step-by-step

Cada vez más personas están aprendiendo árabe y / o están entrando en algún tipo de contacto con el mundo árabe. Cualquiera que desee aprender el idioma se enfrenta a un desafí­o inicial hasta ahora formidable: el alfabeto. Este libro avanza, paso a paso, a través de todas las letras del alfabeto árabe, mostrando los sonidos que representan y cómo se combinan en palabras. No se deja nada esencial, y no se agregan complicaciones innecesarias. Los lectores progresarán rápidamente y se sorprenderán de la relativa facilidad con que dominan los primeros pasos para dominar este idioma mundial cada vez más importante. El alfabeto árabe: cómo leerlo y escribirlo pertenece al escritorio de todos los estudiantes del idioma; en el equipaje de cada visitante del Medio Oriente; en el maletí­n de los empresarios con clientes árabes; y en el bolsillo trasero de cada empleado de compañías británicas o estadounidenses que trabajan en países árabes. -
Ever greater numbers of people are learning Arabic and/or coming into some kind of contact with the Arab world. Anyone who wishes to learn the language faces a hitherto formidable initial challenge: the alphabet. This book proceeds, step by step, through all the letters of the Arabic alphabet, showing the sounds they stand for and how they are combined into words. Nothing essential is left out, and no unnecessary complications added. Readers will make rapid progress and will be surprised at the relative ease with which they master the first steps towards command of this increasingly important world language. The Arabic Alphabet: How to Read and Write It belongs on the desk of every student of the language; in the luggage of every visitor to the Middle East; in the briefcase of business people with Arab clients; and in the back pocket of every employee of British or American companies working in Arab countries.

Excellent book, easy to follow ( )

This is a lovely little book which clarified so much about the Arabic language for me. Highly recommended. ( )

The Arabic Alphabet: How to Read It & Write It by Nicholas Awde and Putros Samano is a very accessible introduction to Arabic writing. Of the books I've read on Arabic writing, this one has been the most useful in terms of helping me decipher Arabic inscriptions and the logic of the writing system in terms of pronunciation, word construction, etc.

This slim volume (95 pages including a map) opens with "A Word to the Reader," which indicates its target audience and goals, starting with the assertion that Arabic classes that immerse the student in grammar and writing system simultaneously are problematic, and that a better approach is to make knowledge of the alphabet a prerequisite for an Arabic language class. The book is intended to provide a basic grasp of Arabic writing so that travelers have minimal survival skills in terms of reading signs, menus, etc. and language students can concentrate on grammar and vocabulary in class. It provides sufficient background on the language to better understand the writing system, and covers the individual letters and sounds, which other books I've read also address. But it also moves into such issues as ligatures, numbers, punctuation, case endings, definite and indefinite articles, and aspects of pronunciation--accent, stress, and so on that I have not seen addressed in other books.

The introduction discusses the different forms of Arabic, how Semitic languages differ from Romance and Germanic languages, and how the writing system fits the spoken language, plus tips for the English speaker to remember. Chapter 2 introduces the individual letters and their pronunciation. It has the best descriptions I've encountered so far of the additional sounds that are beyond the scope of the English language. The Arabic alphabet has 29 letters: 26 consonants and three vowels, two of which can also function as consonants--one fairly equivalent to the English "y" and the other similar to the English "w". In effect, there are two forms of "h," "s," "d," and "t," and as someone who is relying solely on books right now, the distinctions between these range from challenging to impossible. Chapter 2 closes with general writing tips.

Chapter 3 focuses on writing the individual letters. Little arrows show how to create each letter, which is displayed in each form: in isolation, initial, medial, and final positions. It is also written with each of the vowel diacriticals, and reminders on pronunciation, letter shape, and other details are provided. Finally, each letter section ends with representative vocabulary, building upon earlier letters and vowels. This section also goes into detail on the use and pronunciation of definite articles and how this is shaped by whether the first letter of the relevant word is a "sun letter" or "moon letter." This was tremendously helpful and the first time I had encountered this explanation. Moreover, time was spent exploring the intricacies of alif as a carrier, the complications created by hamza, and how such situations influence how words are written. Once again, tremendously helpful, because my attempts to puzzle out written Arabic have been hampered by coming across terms that do not appear in basic alphabet descriptions.

Chapter 4 spent more time with hamza, then spent time with one of the most commonly recited verses from the Qur'an as an example to work with, in terms of testing basic understanding of written Arabic--the verse in Arabic is followed by a transliteration and then a translation. This exercise is followed by "A Note on Handwriting" that demonstrates the most common differences between hand-written and typeset letters (for example, siin and shiin). The book closes with the basic reference table of the alphabet and a map of the main Arabic-speaking regions. ( )