# Arabic period (fullstop)



## kamui42

Hello,
Is the Arabic "dot" (.) the same as in English ? or is there a special symbol like in Japanese for exemple, if so how do we write it with an azerty keyboard in Win XP in Arabic mode ?
I ask this because when I write the normal dot in Arabic, it goes to the begining of the sentence, like the other English ponctuation, unlike the Arabic ponctuation (the inversed question mark stay at the end of the sentence...)
Thanks


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## elroy

We use the same "dot" in Arabic.  The reason it goes to the beginning of the sentence is that the software is not programmed to format Arabic text properly.  To fix the problem, follow the instructions in the forum sticky.


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## kamui42

OK, thanks for your reply, and your corrections


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## NC Linguist

elroy said:


> We use the same "dot" in Arabic.  The reason it goes to the beginning of the sentence is that the software is not programmed to format Arabic text properly.  To fix the problem, follow the instructions in the forum sticky.



I am new here and don't know how to find the "forum sticky." How do I do that? Also, when I fix the dot/period problem, will that also fix the problem that my cursor does not flash in the correct position for where my character is going to appear when I type? That is a frustration when I want to go back and delete  and/or insert a character or a diacritic. Shukran.


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## NC Linguist

I found the sticky forum and the Arabic Resources and Alphabet and Writing, but within that I can't find the instructions for fixing the dot/period problem.


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## Malki92

http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=53282&p=506357#post506357



> *FORMATTING*
> 
> In order to avoid formatting glitches when posting in Arabic, please abide by the following guidelines:
> 
> *BEFORE YOU SUBMIT A POST:
> 
> 1. Place the following around your text:
> 
> (text)
> 
> 2. Remember to align your text to the right. This can be done by selecting the appropriate icon from the editing window (it will say "Align Right" when you hover over it). If you choose to reply using the Quick Reply window, you will need to manually enter the following:
> 
> (text)​
> IF YOU WISH TO EDIT A POST:
> 
> 1. Should you wish to go back and edit an Arabic text, it may realign itself automatically to the left. Please highlight it and realign it to the right again. Do this every time you edit it!
> 
> 2. Sometimes, the text will not look the same in the editing window as it did when it was last submitted. You may see extra spaces, or some spaces may disappear. Do not try to fix this! Leave the text as is, making only the modifications you had intended to make. Adding or removing spaces to make up for the glitch will end up being counterproductive, because the text will look even worse when you submit it. If you make only the necessary changes, the text will look fine when you submit it.
> 
> 
> IF YOU NEED TO TYPE A NUMERAL (1, 2, 3...) AFTER AN ARABIC WORD:
> 
> 1. If you need to type a numeral after an Arabic word, place the following around the numeral:
> 
> (text)
> 
> For example, عمل 3amal
> (There are tags around the 3.)
> 
> 2. Note that you will have to do this even if there is a punctuation mark between the Arabic word and the numeral.
> 
> For example, عمل (3amal)
> (Tags around the 3 are still necessary despite the parenthesis.)
> 
> These tags are also needed anytime you wish to type an Arabic word after another Arabic word but want the second Arabic word to appear to the right of the first Arabic word.
> 
> For example, عمل رجل
> (عمل was typed before رجل. There are tags around the word رجل; otherwise it would have appeared to the left of عمل.)*


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## barkoosh

Could you specify which application you're using to write Arabic, and under what OS? Are you making sure that the text direction is RTL (Right-To-Left)?


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## NC Linguist

My operating system is Windows 7 home premium. I'm trying to input Arabic text into a variety of applications, e.g., AOL e-mail, Atlantis word processor, Open Office word processor, etc. Is there a text direction that must be set or toggled in addition to the toggle that chooses among my different language keyboards? (That last may be the key.)


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## barkoosh

I have no idea about AOL email, and I don't think that Atlantis supports RTL languages. OpenOffice, LibreOffice, and MS Office do. For OpenOffice, make sure you have those options set before writing Arabic (see picture).


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## NC Linguist

barkoosh said:


> I have no idea about AOL email, and I don't think that Atlantis supports RTL languages. OpenOffice, LibreOffice, and MS Office do. For OpenOffice, make sure you have those options set before writing Arabic (see picture).



OpenOffice is an example of an application where I have the problem. The behavior of AOL mail, OpenOffice and Atlantis are all pretty much identical. The Arabic letters appear correctly from right to left until I type a dot/period, and that appears at the right, i.e., at the beginning of the sentence. I suspect that I need to have "those options set" but I don't know about what options you're talking or how to set them. I also don't know to which picture you're referring. Do you mean the Formatting box at the beginning of the thread? That Formattng box seemed to relate only to posting here. Or are you saying that when I create an OpenOffice document in Arabic I start by typing (text) in English before I begin typing Arabic? 

Also, earlier in this thread Elroy wrote: "the software is not programmed to format Arabic text properly.  To fix the problem, follow the instructions in the forum sticky," which tells me that at least one other person has had this problem and knows how to solve it. I just can't impliment Elroy's instructions to "follow the instructions in the forum sticky.


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## barkoosh

Hi

I don't know what Elroy was referring to when he talked about the "instructions". Maybe he was referring to posting to this forum in Arabic. Anyway, the picture attached to my previous post is about OpenOffice. The settings will make OpenOffice adopt a RTL direction that will solve the full-stop problem.

Please test this on Windows: Open Notepad. Press the RIGHT ctrl+shift to make the direction RTL. Start typing Arabic (you may need to change the keyboard) and then type a dot (the same key for the English dot but with shift on the Arabic keyboard). Does the dot show to the right?


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## NC Linguist

I don't have Notepad. When I use the language pulldown menu on a new OpenOffice text document, the CTL option is not "live," so to speak. I wonder if I need to install OpenOffice again with different options. Holding down (right) SHIFT and striking (right) CTL has no effect on anything.


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## barkoosh

Every Windows has a Notepad. Just click the Start button and type 'Notepad' in the field, the Notepad icon will appear.

I really don't know what's wrong with your Windows. The option of RTL direction runs in Windows when you add an Arabic keyboard. I installed OpenOffice and everything worked fine with me.


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## NC Linguist

Can I correspond via e-mail with you or someone else who can help me solve this? I hate to take up space on a public forum. You are correct that I have Notepad. I found it and tried your experiment. Holding down Shift and striking Ctrl has no effect. The dot/period shows up at the right of the Arabic text, which otherwise is appearing correctly right to left.


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## barkoosh

Sure. You can send me a private message.


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## NC Linguist

I changed my mind. I will keep this public because other people may have similar problems. I am astonished, but I acquired a new keyboard (surplus from my office neighbor), and that has half-solved my problem. I have long since downloaded the Microsoft Arabic keyboard. Now, when I compose e-mails in AOL, and when I write documents in Notepad, the behavior is as others have described here: I strike Shift while holding down the Ctl key, and the keying proceed correctly right to left, and that includes the period at the end of the sentence. However, in OpenOffice and in the word processing software Atlantis, I still can't get that software to "acknowledge" the Ctl-Shift combination, and so the cursor stays to the right, even while I'm typing Arabic right to left, and the dot/period appears at the right, not at the end of the Arabic sentence. I will continue to play around, and I will post any developments. Any thoughts or comments by anyone?


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## NC Linguist

I just tried G-mail. There, too, I have no problem. Right Shift-Ctrl "works." It causes the cursor to appear at the left end of the current line, as it should, and it puts the period correctly at the end (left) of the Arabic sentence. Left Shift-Ctrl changes it back. But now I need to make it "work" with word processing software, e.g., OpenOffice or Atlantis.


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## barkoosh

If it's working with Notepad, then it should work with OpenOffice. Don't bother with Atlantis, since it doesn't support RTL direction. As for OpenOffice, I still can't see why it's not working. Do you have the latest version of OpenOffice? Did you try working with LibreOffice? The two are almost the same. And are you making sure that the RTL direction button (the upper red arrow on the image attached in my post above) is pressed, while the text is right-aligned (the third button to the left)?


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## NC Linguist

Thank you very much! I now have the period/stop appearing correctly when I word process Arabic in OpenOffice. Your attached image was very helpful. I had to go to the options and then language options and set CTL. Whew! What a victory. I am grateful. NC Linguist


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## Hemza

Hello,

As a non native Arabic speaker who has amongst his friends/acquaintances native Arabic speakers (Maghrebis/Palestinians/Egyptians but I think that only happened with Egyptians as far as I remember), I would like to know why when they write a sentence (for instance, in a message), they always put two dots at its end. Is it something common? I asked them but no one could provide me a satisfying answer, it seems to be normal to them. With handwriting (the few times I succeeded to read it  ) they don't seem to use it but in electronic messages, ALWAYS, even when writing in French (which is something completely unknown in French).

Thank you.


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## cherine

Not a common thing. But as was said several times in the forum, punctuation in Arabic doesn't have fixed universal rules like in other languages, unfortunately.


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## Hemza

Thank you Cherine .


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## Saley

What is the function of the Unicode character U+06D4 ARABIC FULL STOP (۔)?


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## Mahaodeh

That doesn't really look like a full stop to me, it looks like a very short dash.


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## barkoosh

It seems to be the full stop in Urdu. So it's not within the scope of our forum.


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