# Vowels



## Ali.h

Is vowel called harekah or does it have a different name?


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## Josh_

الفتحة، الضمة، and الكسرة are the حركات.  

The سكون is defined as  ضد الحركة, but, at least in the grammar book I have, it is categorized with the حركات.


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## Mahaodeh

It depends, long vowels are definitly 7uruuf. The 7arakat are the vowels that are not written as letters but as signs on the letters.


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## Eline0909

Could you please help me with the number of vowels in arabic?

Sometimes I read that they are 3, sometimes I read that there are totally 4 or sometimes a total number vowels which correspond to 7. So what is the right number and which are they?

Many thanks in advance!


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## rayloom

In Modern Standard Arabic they're 3 short vowels, 3 long vowels:
a,i,u
aa,ii,uu


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## Eline0909

Many thanks for your answer.

When you say long vowels are they exactly the same as short ones but pronounced a bit longer or does the sound change completely?

And thanks again!


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## rayloom

You're welcome 

Yes, the long vowel is pronounced the same as a short one but twice as long (commonly described in Arabic as حركتان two short vowels).

There are some minor sound shifts depending on the preceding consonant, if it was an emphatic or not. Otherwise they're the same.


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## Eline0909

Thank you very much for your quick response!

 Could you please give examples of these short vowels how they sound like for example giving examples of english words?

For example an _arabic a_ sounds like an _a in sad_ or not and so on.

Thanks!


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## rayloom

a : cut, hut
aa: cat, hat, sad

i: bid, tin
i: bead, teen 

u: put, foot
uu: pool, food


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## Eline0909

Great answers! Thanks!! I am so happy to understand the difference

Is it true that some arabic countries have even other vowels like e and o in their words. I am not sure but may be Egypt has some more vowels.

And another reflection: are the letters a, i and u also called alif, waw and yaw in arabic?


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## Eline0909

Another thought. In your examples short a and long aa sunddenly changes sound.

If aa is a bit longer than a than as it is in your example a: cut then aa should be for example as in hard, task and so on or whay do you think?

Otherwise it sounds as if you have 4 vowels. I am just confused. Please help.

Many thanks in advance!


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## rayloom

The long vowels a, i, u are called alif, yaa, waw respectively. Collectively they're called muduud (or Huruuf al-madd).
The short vowels a, i, u are called fatHa, kasra, Damma respectively. Collectively they're called 7arakaat (Harakaat).

Yes Colloquial Arabic in general has more vowels. Mainly due to the effect of monophthongization of diphthongs. ay>>e, aw>>o. The e and o are long vowels.
Bayt (house)>>bet.
thawr (bull)>>thor.
And these differ also from dialect to dialect.
Also on the usage of a short e,o. These also differ from dialect to dialect. Where usually a short i,u become a short e,o in a non-stressed syllable. But these are less obvious and less regular than the fist case (monophthongization of ay, aw).


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## rayloom

Eline0909 said:


> Another thought. In your examples short a and long aa sunddenly changes sound.
> 
> If aa is a bit longer than a than as it is in your example a: cut then aa should be for example as in hard, task and so on or whay do you think?
> 
> Otherwise it sounds as if you have 4 vowels. I am just confused. Please help.


If you prolong the vowel in cut, it becomes cat. (depends on how you pronounce cut and cat!, using American pronunciation here).

But if we go the other way round in the words you listed:
task (long a), then tusk (short a). Tusk as in an elephant's tusk!


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## Eline0909

Have a wonderful day! I appreciate very much your clear explanations!Thank you very much.

A happy person the rest of the day


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## rayloom

You're most welcome


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## clevermizo

I wanted to add that the vowel [a] is usually the most affected by certain consonants and that after ط، ص، ض، ظ، ق especially it is usually like the [a] in f*a*ther.


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## Eline0909

Thanks for the additional information. What do mean by the vowel a is most affected? Do you mean that the pronounciation changes? To what in that case?

Thanks!


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## rayloom

After an emphatic consonant, the long [a] vowel receives a rounded quality. Pretty much how you'd pronounce the a in caught, taught...etc.
Comparing Arabic كال and قال. (kaal & qaal, where the q is an emphatic consonant).
kaal, the aa sounds like the a in cat.
qaal, the aa sounds like the a in caught.


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## clevermizo

rayloom said:


> After an emphatic consonant, the long [a] vowel receives a rounded quality.



Not to be nit-picky, but this is called _backing_ not _rounding_.


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## rayloom

True...my mistake


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## MissLingO_o

I Loved that discussion! Great people!! 



What's the difference between vowel duration and spectral properties?


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## clevermizo

Moderator's Note:

This thread is on the subject of the number and nature of vowels in the Arabic language. It is not about general linguistics questions such as the definitions of vowel duration, waveforms, fundamental frequencies, etc. If users would like to ask these questions, they may feel free to ask them in Etymology and History of Languages which also deals with general questions about phonology and linguistics.


Thank you.

-clevermizo


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## MissLingO_o

Oh, I see! Thanks.


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## paieye

Can anyone recommend a simple guide to pronouncing vowels in Arabic ?


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## economistegypt2010

Paieye-- The guide that I recommend you is to visit the website in the link below. It discusses everything about vowels in a very professional and simple way. I hope that it helps 

The link: http://arabic.tripod.com/Arab20.htm#Vowels

If you need any more clarifications please let me know.


paieye said:


> Can anyone recommend a simple guide to pronouncing vowels in Arabic ?


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## paieye

Perfect, thank you, just what I wanted !


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## Diadem

I've read a variety of terms, including أَشْكَال (_ashkāl_) and تَشْكِيلَات (_tashkīlāt_), to name a few. How would a grade-schooler say "vowels" in Arabic?


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## ahmedcowon

You can say حَركات _(harakāt_)


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## إسكندراني

وأعتقد أنهم يقولون *شَكِلات* في الشام أو العراق


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## fdb

The Arabic national grammatical tradition does not actually have exact equivalents for “vowel”, “consonant”, “phoneme” etc. _ḥurūf_ means letters (i.e. consonants, but also the letters of prolongation ʼalif, yāʼ, wāw), and _ḥarakāt_ designates the vowel signs (_fatḥ _etc.). This tradition does not analyse the second syllable of /kitābun/ as consonant /t/ plus long vowel /ā/, but rather as a combination of the _ḥarf_ _tāʼ_, the _ḥaraka fatḥ_, and the _ḥarf ʼalif_. If you want to write about modern linguistic theory in Arabic it would probably be better to create a completely new technical vocabulary. But maybe someone has done this already.


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## abdalhamid

Vowels = حروف العلة " hourouf alhela "  that means ( ا و ي )   but harakat means الضمة والفتحة والكسرة والسكون


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## Diadem

abdalhamid said:


> Vowels = حروف العلة " hourouf alhela "  that means ( ا و ي )   but harakat means الضمة والفتحة والكسرة والسكون


I understand what you're saying...

How would you translate حركات into English though?  Vowel marks? At first, I was thinking "diacritics," but there are certainly other diacritics that do not represent vowel phonemes, such as الشدة.


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## fdb

I am afraid I need to disagree with Abdalhamid on a point of detail. _ḥarakāt _means “vowel signs” and does not include _sukūn_. _bāʼ_ with _sukūn_ is called _bāʼ sākina_, as opposed to _bāʼ mutaḥarrika_. On the other hand _šakl_ means “diacritic” and includes _sukūn_, _šadda_, etc.


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## princeipeazul

paieye said:


> Can anyone recommend a simple guide to pronouncing vowels in Arabic ?





Eline0909 said:


> Could you please help me with the number of vowels in arabic?
> 
> Sometimes I read that they are 3, sometimes I read that there are totally 4 or sometimes a total number vowels which correspond to 7. So what is the right number and which are they?
> 
> Many thanks in advance!


It really depends on the dialect you're studying. As a non-native speaker working in Riyadh, let me give you a guide using IPA symbols of my observation to the vowels they use.


The short vowels are:

*/ɐ/* *Near-open central vowel *- This is the sound the Fatha makes, a short "a" sound. For example: مدرسة /ˈmɐdɾɐsɐ/

*/ɪ/ Near-close front unrounded vowel *- This is the sound Kasra makes, a short "i" sound. For example: كنت /kɪnt/

*/ʊ/ Near-close back rounded vowel *- This is the sound Damma makes, a short "u" sound. For example: شكرا /ˈʃʊkɾɐn/


The long vowels are:

*/aː/ Open central unrounded vowel *- a long "a" sound. For example: كانت /ˈkaːnɐt/

*/iː/ Close front unrounded vowel *- occurs in long ي vowel. For example: ترجعين /tɪɾʤɐˈʕiːn/

*/eː/* *Mid front unrounded vowel* - occurs in long ي vowel. For example: بيت /beːt/

*/oː/* *Mid back unrounded vowel* - occurs in long و vowel. For example: موت /moːt/

*/uː/ Close back rounded vowel* - occurs in long و vowel. For example: يدرسون /jɐdɾɪˈsuːn/


As a non-native speaker, these are the vowels sounds I stick to when I try to speak in Arabic which, I believe, exist in all other dialects. If you are unsure about how these IPA symbols sound, click this link IPA vowel chart with audio - Wikipedia


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