The Arabic Alphabet

Book excerpt: Ever larger numbers of people are starting to learn Arabic, while even more have some contact with the Arab world. Anyone who wishes to learn the language faces a hitherto formidable initial problem: the alphabet. This book proceeds step by step through all the letters of the Arabic alphabet, showing the sounds they stand for and how they are combined into words. Nothing essential is left out, but no unnecessary complications are added. Readers will find that progress is rapid and will be surprised at the relative ease with which they master the first steps in learning this increasingly important world language. The Arabic Alphabet: How to Read and Write It belongs on the desk of every student of the language, in the luggage of every visitor to the Middle East, in the briefcase of all business people with Arab clients, and in the back pocket of all employees of British or American companies working for a time in an Arab country.