Arabic alphabet

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The Arabic alphabet is the script used for writing the Arabic language and several other languages of Asia and Africa, such as Urdu, Persian, Pashto, and Kurdish. It is written from right to left in a cursive style and includes 28 letters. The alphabet is derived from the Nabataean alphabet, which in turn descended from the Aramaic alphabet.

History

The Arabic alphabet evolved from the Nabataean alphabet, which was used in the 4th century CE. The earliest known inscriptions in the Arabic script date back to the 6th century CE. The script was standardized in the early Islamic period, and it has since become one of the most widely used writing systems in the world.

Structure

The Arabic alphabet is an abjad, meaning it primarily represents consonants. Vowel sounds are indicated with diacritics, which are optional in most texts but are used in religious texts, children's books, and for learners.

Letters

The Arabic alphabet consists of 28 letters. Each letter can have up to four different forms depending on its position in a word: isolated, initial, medial, and final. Some letters do not connect to the following letter, which affects the cursive flow of the script.

Diacritics

Diacritics are used to indicate short vowels, gemination, and other phonetic features. The main diacritics are:

• Fatha ( َ ) - represents a short "a" sound
• Kasra ( ِ ) - represents a short "i" sound
• Damma ( ُ ) - represents a short "u" sound
• Sukun ( ْ ) - indicates the absence of a vowel
• Shadda ( ّ ) - indicates gemination (doubling of a consonant)

Usage

The Arabic script is used for writing the Arabic language and has been adapted for several other languages, including Urdu, Persian, Pashto, and Kurdish. Each of these languages has modified the script to suit its phonetic needs, adding new letters or diacritics.

Calligraphy

Arabic calligraphy is a highly regarded art form in the Islamic world. It is used to decorate mosques, manuscripts, and other objects. There are several styles of Arabic calligraphy, including Naskh, Thuluth, and Kufic.

Unicode

The Arabic script is encoded in the Unicode standard, which allows it to be used in digital texts. The main Unicode block for Arabic is U+0600 to U+06FF, with additional blocks for extended characters and presentation forms.

Related Pages

• Arabic language
• Urdu
• Persian language
• Pashto
• Kurdish languages
• Nabataean alphabet
• Aramaic alphabet
• Hebrew alphabet
• Syriac alphabet
• Abjad
• Calligraphy

See Also

• Arabic numerals
• Arabic diacritics
• Arabic grammar
• Arabic literature