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Arabic phonology

Main article: Arabic grammar
This article is about the phonology of Modern Standard Arabic primarily, with some notes on the phonologies of regional dialects. For a more detailed treatment of the phonologies of regional dialects, see Varieties of Arabic. For the phonology of the medieval language, see Classical Arabic § Phonology.
For assistance with IPA transcriptions of Arabic for Wikipedia articles, see Help:IPA/Arabic.
This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

While many languages have numerous dialects that differ in phonology, contemporary spoken Arabic is more properly described as a continuum of varieties.[1] This article deals primarily with Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), which is the standard variety shared by educated speakers throughout Arabic-speaking regions. MSA is used in writing in formal print media and orally in newscasts, speeches and formal declarations of numerous types.[2]

Modern Standard Arabic has 28 consonant phonemes and 6 vowel phonemes. All phonemes contrast between "emphatic" (pharyngealized) consonants and non-emphatic ones. Some of these phonemes have coalesced in the various modern dialects, while new phonemes have been introduced through borrowing or phonemic splits. A "phonemic quality of length" applies to consonants as well as vowels.[3]

  1. ^ Kirchhoff & Vergyri (2005:38)
  2. ^ Kirchhoff & Vergyri (2005:38–39)
  3. ^ Holes (2004:57)

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