Persian/Alphabet
From Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection
 |
This page of the Persian Language Wikibook is under construction. It may be incomplete or contain errors. See this module's talk page for discussion. |
Contents |
[edit] The Perso-Arabic Alphabet: Alefba الفبا
Persian is written using the Arabic alphabet, and the name of which is the "Alefba" which is the equivalent of the English "ABC". It has six vowels and 23 consonants, and is a modified version of the Arabic alphabet, with four extra Persian letters to represent sounds which do not exist in Arabic.
| Name | Isolated | Initial | Middle | End | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alef | ا | — | ﺎ | a as in cat, â as in father, o as in on or e as in well | |
| Be | ﺏ | ﺑ | ﺒ | ﺐ | b as in "big" |
| Pe | ﭖ | ﭘ | ﭙ | ﭗ | p as in park |
| Te | ﺕ | ﺗ | ﺘ | ﺖ | t as in "tea" |
| Se | ﺙ | ﺛ | ﺜ | ﺚ | s as in salad |
| Jim | ﺝ | ﺟ | ﺠ | ﺞ | J as in jade |
| Che | ﭺ | ﭼ | ﭽ | ﭻ | ch as in cheese |
| He | ﺡ | ﺣ | ﺤ | ﺢ | h as in house |
| Khe | ﺥ | ﺧ | ﺨ | ﺦ | ch as in "Bach or "Loch" |
| Dâl | ﺩ | — | ﺪ | d as in dog | |
| Zâl | ﺫ | — | ﺬ | z as in zoo | |
| Re | ﺭ | — | ﺮ | r as in rain | |
| Ze | ﺯ | — | ﺰ | z as in zoo | |
| Zhe | ﮊ | — | ﮋ | j as in mirage or French je | |
| Sin | ﺱ | ﺳ | ﺴ | ﺲ | s as in sand |
| Shin | ﺵ | ﺷ | ﺸ | ﺶ | sh as in sugar |
| Sâd | ﺹ | ﺻ | ﺼ | ﺺ | s as in sand |
| Zâd | ﺽ | ﺿ | ﻀ | ﺾ | z as in zoo |
| Tâ | ﻁ | ﻃ | ﻄ | ﻂ | t as in tiger |
| Zâ | ﻅ | ﻇ | ﻈ | ﻆ | z as in zoo |
| Eyn | ﻉ | ﻋ | ﻌ | ﻊ | a as in cat |
| Gheyn | ﻍ | ﻏ | ﻐ | ﻎ | gr as grin |
| Fe | ﻑ | ﻓ | ﻔ | ﻒ | f as in France |
| Qâf | ﻕ | ﻗ | ﻘ | ﻖ | gr as in |
| Kâf | ک | ﻛ | ﻜ | ک | k as in kid |
| Gâf | ﮒ | ﮔ | ﮕ | ﮓ | g as in golf |
| Lâm | ﻝ | ﻟ | ﻠ | ﻞ | l as in love |
| Mim | ﻡ | ﻣ | ﻤ | ﻢ | m as in music |
| Nun | ﻥ | ﻧ | ﻨ | ﻦ | n as in new |
| Vâv | ﻭ | — | ﻮ | a, u, o and v as in | |
| He | ﻩ | ﻫ | ﻬ | ﻪ | h as in horse |
| Ye | ى | ﻳ | ﻴ | ى | y as in year |
[edit] Extra Symbols
| Name | Isolated | Initial | Middle | End | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamze | ء | ||||
| Alef hamze | أ | ||||
| Vâv hamze | ؤ | ||||
| Alef Tanvin | اً | ||||
| Tashdid | ً | ||||
| Short "a" | ـَ | ||||
| Short "o" | ـُ | ||||
| Short "e" | ـِ |
[edit] Transcription
The following system is used as a guide to pronunciation in this book:
| ا | ب | پ | ت | ث | ج | چ | ح | خ | د | ذ | ر | ز | ژ | س | ش | |
| Name | alef | be | pe | te | se | jim | che | he | khe | dâl | zâl | re | ze | zhe | sin | shin |
| Wikipedia | â (') | b | p | t | s | j | ch | h | kh | d | z | r | z | zh | s | sh |
| ص | ض | ط | ظ | ع | غ | ف | ق | ک | گ | ل | م | ن | و | ه | ى | |
| Name | sâd | zâd | tâ | zâ | eyn | gheyn | fe | qâf | kâf | gāf | lâm | mim | nun | vâv | he | ye |
| Wikipedia | s | z | t | z | (') | gh | f | gh | k | g | l | m | n | u, w | h | i, y |
[edit] Pronunciation
Most letters in this system of transcription can be pronounced like their English equivalents, but some deserve special attention:
- â (letter: ا ) is a longer and deeper sound than the short a, and resembles the long "a" in "father" or "war". This sound must be distinguished clearly from a short "a" (as in "cat").
- zh (letter: ژ ) sounds as the g in "mirage", or if you know French, the "j" in "je".
- kh (letter: خ ) is similar to the "ch" in "Bach" but pronounced low in the throat.
- r (letter: ر ) is similar to an "r" in English (excluding the heavier "r" of American English), and is often rolled like a Spanish "r".
[edit] Differing Systems of Transcription
There are several different systems of transcription in use for Persian, and no one official system. This can cause difficulties when more than one textbook is consulted, and may lead an absolute beginner to confuse the different letters. There are too many differences to be listed here, but it is useful to be familiar with the most significant examples:
Some common differences include:
- The long "a" listen (help·info) may be distinguished from a short "a" as "ā","á", capital "A"or simply written as "a" with no distinction between the long and short sounds; for example "bābā", "bábá", "bAbA" or "baba" (in this book written as "bâbâ").
- The short "a" listen (help·info) may be distinguished from a long "a" as æ, meaning a simple "a" would represent a long "a"); for example "baba" (in this book written as "bâbâ") and "æbr" (in this book written as "abr").
- چ may be transcribed as c; for example "cetor", "ce" (in this book written as "chetor" and "che").
- خ may be transcribed as x; for example "xub" (in this book written as "khub").
- ﺵ may be transcribed as s; for example "soma" (in this book written as "shomâ").
- A long "u", may be written as oo; for example "doost" (in this book written as "dust").
