The Arabic Sounds II

Group B – with approximately the same pronunciation as their counterparts in some European languages, but not in Standard English.

gh – ghayr (unlike, non-), ghaalib (triumphant), mughanni (singer)
A guttural sound similar to that of gargling. Like Parisian French ‘r’.

r – raadyo (radio), baachir (tomorrow), mirgad (bed)

x – xaliij (gulf), xanjar (dagger), xuux (peaches)
Similar to German Bach, Spanish Juan, Scottish Loch Ness.

l – ‘light, soft’ l: li3ab (he played), laysh (why?), layla (night)
but ‘dark, hard’ l in: allaah (Allah)

Group C – sounds different from the sounds encountered in any common European language.

^ – il-^arab (the Arabs), ^abdallah (Abdullah), bi^iir (camel)

’ – su’al (question), mu’min (believer), mu’allif (author)
This is the so-called glottal stop, or hamza. It is like a very short pause between the two parts of the word it “divides”. It is rarely heard in Gulf Arabic.

H– aHmar (red), il-Hiin (now), Haggak (to/for you; yours)
Like breathing on your hands in winter to warm them up.

Emphatic sounds:
The following sounds - S, T, and DH - are called the emphatic counterparts of s, t, and dh. They are pronounced with greater muscular tension in the mouth and throat, and with a raising of the back and root of the tongue toward the roof of the mouth.

S – SaaliH (an Arab name), xaaliS (complete, pure), SabaaH (morning)

T– Tarrash (he sent), tiTbaxiin (you (fem.) cook), maTaa3im (restaurants)

DH – DHallayt (I stayed), bu DHabi (Abu Dhabi, in relaxed speech), ir-riyaaDHa (sport)

A not very common sound in colloquial Gulf Arabic:

q – al-qaahira (Cairo) , quluub (hearts), daqiiqa (minute)
This is a sound used in Standard Arabic as well as in dialects of most parts of Oman and Iraq. It’s basically a ‘k’ pronounced far back in the mouth. In Gulf Arabic it is usually pronounced as ‘g’, hence guluub, dagiiga.

( II ) VOWELS

The Gulf Arabic vowels, generally, are not difficult for the English speaker.

short – a, i, o, u
long – aa, ii, ee, oo, uu
diphthongs – ay (ey), aw

( III ) DOUBLED CONSONANTS

A double consonant may change the meaning of a word, so be careful to pronounce it correctly. As you can hear from the recordings, you must prolong the time you spend pronouncing the doubled consonant in a word.

darast – I learned, I studied
darrast – I taught

mara – woman
marra – time, occasion.