{"id":41,"date":"2009-04-15T07:03:17","date_gmt":"2009-04-15T11:03:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/arabic\/?p=39"},"modified":"2014-06-13T20:27:15","modified_gmt":"2014-06-13T20:27:15","slug":"alif-and-hamza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/arabic\/alif-and-hamza\/","title":{"rendered":"Alif and Hamza"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some grammarians regard alif (\u0627<\/span>) and hamza (<\/span>\u0621<\/span>) as two distinct letters, while others regards them as two realizations of the same letter. They are a problematic aspect of Arabic writing and are often confusing to native and non-native speakers alike. In this posting, I hope to summarize some of the rules related to writing of alif and hamza.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

At the beginning of a word, hamza and alif are written together to make the sound of a glottal stop. They can be associated with a short vowel. When the alif comes with a short \/a\/ or a short \/o\/, the hamza is written on top of the letter, and when alif comes with a short \/i\/, the hamza is written under the letter, e.g. \u201cfather\u201d (<\/span>\u0623\u064e\u0628<\/span>), \u201cmother\u201d (<\/span>\u0623\u064f\u0645<\/span>), \u201cIslam\u201d (<\/span>\u0625\u0633\u0644\u0627\u0645<\/span>)<\/span><\/p>\n

At the beginning of certain words, the hamza should not be written on the alif. This is called \/hamzat alwaSl\/ (\u0647\u0645\u0632\u0629 \u0627\u0644\u0648\u0635\u0644<\/span>), e.g. in words like two (\u0627\u062b\u0646\u0627\u0646<\/span>), Monday (\u0627\u0644\u0627\u062b\u0646\u064a\u0646<\/span>), woman (\u0627\u0645\u0631\u0623\u0629<\/span>), etc. The alif at the beginning of the definite article (<\/span>\u0627\u0644<\/span>) must never be written with a hamza. <\/span><\/p>\n

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When two alifs are found at the beginning of a word, a special type of alif \/alf mamdouda\/ is used with a special shape of hamza on, e.g. hopes (<\/span>\u0622\u0645\u0627\u0644<\/span>), Adam (<\/span>\u0622\u062f\u0645<\/span>), sorry (<\/span>\u0622\u0633\u0641<\/span>).<\/span><\/p>\n

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In the middle of a word, a hamza is written in association with a short vowel with a short \/a\/ (<\/span>\u0623<\/span>), with a short \/o\/ (<\/span>\u0624<\/span>), or with a short \/i\/ (<\/span>\u0626\u0640<\/span>), e.g. the words \u201cask\u201d (<\/span>\u0633\u0623\u0644<\/span>), \u201cenquirer\u201d (<\/span>\u0633\u0627\u0626\u0644<\/span>), \u201cquestion\u201d (<\/span>\u0633\u0624\u0627\u0644<\/span>).<\/span>Alif mamdouda can also occur in the middle of the word, e.g. \u201cQuran\u201d (<\/span>\u0642\u0631\u0622\u0646<\/span>).<\/span><\/p>\n

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When you type in Arabic, this is where you will find the different hamzas on your keyboard:<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

h<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\u0627<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Shift + h<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\u0623<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Shift + y<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\u0625<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Shift + n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\u0622<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

C<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\u0624<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

z<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\u0626\u0640<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

x<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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\u0621<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

That’s not the end of the story, there is more to follow on hamza … visit the Arabic blog again soon!
\n<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some grammarians regard alif (\u0627) and hamza (\u0621) as two distinct letters, while others regards them as two realizations of the same letter. They are a problematic aspect of Arabic writing and are often confusing to native and non-native speakers alike. In this posting, I hope to summarize some of the rules related to writing…<\/p>\n

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