User:Reciencito/Sandbox


 * Notes:


 * Initially, the letter ʼalif indicated a glottal stop, transcribed by, confirming the alphabet came from the same Phoenician origin. Now it is used in the same manner as in other abjads, with yāʼ and wāw, as a mater lectionis, that is to say, a consonant standing in for a long vowel (see below). In fact, over the course of time its original consonantal value has been obscured, since ʼalif now serves either as a long vowel or as graphic support for certain diacritics (madda or hamza).


 * The Arabic alphabet now uses the hamza to denote the glottal stop, which can appear anywhere in a word. This letter, however, does not function like the others: it can be written alone or with a carrier, in which case it becomes a diacritic:
 * alone: ء ;
 * with a carrier: إ, أ (above and under a ʼalif), ؤ (above a wāw), ئ (above a dotless yāʼ or yāʼ hamza).


 * Letters lacking an initial or medial version are never tied to the following letter, even within a word. As to ﺀ  hamza, it has only a single form, since it is never tied to a preceding or following letter.  However, it is sometimes combined with a waw, yā, or  ' alif, and in that case the seat behaves like an ordinary waw, yā, or  ' alif.