03 mastering arabic script a guide to handwriting

Mastering Arabic Script a guide to handwriting Jan e Wightwi ck and Mahmoud Gaafar Contributions and handwriting models by Professor Mohammed Hamaam Head of the Academy of Arabic Script, Cairo palgrave macmillan www.uz-translations.net * C g-a nd -w 1'V8USHI,,"C 2005 All rights reserved, No reproduction, copy or transmission of this pub li ca ti on may be mode without written permission. No paragraph of this pu bliootion moy be reproduced, copied or transmitted save wi th written permission or in occor oonce with the provisions of the Copyrig ht , Designs and Patents Act 1988, or unde r th e terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyrig ht li censing Agency, 90 T otte nh am Cou rt Rood, l ondo n WIT 4lP . Any person who does any unaut horised act in relat i on to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecu ti on and civil claims for damage s. . The authors hav e asserted their rig ht s to be identified as the auth ors of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs a nd Patents Act 1988. First publi shed 2005 by PAlGRAVE MACM I LLAN Houndmills, Boslngstoke, Hamps hi re RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. 10010 Co mpani es and re prese ntali v('S throughout the world PALGRAVE MACMIL LA N Is the gl obal ocademic imprin t of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin 's Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark In the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a regist('red trad e ma rk in the EuroJlP.On Union and oth('r countries. ISBN.13: 978 ·1·4039·4110-7 IS BN ·IO: 1· 40 39·4 1l0- 6 This boo k. is printed on pape r su itable for re<ycling and mad(' from fully managed and sus tained forest sou rces. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to con f orm to the environm· e nt al r egula ti ons of the c ountry of origin. A ca ta logue rerord for this book. is available fro m the British Li brary. 10 9 8 7 14 13 12 II 10 09 08 Printed and bound in Chino Contents Introdu c tion Ba sic lett er shapes 1 U nit 1 Unit 2 Unit 3 extra Unit 4 Unit 5 Unit 6 ext ra Un it 7 Unit 8 Unit 9 ex tr a Unit l Q Unit 11 Un it 12 Unit 13 extra u 6 9 Vowel and doubling signs 14 16 J ; ; 20 j J 24 Long vowels 28 C C 1; 30 " " 34 ~ 39 H amza 42 v::. '-"" 44 V" V" 48 ~ J 52 ; J 57 Nu mbers U nit 14 .!l Unit 15 J.;.b 62 64 68 7J Unit 16 iii www.uz-translations.net Letter combinations Unit 17 General principles Unit 18 Joining to t Unit 19 75 76 79 83 Unit 20 Unit 21 Joining to {" Joining to final 86 Summary of combinations with -! 89 Write on! Activities for further practice 93 Arabic alphabet Summary table 111 Acknowledgements Th e authors and publishers wish to th an k the following for use of copyright material: Dar Assayad for the use of the masthead from Ai Anwar newspaper; Professor Mohammed Hamaam (or th e sa mple of his calligraphy. Ev ery effort ha s been mad e to trace a ll copyright holders, but if any have been inad vertently overlooked, the publishers will be pleased to make the necessary arrange m en ts at the first opportunity. Introduction The hi story of the Arabic scr ipt The Arabic alphabet and written lang uage ha s remained remarkably con stant since the six th or seve nth century AD , largely due to the unifying factor of the Qur'an. There is no clear documented progression in the development of the script before this time and only a limited number of original pre- Is lami c Arabic texts exist, sometimes as scraps of stone or parchment. Arabic is a Semitic languag e related to Aramaic and Hebrew. Th e language ha s its roots in th e n omadic oral tradition of the desert, which largely explains the la ck of early examples of the Script. Although spoken Arabic dialects have diverged in the same way that Romance languag es such as Italian and French hav e diverged from Latin, the Modem S tandard Arabic of today's media is close to the l anguage of th e Qur'a n and Classical literature. Th e spelling and grammar hav e not changed signifi can tly over the centuries. Different styles of writing Arabic calligraphy is a highly respected art form with hundreds of different styles. Many of these ca lli gra phic styles a re very ornate and intended more for decoration than comprehension. The ca lligrapher relies on the reader alr e ady knowing the text, often a verse from the Qur'an, and can concentrate on making th e sCrip t as beautiful and balanced as possible. As for as every day written Arabic is concerned, there are two si gn ificant styles: na sk h, the basic script used for most printed material; and ruq'a, the script used for most handwritten material. Although it is possible to typeset ruq'a or handwrite www.uz-translations.net Introduction An example of hig hl y decorative calligraphy showing text from the Qur'an (Professor Mohammed Hamaam, Head of the Academy of Arabic Script, Cairo) na skh, this does not huppen commonly. Most Arab children will initially le arn to read and write naskh in a similar way to English children learning to read and write using infant letters. At about 11 or 12 years old, secondary school students in the Arab world will graduate to writing ruq'a, which is an eagerly anticipated step and a sign of having joined the ' adult' club. Ruq'a is a more flowing script than naskh and designed for speed and efficiency. Good handwriting is much admired as an Introduction extension of the respect paid to calligraphy. As a learner you will find a mastery of the ruq'a script wi ll help you to be regarded as a serious student of the language, as well as being a more efficient way of handwriting. vii This book sets out to compare and contrast naskh and ruq'a and to teach you a fluid and mature ruq'a writing style, using models produced by one of the leading experts on handwriting in the Arab world and providing extensive practice material. There are obvious similarities between naskh and ruq'a, but there are also some important differences to be mastered when writing ruq'a. For example, ruq'a script largely floats above the line whereas el ements of naskh fall below the line. Also, many of the fiddlier and more time-consuming elements of naskh are rationalised in ruq'a for the sake of speed. For examp le the separate dots above and below the main script are joined together. i A / ()f'.;> 5UI )3U\ ' 5 ~\ A sentence written in both sc ripts. The naskh version (top) was typeset and the ruq'a version (below) was handwritten by Professor Hamaam. Can you spot the simi larities and differences? www.uz-translations.net viii Introduction How to use this book This script book ca n be beneficial at different s tage s of th e l ea rning process. It c an be used by complete begi nn ers who wish to ma ster the ruq'a scri pt s imultan eously with the print ed naskh, s upplem e nting the ear ly s tag es of study of the Arabic languag e, whether in a classroom or home setting. Beginners often find th e script quite easy to ma ster in principle but still find it tokes a lo ng time to become flue nt in reading and writing. This book can help you overcome th e script barrier much more quickly. Alte rnati vel y, you may hav e already studied Arabic and be proficient in reading naskh. But you ma y not yet have had th e opportunity to impro ve yo ur own writing or to decipher th e handwriting of nativ e spea kers. This book can take you to th e n ex t level by conce ntrating on making yo ur Arabic handwriting mor e matur e and flue nt . At whatever s tage y ou a pproach this book, it is best to work your way through the unit s meth odicall y. There are thr ee main pa rts to the book. The first part covers how to form and join individual letter s hape s; the second covers speci al combinations of letters; and the third part is an activity section for further practice. Features included are : • clear ex planation and graphics showing how the letter s hape s are form ed • numerous practice exercises to help you achieve fluency in writing • Master calligrapher tip s: expert hint s on writing in ruq 'a from Professor Mo hamm ed Hamaam, head of the Acade my of Arabic Sc ript in Cairo. Fo ll ow th e in st ructions in thi s guide and you will hav e good ru q'a handwritin g. Follow Professor Hamaam 's tips and you will ha ve even better ruq'a writing! • 'ex tra ' sections covering f ea tur es of th e Arabic sc ript such as writing vowe ls and hamza ( ) • ph otos and illustrations showing th e scri pt in co nt ex t • Write on!: additional s timulating and useful activities to impro ve recognition and fluency of writing. Introduction Basic principles of Arabic script There are a few ba sic princip le s of Arabic script which apply whichever sty le of writing is use d: • There ore 28 letters in the alphabet. • The sC ript is written right to left. • There are no capital letters. • Words are written in cursive, or 'join ed up' , writing. All letters join to the le tt er before in a word and all but six join to the letter after also. Once you have ma stered the various forms of each letter sha pe in both naskll and ruq'a you will find you can write and read Arabic in most everyday context s. Fin ally, mak e s ur e you have a good ink pen, drawing pen, gel p en or a so ft pencil to write Arabic. The Arabic sC ript usually looks better when written with a thicker nib or tip. Arabic is a fl owing scri pt and it is difficult to achieve a good hand with a ch eap biro. www.uz-translations.net Basic letter shapes www.uz-translations.net . r· · l ~ ! ) ~ " ~~ ,. :. U For the first few unit s of Part I, you will be practising how to write individual Arabic s hape s and letters. When you hav e mastered eno ugh letters, we will introduce complete words to re co gnise and copy. Practise forming th e le tt er s hape above, first by tra cing th e shape and then by copying what you see. P ay special attention to where you s tart th e shap e. • • • • • s ta rt h're '-"'-" ~ • • This s hape is used for thr ee different Arabic letters. Compare the printed and the handwritt en versions: Printed form Handwritten form - ~ - • the letter ba'. The ba sic shape with one dot undern eath . Pronounced ' b' as in 'boat'. the letter ta'. The basic s hope with two dots above . Pr ono un ced 't' as in 'tin' . Un it 1 A ~ - the le tt er tha', The b as ic s hape with three dots above. Prono un ced ' th ' as in 't hanks' , 3 Notice that in the handwritten form th e dots become joined up f or speed. Two dots are joined like thi s: _ Three dots are joined like thi s: 1\ Practise tracing and copying tho se shapes by th emselves, remembering to move your pen from right to le ft. 1\ - 1\ - 1\ - 1\ - 1\ - 1\ - Now pra ctise all three letters. Always complete the main letter sh ape first and th en add any 'dots'. t ; __ ~ ~ - . • - ~ ~ A A t., L,.oo ~ www.uz-translations.net 4 Unit 1 Joining up Arabic is a cursive script: most Arabic letters a re w ri tten join ed up to t he o th er letters in a word. Here is how the letter shape fo r "':"" U and ~ looks when at the beginning, in the mi dd l e, and at the end of a wor d: final joined to the le tt er before only t ~ . ~ ] ~ C. .l - - = -_ . me dial joined bo th sides initial jo ined to the letter aft er only [ - : ~ -J ~ ~W Notice how in the initial and me d ia l position s, the dots associat ed with the le tter move to the right of th e sh ape, sitting above or under the right.h and curve. ] Master calligraph er tip s Th e shape of th e initial ba', ta' a nd tha' is one of th e most importa nt in Arabic writing. The stroke is fundamental to handw ri ting and f or ms the b as is of a numb er of Arabic letter shap es. Pay a tt ention to the starting and finishing position s. U ni t 1 This letter sh ape can be joined together in differe nt comb in atio n s. Compare the printed and handwritten comb in atio ns below: Pri nt ed fo rm Ha nd written form ~ • U-? :. + '-' (read right to left) ~ - + ~ '-:' 1 - '-' ::. ~ • - :. + + ::. ~ _ 1 M.I ___ '-' Practise c op ying the s hap es wi th out dots a nd th en th e com bin ations of letters. Complete th e wh ole combi nati on from rig ht to le ft before add ing any 'dots', also fr om right to left. 5 ~". ". A _ _~_ L ~ ___ ~_ _. ~ www.uz-translations.net • u r- ~ ') r" ' l ~ t :: '-'- - -l ·· Q J ~ This letter s hop e is used for only one Arabic letter: Printed form Handwr itt en form 0 _ th e letter nOn . Pronounced 'n ' as in ' not' . The print ed n as kh form of nOn falls below the lin e, but the handwritten ruq'a f or m tends to sit mor e on the lin e. The dot above is often joined to the main letter s hop e in handwriting . Practise tracing a nd th en copying th e s hope . start C) ~ he : ._ Unit 2 7 Joining up nOn ha s exactly the same shape as ba ' w hen in the initial or medial position (see Unit I), except it ha s one dot above. Beginners ca n confu se nOn a nd ba'. Remember Qa ' has the dot !2e lo w. final medial joined to the letter before only joined both sides Printed form Handwritten form ~ • • ~ . . .;:. • ~ U.> > .: • • . C)! . u ! - u + + + initial joined to the Je tter after only '-' + U . + u '-' '-' . Notice t hat when joining to a fi nal nOn , as in the final examp le above , you need to s tart the previous letter higher to end up back on th e lin e. Practise copying the co mbinati ons below: www.uz-translations.net 8 Unit 1 . 1 Master calligrapher tips You can also write the isolated and final nOn like this: So the combination <.J followed by W could also be written: _ N: _ ~, ;y. ;,.H bunn min al-yaman (Coffee beans from Yemen) This letter shape represents the Arabic letter ya': Printed {onn tl Handwritten {onn the letter ya' can be pronounced in three ways: y as in '):::es'; T as in 'm ~ t'; or ay as in 'd~' Like the nOn, the printed naskh form of ya' falls below the line, but the handwritten ruq'a form sits on the line. The two dots below become joined in handwriting as with u (see Unit 1) Practise tracing and then copying the shope. Joining up ya' is another letter which has exactly the same shape as "":-' (see Unit 1) when in the initial or medial position, except that it has two dots below. In the final position, it looks simil ar to the isolated letter. www.uz-translations.net [...]... (j:.): Printed form Handwritten form The Arabic hamza ( ) is sometimes described as a 'ha lf- letter' It represents the short intake of breath that an English speaker would naturally make before a word starting with a vowel (e.g 'instant', 'egg') In Arabic script, the hamza is usually written together with an alif when a word starts with a vowel: above the alif if the vowel is a/ aa or ufu a nd below if the... contain long vowels Remember: • I alif and J waw do not join to the fol/owing letter • ($ ya' has-the some shape as in th e intial and medial forms, except it has two dots ~nder You will also occasionally see Q long a written as a wavy sign (oJ : madda) over an aUf: I, as in WI anisa (young woman) ~~L - Printed form Handwritten form wL bab door/gate I nOr light (also a name) ··ct·ol· .J barTd mail... signs are: ~fat ~a a dash above, pronounced as a short 'a' after the letter, for example ~ ba ~9amma a comma-shape above, pronounced as a short ' u' after the letter, for example ~ bu b~ a dash below, pronounced as a short'i' after the letter, for example -' bi kasra Now practise tracing and copying these words with the vowel and doubling signs included Follow these steps: 1 Complete the main shape of... tight clockwise circle Masthead from the children's magazine ~1 majid (Majid - a boy's name) www.uz-translations.net 42 extra: hamzD 43 extra: hamzD The hamza ( ) can a lso appear in the middle of a word representing a short pause, or at the end of a word when it has th e effect of cutting off the previous sound In these cases, the hamza can also be found written on a waw (,), on a ya' willhout! dots (~/... written above a nd below the main script and aTe I discretionary , However, if a vowel is long, for example a long 0 as in 'bQ.Qt', th is requires an additional letter to be added to the I I word: long a (as in '(gther') I I alif added after the letter: long 0 (as in 'bQQt') ,J lon g T(as i n 'm~t') ~ ba waw added after the letter: Yo bo £? ya' added after the letter: ~ bT Look at the handwritten and printed... emphatic Q, similar to the 'd' in the English 'doll' (rather than 'dill') 1 Master calligrapher tips You can also write the isolated and final ~ ~ad with a tail the same shape as the alternate U nOn a nd ~ shTn (see Units 2 and 10) If you write the ~ad with this alternative tail, you should not also put a dot above the letter: ' _- _~J ~ -_ • www.uz-translations.net 50 Unit 71 Whenever ~ad and... 93d are joined to the following letter, you should be careful to include the small 'dink' (or ~ sinna 'tooth' - a s the Arabs coil It) after the loop as this is an essential part of the shape Printed form Handwritten form - bayc;J eggs ~.~ ~abir Practise joining ~d and !;lad Remember to fini sh the whole shape of the word first, and then come back to add any dots • • • ~-~ , , • \~\ ajzakhana qa~r in-nl1 (Qasr el-nil Pharmacy) www.uz-translations.net 35 Unit 8 final medial initial joined co the letter before only joined both sides joined to the letter after only The medial form of 0 ha' is also sign ificantly different in ruq 'a handwriting from the printed naskh script, where it looks more like a ribbon tied in a bow: The letter 0 ha' is unusual as it cha n ges its shape more... right) in a word the letter ra' Pronounced as a slightly trilled 'r' as in the Spanish 'arriva' the letter zay The sam e shape as.) with one dot above Pronounced '2' as in 'zebra' medial/final ra', zay wOw m edial/final joined to the letter before joined to the letter before the letter w.1w Can be pronounced in three ways: w as in 'l'!et'; G as in 'IQQt'; or aw as in 'hQYi'; Notice that although the... 'd' as in 'den' the letter dhal The same shape with one dot above Pronounced 'th' as in 'th' or 'that' ., , ' Master calligrapher tips dal and dhal are the last of the six letters that don't join to the next letter in a word Here is a summary of all six letters in their isolated form ond when joined to the letter before: final/ medial J is the same as that alii dal - -~- • The stroke used to . Mastering Arabic Script a guide to handwriting Jan e Wightwi ck and Mahmoud Gaafar Contributions and handwriting models by Professor Mohammed Hamaam Head of the Academy of Arabic. Modem S tandard Arabic of today's media is close to the l anguage of th e Qur&apos ;a n and Classical literature. Th e spelling and grammar hav e not changed signifi can tly. parchment. Arabic is a Semitic languag e related to Aramaic and Hebrew. Th e language ha s its roots in th e n omadic oral tradition of the desert, which largely explains the la ck