Urdu/Alphabet/Aliph

The letter aliph (sometimes also Latinised aleph or alif) is the first letter in the Urdu alphabet. The sound of the letter is that of an ‘a’ or ‘u’ in the English language especially as used in the words ‘art’ or ‘umbrella’. The voice is usually dependent on the context this letter is used in. For Urdu, this letter was borrowed from the Arabic language where also it serves as the first letter in the alphabet.