by the sign ( ـّ ). It means the doubling of a consonant. In other words, the consonant over which the shadda is placed is to be sounded twice without inserting a short vowel (i.e.  fatha  ـَ ,…

What is taa marbuta? What is taa marbuta? taa marbuta is the taa that always occurs at the end of certain nouns and adjectives. If connected to the preceding letter, it is written like this ـة, as in سَاعَة ‘watch’, فَاطِمَة ‘Fatima (name)’, and خَيْمَة ‘tent.’ If it occurs afte…

Silent alif al-wasl Silent alif al-wasl is the conjunctive alif that is not pronounced in connected speech. When we speak, it is common that we assimilate, drop, or blend certain sounds. In English, for example, the phrase does she is pronounced as dushee in connected speech. In…

What is hamza in Arabic? What is hamza in Arabic? [hamza] is the first letter of the Arabic Alphabet [alif, ba, ta …], so it is basically the [alif]. However, there are two types of [alif]. As for its position in the word, [hamza] occurs at the beginning, in the middle, or at th…

What is Alif al-Wasl? What is alif al-wasl? The word [wasl] means ‘connection’. So, [alif al-wasl] أَلِف الوَصْل is ‘connective alif.’ It connects the word in which it occurs with the preceding word so that speech sounds natural and connected. It always occurs at the beginning o…