Currently, more than seven percent of the world's population uses Arabic for their communication. Its writing is used in twenty-two countries, and the modification is common among the peoples of India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and other countries. When considering the features of this letter, you can see in him a lot of advantages, as well as the beauty of the sound of Arabic words and speech.
The origins of
The history of Arabic writing originates from the alphabet, which was created by the Phoenicians living in Lebanon, Syria and Palestine. Due to the fact that this nation conducted its trade affairs along the entire Mediterranean coast, their writing influenced the development of many alphabets of this region.
Thus, the Phoenician writing developed immediately in several directions, one of which is the Greek alphabet, and a little later, the Latin one. His second branch was reflected in Aramaic speech, which, in turn, was divided into Hebrew and the Nabatean alphabet, which came into use from the second century BC in the territory of modern Jordan. Subsequently, Arabic script appeared there.
Further development
Such a letter was thoroughly strengthened in the fourth century AD, when the alphabet was fully formed. Then it was already possible to trace in it the features that are endowed with modern Arabic writing. For example, with the same sign two or three phonemes could be designated at once, which later began to be distinguished using diacritical points. The consonants were written in shaddas, and later vocalizations began to appear. The emergence of Arabic writing is still a little obliged to such ancient peoples as the Semites, since it was from them that the Arabs borrowed the form of their letters.
Spelling began to arise a little later, when it became necessary to write the holy book of all Muslims - the Quran. Earlier, the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad were spread through oral speech, which subsequently led to their distortion. After that, thanks to the great influence of Islam, this letter became one of the most widespread in the world. Now it can be found in many regions of Africa, Central and West Asia, in Europe and even America.
Writing features
Arabic writing is similar to Russian in that it also uses letters, not hieroglyphs. Words and sentences are written from right to left. Another distinguishing feature of this letter is that it does not have uppercase letters. All names, the first words in sentences are put on paper exclusively from a small symbol. Punctuation marks are written upside down, which is also unusual for the Russian-speaking population.
Arabic writing differs from many others in that only consonants and long vowel sounds are displayed on it, while short ones are not displayed at all and are reproduced exclusively in speech. At the same time, there is no confusion when reading, due to the fact that these sounds are recorded using various superscript as well as subscript characters. The alphabet of the Arabs consists of 28 letters. At the same time, 22 of them have four forms of writing, and 6 - only two.
Early Style Varieties
The types of standard Arabic writing are represented by six different handwritings, three of which arose a little earlier than the rest:
- The first of these is kufi. It is the oldest and is based on geometric rules in combination with ornament. In writing this style use straight lines, angles. They are applied to paper using drawing tools. This style is characterized by constancy and grandeur, severity and solemnity. Thanks to these qualities, it was he who was used when writing the main book of Muslims. Also, this writing style can be seen on Arabic coins and mosques.
- A bit later, a pulse appeared. The translation of its name literally sounds like a "third", since its signs are three times smaller in size than in kufi. It is considered to be ornamental style. Therefore, heartbeat is often used in various subheadings and important appeals. A distinctive feature of this handwriting is its letters, which have a curved appearance with some hooks at their end.
- Nash. It was created around the tenth century. Characteristic features of the style are small horizontal “stitches”, while the intervals between words are always maintained. In the modern world, it is mainly used for publishing books and for printing periodicals.
Late species
These three styles were invented a little later than the above handwriting. These include the following types of Arabic script:
- Talik. He appeared in the Iranian state and was originally called Farsi. When writing it, the letters gradually move down from top to bottom, so you might think that the words are specially written diagonally. In this style, the letters have a smooth outline. It is mainly distributed in the countries of South Asia, as well as in India.
- Handwriting rik'a. Its basis is the ancient types of writing. Literally, its name translates as "a small leaf." It is a rather concise style, as well as the easiest to write, so it is most often used for taking notes and in everyday life.
- Sofa style. It is often used in government offices. For example, in such handwriting they write various orders, official letters and other types of state correspondence.
Monumental style
Arabic writing of this variety is most often used on any solid materials, stones and metal. It can be seen at various architectural monuments and monuments, as well as at mosques, steles and coins. This handwriting is characterized by angularity and scale, so it is a purely manuscript view. This style is applied to the material by continuous writing and tends to be cohesive.
From the foregoing, we can conclude that the Arabic script is in itself simple, if you study it without unnecessary worries and fears in the right sequence.