The Need for the Imam — Page x
ذ ص ض dh, pronounced like the English th in 'that'. ş, strongly articulated s. d, similar to the English th in 'this'. ط ظ ع t, strongly articulated palatal t. 7, strongly articulated z. ', a strong guttural, the pronunciation of which must be learnt by the ear. gh, a sound approached very nearly in the r 'grasseye' in French, and in the German r. It requires the muscles of the throat to be in the 'gargling' position whilst pronouncing it. ق ئ q, a deep guttural k sound. ', 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'); Long vowels by: ā for- - or (like a in 'father'); ī for or- (like ee in 'deep'); for (like oo in 'root'); Other: ai for - (like i in 'site')*; au for (resembling ou in 'sound'). Please note that in transliterated words the letter 'e' is to be pronounced as in 'prey' which rhymes with 'day'; however the pronunciation is flat without the element of English diphthong. ◆ In Arabic words like شیخ Shaikh) there is an element of diphthong which is missing when the word is pronounced in Urdu. X