Moho

The Arabic alphabet writes the hamza (Phonème or “Glottal stop”; to consult the article on the pronunciation of Arabic for more details) in various ways. Its notation is relatively complex. The hamza can be presented without or with support, i.e.: to behave like a letter or a diacritic . The writing rules depend on the nature of the hamza , of its place in the word, vocalism and the syllabication.

Both hamza

There exist two types of hamza :

the stable hamza , which always decides and appears like one anywhere in a word;
the unstable hamza , that one finds only at the beginning of word, and who is carried out as a glottal stop only if the word in question is at the beginning of sentence or is after a pause. Elsewhere in the statement, the hamza and its vowel do not decide.

stable Hamza

It is necessary to consider its place in the graphic word (and not in the marked word): in rear RTL أَلسَّمَاءُ have-samāʾu , “the sky (definite prone case)”, hamza is the last letter (and not the last phoneme). Indeed, the U final is the accidental vowel, which is not marked in the informal talk; it could be besides a tanwīn : rear RTL سَمَاءٌ.

Hamza tahri with the initial one

It always has the ʾalif support and it is always followed of a vowel; it is a diacritic ;
it places below the ʾalif if the vowel which follows is /i/, long or short, that the text is vocalized or not: rear RTL إِ and rear RTL إ note both ʾi , as in the first name ʾIbrāhīm , written rear RTL إِبْرَاهِيم or rear RTL إبراهيم;
it places above the ʾalif in the other cases: ʾa is noted rear RTL أَ or rear RTL أ, while ʾu is written rear RTL أُ or rear RTL أ, for example; thus rear RTL أَنْتَ or rear RTL أنت ʾanta , “you (male)”; rear RTL أُسْبُوع or rear RTL أسبوع ʾusbūʿ , “week”; rear RTL أَيْنَ or rear RTL أين ʾayna , “where? ”, etc

Hamza with the finale

Its support varies according to the stamp of the vowel which precedes;
if it is /a/, /i/ or /o/ followed by hamza , this one is diacritic and its supports are respectively ʾalif , yāʾ hamza (without points), wāw : rear RTL مُبْتَدَأ mubtadaʾ , “beginning”;
in the other cases (after sukūn , letter of lengthening, etc), hamza does not have a support and it is a letter (it can thus in theory receive the sukūn ): rear RTL شَيْء šayʾ , “thing”; rear RTL بَاْء bāʾ , “letter B”, rear RTL ضَوْء ḍawʾ , “light” (with sukūn : rear RTL ضَوْءْ).

Hamza in the middle of the word

It is necessary to take into account the vowel (or the absence of vowel) which precedes the hamza (here V ¹) and that which follows it (V ²) to determine which will be its support:

if V ¹ is a ā and V ² a fatḥa , the hamza does not have a support and takes the independent form:

rtl rear شَاءَ š ā ʾ has “it wanted”

in the other cases, it is necessary to compare V ¹ and V ²; the hamza will take as support the consonant related to the strongest vowel, according to the hierarchy > > > sukūn :

thus, if V ¹ and V ² are and sukūn , the support will be a ʾalif :
:: raʾs , “head”, rear RTL رَأْس (then sukūn )
another example:

rtl rear حَقَائِب ḥaq' ā ʾ i' B , “bags” (support yāʾ hamza because >)

Exception: rear RTL مِائَة me i' ʾ has , “hundred” (one would await rear RTL مِئَة).

unstable Hamza

The “unstable” hamza known as appears only with the initial one; it always represents its follow-up of a vowel but with the difference of the stable hamza , the unstable one appears only if the word which it door is at the beginning of sentence or after a pause. Elsewhere, the hamza and its vowel are elided.

Words carrying an unstable hamza

The unstable hamza meets mainly:

at the beginning of rear article RTL أَل, the Relative pronoun and the word {{Lang|RTL|rear|اَللّٰه}} Allāh , “Allah (God)”;
at the beginning of certain verbal forms;
at the beginning of certain names, among which rear RTL إِبْن ʾibn , “wire”.

Into the last both cases, it falls on a ʾalif known as “prosthetic”, which is used to avoid that the word at the beginning of statement or after a pause starts with two consonants, which the syllabic structure Arab interdict. As a word cannot start either with a vowel, one adds a hamza . This ʾalif and its hamza being used only to form a syllable-crutch helping with the pronunciation, it is normal that they disappear elsewhere than at the beginning of statement.

unstable Hamza with the initial one

In a vocalized text, one does not write it by means of the letter or of diacritic the hamza but one keeps the ʾalif support alone, without mark. As no word starts with a vowel, a ʾalif only at the beginning of word in such a text can only carry an unstable hamza and its vowel; one can also note the vowel without the hamza , to even write both (more rarely): ʾal , “it,”, is generally written rear RTL ال, if not rear RTL اَل, and in didactic works RTL rear أَل (for didactic reasons). Rear C-W communication RTL اَل should not however make think that the word decides Al .

As the notation of the unstable hamza is very floating, one will often find many orthographies for the same mot.

unstable Hamza elided

Elsewhere than at the beginning of statement or than after a pause, the hamza is elided with its vowel, since the prosthetic syllable does not take place any more to be. The writing, however, continues to note it by means of the ʾalif waṣla : rear RTL ٱ, which never carries vowel, since this one is also amuïe. This diacritic is however seldom written, in the facts.

Moreover, any long vowel which precedes a hamza elided is shortened, without the writing not showing it: rear RTL فِي fī , “in” follow-up of rear syntagm RTL أَلْفُنْدُق ʾal-funduq , “the hotel”, is written rear RTL فِيٱلْفُنْدُق, marked fi l-funduq whereas he is actually written fī ʾal-funduq . In a more current way, the C-W communication will be في ٱلفندق even, even more usually, rear RTL فيالفندق, without waṣla .

Lastly, when the letter which precedes is a consonant closing the Syllabe (bearing thus the sukūn ) but not a consonant of prolongation, a vowel of connection is added, whose stamp varies according to grammatical rules which would exceed the framework of this talk. Thus, qubbaʿat + ʾas-sayyida , “the hat of the lady” becomes qubbaʿat + s-sayyida after elision then qubbaʿat-i s-sayyida , written rear RTL قُبَّعَةِٱلسَّيِّدَة or, more usually, rear RTL قبّعةالسيّدة. This vowel replaces, if necessary, the accidental vowel. It is used, once again, to avoid a succession of three consonants ( T + S ).

The unstable hamza elided can not even be written when several words with such a hamza are followed. Thus, formula of opening of the Coran rear RTL celebrates it بِسْمِٱللَّهِ, bi-smi-llāhⁱ “in the name of God”, analyzes rear RTL بِ Bi (particle of oath) follow-up of rear RTL إِسْمِ ʾismi , “name” (carrying an unstable hamza ) then of rear RTL اَللّٰه “ʾAllāh”, (also with hamza unstable). The last two words beginning each one by an unstable hamza elided, only one is written, by means of the ʾalif waṣla , that for ʾAllāh .

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