Help:IPA for Arabic

The chart below explains how Wikipedia represents Arabic pronunciations with the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).

To be exact, pronunciations given are those of Modern Standard Arabic. Actual pronunciations differ, depending on the native variety of Arabic of the speaker. For a more thorough look at the sounds of Arabic, see Arabic phonology.

The symbols are arranged by similarity to letters of the Latin alphabet. Symbols resembling any Latin letter are placed at the end.

Symbol English
approximation		 Arabic
letter/symbol		 Usual
romanization		 Notes
A–B
a father, but shorter َ a, e [a]
aː father ا  ,ى ā, aa a [b]
aj /a/+/j/, similar to Thai ـَي ay, ai, e, ey, ei [c]
aw /a/+/w/, similar to cow ـَو aw, au, o [d]
b bee ب b [e]
D
d deal د d [f]
dˤ emphatic /d/,
somewhat close to dark		 ض ḍ [g][f]
dʒ jam ج j, ǧ, dj, g [h]
ð these ذ dh, ḏ [i]
ðˤ emphatic /ð/ ظ ẓ [g][j]
F–H
f father ف f [k]
h he ه h
ħ No equivalent ح ḥ [l]
I–K
ɪ sit[1][2][3] ِ i, e [m]
iː machine ي ī, ee, i [n]
j yes ي y
k skin ك k [o]
L–N
l lease (Received Pronunciation) ل l
ɫ tool l [p]
m me م m
n no ن n
O–R
q somewhat close to c in scar ق q, g, ' [q]
r somewhat close to ray ر r [r]
S
s see س s
sˤ emphatic /s/,
somewhat close to massage		 ص ṣ [g]
ʃ she ش sh, š, ch
T–W
t stik ت
(sometimes ة: see idafa)		 t [f][o]
tˤ emphatic /t/,
somewhat close to star		 ط ṭ [g][f]
θ think ث th, ṯ [i]
u put ُ u, o, ou [s]
uː rule و ū, oo, ou, u [t]
w we و w
X–Z
x Scottish loch,
Spanish jota		 خ kh, ḫ [u]
ɣ Spanish fuego,
French parler		 غ gh, ġ [v]
z zoo ز z
Other
ʔ The pause in uh-oh!;
Cockney butter		 ء ʾ ’ ' [w]
ʕ no equivalent ع ʿ ‘ ' ` [x][y]
θ see under T—W
ˈ [ˈkiːwi] كيوي 'kiwi' Means that the following syllable is stressed: /ˈʕarabiː/.
ː [kiːs] كيس 'sack' Means that the preceding vowel is long
[bakːa] بَكّى 'cry' Consonant is lengthened (gemination)

Notes

  1. ^ Allophones of /a/ include [ɑ] before emphatic consonants and [q], [r]; and [æ] elsewhere (Al-Ani 2008, p. 595, 600; Thelwall & Sa'adeddin 1999, p. 52–53; Kaye 1997, p. 193, 197).
  2. ^ Allophones of /aː/ include [ɑː] before emphatic consonants and [q], [r]; and [æː] elsewhere (Al-Ani 2008, p. 595, 600; Thelwall & Sa'adeddin 1999, p. 52–53; Kaye 1997, p. 193, 197).
  3. ^ In colloquial pronunciation, /aj/ may be realized as [eː]~[ɛː]~[ej] (Al-Ani 2008, p. 595; Kaye 1997, p. 198).
  4. ^ In colloquial pronunciation, /aw/ may be realized as [oː]~[ɔː]~[ow] may occur (Al-Ani 2008, p. 595; Kaye 1997, p. 198).
  5. ^ The letter ب may represent [p] in foreign loanwords (sometimes written پ) and before voiceless consonants (Kaye 1997, p. 193).
  6. ^ a b c d /d dˤ t tˤ/ are realized as either dental, denti-alveolar or alveolar (Al-Ani 2008, p. 597).
  7. ^ a b c d Emphatic consonants may be pharyngealized or velarized (Al-Ani 2008, p. 599; Kaye 1997, p. 193).
  8. ^ The letter ج is pronounced as [ɡ] in Egypt and as [ʒ] in the Levant and the Maghreb (Al-Ani 2008, p. 598; Gairdner 1925, p. 23).
  9. ^ a b In nonstandard pronunciations, /θ/ and /ð/ may be pronounced as [s] and [z] (Gairdner 1925, p. 19, 81).
  10. ^ The letter ظ is pronounced as [ðˤ] or [zˤ] (Al-Ani 2008, p. 601).
  11. ^ The letter ف may represent [v] in foreign loanwords (sometimes written ڤ or ڥ) and may be pronounced as well as before voiced consonants (Kaye 1997, p. 193).
  12. ^ /ħ/ is pronounced as [ħ] or [ʜ].
  13. ^ Allophones of /ɪ/ include [i]~[e] before emphatic consonants and [q], [r], [ħ], [ʕ] (Al-Ani 2008, p. 595, 600; Thelwall & Sa'adeddin 1999, p. 52–53; Kaye 1997, p. 193, 197); they are distinct phonemes in loan words. /ɪ/ completely becomes /e/ in some other particular dialects.
  14. ^ Allophones of /iː/ include [ɪː]~[ɨː] before emphatic consonants and [q], [r], [ħ], [ʕ] (Al-Ani 2008, p. 595, 600; Thelwall & Sa'adeddin 1999, p. 52–53; Kaye 1997, p. 193, 197).
  15. ^ a b /k/ and /t/ are usually aspirated (Al-Ani 2008, p. 597–598).
  16. ^ [ɫ] occurs only in the word Allah: [ɑɫˈɫɑh] (Al-Ani 2008, p. 600; Kaye 1997, p. 196).
  17. ^ /q/ may be pronounced as [ʔ] in Egypt and the Levant and as [ɡ] or [ɢ] in other dialects (Gairdner 1925, p. 26–27).
  18. ^ /r/ is a trill [r] or a flap [ɾ]; it may be velarized or pharyngealized as well (Al-Ani 2008, p. 600).
  19. ^ Allophones of /u/ include [ʊ]~[ɤ]~[o] before emphatic consonants and [q], [r], [ħ], [ʕ] (Al-Ani 2008, p. 595, 600; Thelwall & Sa'adeddin 1999, p. 52–53; Kaye 1997, p. 193, 197); they are distinct phonemes in loan words. /u/ completely becomes /o/ in some other particular dialects.
  20. ^ Allophones of /uː/ include [ʊː]~[ɤː]~[oː] before emphatic consonants and [q], [r], [ħ], [ʕ] (Al-Ani 2008, p. 595, 600; Thelwall & Sa'adeddin 1999, p. 52–53; Kaye 1997, p. 193, 197).
  21. ^ /x/ is pronounced as [x] or [χ].
  22. ^ /ɣ/ is pronounced as [ɣ] or [ʁ] (Al-Ani 2008, p. 599; Thelwall & Sa'adeddin 1999, p. 598; Gairdner 1925, p. 26).
  23. ^ /ʔ/ is usually written above or below أ, إ, آ, ئ or ؤ.
  24. ^ /ʕ/ is pronounced as [ʕ] or [ʔˤ] (Al-Ani 2008, p. 599; Thelwall & Sa'adeddin 1999, p. 51).
  25. ^ /ʢ/ is neither pharyngeal nor fricative, but it is more correctly described as a creaky-voiced epiglottal approximant (Ladefoged & Maddieson (1996:167–168)).

References

  • Al-Ani, Salman H. (2008). "Phonetics". Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics. III. Brill. pp. 593–603. 
  • Gairdner, W. H. T. (1925). The Phonetics of Arabic. Oxford University Press. 
  • Kaye, Alan S. (1997). "Arabic phonology". Phonologies of Asia and Africa. I. pp. 187–204. 
  • Mitchell, T. F. (1990). Pronouncing Arabic. I. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 
  • Thelwall, Robin; Sa'adeddin, M. Akram (1999). "Arabic". Handbook of the International Phonetic Association. Cambridge University Press. pp. 51–54. 
  1. ^ https://www.madinaharabic.com/Arabic_Reading_Course/Lessons/L000_002.html
  2. ^ http://www.schoolarabia.net/learn_arabic/learn_arabic_guidelines.htm
  3. ^ http://arabic.tripod.com/Arab20.htm