Khowar/Alphabet
The Khowar alphabet is derived from the Persian (Farsi) and the Arabic alphabet, where majority of the letters are borrowed from Arabic while only four alphabets are primarily borrowed from Persian. Very seldom, letters may be borrowed from Sanskrit. Even though the letters actually are inherited from these languages. However, Khowar has its own six alphabets, which are "Zhy", "Tsheen", "Tchay", "Tsay", "Tzhay" and "LRay".
Below is a table of all the Khowar alphabets along with their names and the phonetic pronunciation of their names. It is also specified as to which language the letter is borrowed from and the respective keys to press on a keyboard. For the purposes of following the text in this book, Latin alternatives are provided with the alphabet.
Alphabet | Name | Phonetic pronunciation | Borrowed from | Keyboard[1] | Voice[2] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
ا | Aliph | pronounced [əlɪf] | Arabic | J | Vowel |
ب | Bay | pronounced [beɪ] | Arabic | I | Labial |
پ | Pay | pronounced [peɪ] | Persian | Y | Labial |
ت | Tay; with soft ‘t’ | pronounced [θeɪ] | Arabic | U | Dental |
ٹ | Tay; with hard ‘T’ | pronounced [teɪ] | Sanskrit | Shift + U | Retroflex |
ث | Thay; colloquially ‘say’ | pronounced [s·eɪ] | Arabic | Shift + T | Dental |
ج | Jeem | pronounced [dʒ·iːm] | Arabic | O | Palatal |
ج | Tjeem; Pronounced as "JhenJher" | pronounced [dʒ·iːm] | Khowar | O | Palatal |
چ | Chay | pronounced [tʃ·eɪ] | Persian | Shift + O | Palatal |
چ | Tchay; pronounced as "Charvelu" | pronounced [tʃ·eɪ] | Khowar | Shift + O | Palatal |
څ | Tsay; Pronounced as "Tseq" | pronounced [tʃ·eɪ] | Khowar | Shift + O | Palatal |
ح | Hay | pronounced [heɪ] | Arabic | P | Aspirated |
خ | Khay | pronounced [xeɪ] | Arabic | Shift + P | Velar |
د | Daal; with soft ‘d’ | pronounced [ðɑːl] | Arabic | R | Dental |
ڈ | Daal; with hard ‘D’ | pronounced [dɑːl] | Sanskrit | Shift + R | Retroflex |
ذ | Dhaal; colloquially ‘zaal’ | pronounced [zɑːl] | Arabic | Shift + E | Aspirated |
ر | Ray | pronounced [reɪ] | Arabic | D | Semi-vowel |
ڑ | aRay; with very guttural ‘r’ | pronounced [areɪ] | Sanskrit | Shift + D | Hard retroflex |
ز | Zay | pronounced [zeɪ] | Arabic | Shift + S | Aspirated |
ژ | Zhay; much like ‘j’ in ‘bonjour’ | pronounced [ʒeɪ] | Persian | Shift + A | Aspirated |
ژ | Djay; much like ‘j’ in ‘bonjour’ | pronounced [ʒeɪ] | Khowar | Shift + A | Aspirated |
س | Seen | pronounced [siːn] | Arabic | V | Dental aspirated |
ش | Sheen | pronounced [sh·iːn] | Arabic | B | Dental aspirated |
ش | Tsheen; Pronounced as "Shapik" | pronounced [sh·iːn] | Khowar | B | Dental aspirated |
ص | Suaad | pronounced [sʊ̈·ɑːð] | Arabic | W | Velar aspirated |
ض | Dhuaad; colloquially ‘zuaad’ | pronounced [zʊ̈·ɑːð] | Arabic | Shift + W | Velar aspirated |
ط | Toay'n | pronounced [θɔɪŋ] | Arabic | Q | Dental velar |
ظ | Zoay'n | pronounced [zɔɪŋ] | Arabic | Shift + Q | Velar aspirated |
ع | Ain; guttural ‘a’ | pronounced [æn] | Arabic | M | Velar vowel |
غ | Ghain; hoarse guttural ‘g’ followed by a hollow ‘h’ | pronounced [ghæn] | Arabic | N | Strong velar aspirated |
ف | Fay | pronounced [feɪ] | Arabic | X | Aspirated |
ق | Quaaf; ‘Qu’ is pronounced only as ‘k’ | pronounced [gɑːf] | Arabic | Z | Velar |
ک | Kaaf | pronounced [kɑːf] | Arabic | K | Velar |
گ | Gaaf | pronounced [gɑːf] | Persian | Shift + K | Velar |
ل | Laam | pronounced [lɑːm] | Arabic | G | Dental |
م | Meem | pronounced [miːm] | Arabic | A | Labial |
ن | Noon | pronounced [nuːn] | Arabic | F | Palatal |
ں | Noon ghuna; nasal equivalent of ‘noon’ | pronounced [nuːn ghʊ̈nɑː] | Arabic | Shift + F | Palatal nasal |
و | Vao; as you'd say “wow” | pronounced [vaʊ] | Arabic | S | Vowel/semi-vowel |
ہ | Hay | pronounced [heɪ] | Arabic | H | Aspirated |
ء | Hamza | pronounced [hʌmzɑː] | Arabic | Shift + H | Palatal nasal |
ی | Chhoti yeh; literally meaning ‘small yeh’ | pronounced [yeɪ] | Arabic | L | Vowel |
ے | Bari yeh; literally meaning ‘big yeh’ | pronounced [yeɪ] | Arabic | C | Vowel |
- ↑ The keys as they appear on the keyboard layout for Windows operating systems
- ↑ The voice describes the characteristics of the sound produced by the letter of the alphabet. It may be Velar, Palatal, Retroflex, Dental, Labial or Aspirated consonants and vowels. Discuss this