The Detroit Address — Page 39
39 ا at the beginning of a word, pronounced as a, i, u preceded by a very slight aspiration, like h in the English word honor. ث th – pronounced like th in the English word thing. ح h – a guttural aspirate, stronger than h. خ kh – pronounced like the Scottish ch in loch. ذ dh – pronounced like the English th in that. ص s – strongly articulated s. ض d – similar to the English th in this. ط t – strongly articulated palatal t. ظ z – strongly articulated z. ع ‘ – a strong guttural, the pronunciation of which must be learnt by the ear. غ gh – a sound similar to the French r in grasseye, and to the German r. It requires the muscles of the throat to be in the ‘gargling’ position to pronounce it. ق q – a deep guttural k sound. ء ’ – a sort of catch in the voice. Short vowels are represented by: a for __ َ ___ (like u in bud ). i for __ ِ ___ (like i in bid ). u for __ ُ ___ (like oo in wood ).