Saturday, June 30, 2012

Today's Arabic lesson is the vowels


Today's Arabic lesson is the 3 diacritic vowels, "ah", "ee" and "oo".
"Diacritics" are marks or symbols above or below the letters that signify the vowel sounds.

For our purposes today, we'll view 3 vowels with the letter "daal" د.

"ah" is a short line above the letter daal like so: دَ

"ee" is a short diagonal line below the letter daal like so: دِ

"oo" is a curly-que sybol above the letter daal like so: دُ




"hamza"  ء  was yesterday's character.
Today we covered the simple vowels.
Tomorrow, we'll review the whole months of January!

For a thorough explanation of diacritics, see here.

Friday, June 29, 2012

Today's Arabic letter is "hamza" ء


Today's Arabic letter is "hamza"  ء 
hamza is the 29th character in the Arabic Script.
She has no English language equivalent.
hamza is a "glottal stop"; like a catch in the throat.

Pronounce the phrase "Uh-Oh". Trying whispering it softly and saying it loudly. Do it several times until you can identify the glottal stop without forcing it.



"ya" ي was yesterday's letter.
"hamza"  ء is today's character.
Tomorrow we'll cover the 3 diacritic vowels. "Diacritics" are marks or symbols above or below the letters that signify the vowel sounds "ah", "ee" and "oo".

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Today's Arabic letter is "ya" ي


Today's Arabic letter is "ya" ي
ya is the 28th and last letter in the Arabic Script. Her English language equivalent is the letter "Y".




"waaw" و  was yesterday's letter.
"ya" ي is today's letter.
Tomorrow we'll cover "hamza" ء

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Today's Arabic letter is "waaw" و


Today's Arabic letter is "waaw" و
waaw is the 27th letter in the Arabic Script. Her English language equivalent is the letter "W", but sometimes the vowel sounds "oo" or uu" depending on where she is in the word.




"haa" ه  was yesterday's letter.
"waaw" و is today's letter.
"ya" ي is tomorrow's letter.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Today's Arabic letter is "haa" ه


Today's Arabic letter is "haa" ه
haa is the 26th letter in the Arabic Script and her English language equivalent is a regular "H" pronounced from the front of the mouth.




"nuun" ن was yesterday's letter.
"haa" ه is today's letter.
"waaw" و is tomorrow's letter.

Monday, June 25, 2012

Today's Arabic letter is "nuun" ن


Today's Arabic letter is "nuun" ن
nuun is the 25th letter in the Arabic Script and her English language equivalent is "N".




"miim" م was yesterday's letter.
"nuun" ن is today's letter.
"haa" ه is tomorrow's letter.