Arabic - The Definite Article

The Arabic Definite Article “al”.

The use of “al” (alif lam) is the same as “the” or “of” in English. When used with a location or object, it means “the”, such as al-maktab (the office), al-qa’ida (the foundation), al-jazeera (the island). When “al” is used with a name, it means “of”, such as a tribal name al-Tikriti (of the Tikrit Tribe or from Tikrit), al-Maliki (of the Malik or King Tribe), and al-Amiri (of the Amir or Prince Tribe).

The “al” with Sun and Moon letters.

Al-Qamr (the Moon). The transliterated Q, F, K, M, Y (or U), E, H, KH, J, A’, GH, A, and B are all referred to as Moon letters in Standard Arabic grammar. The “al” is both written and pronounced as “al”. For example, al-assad (the lion), al-bab (the door), or al-qalum (the pen).

Al-Shams (the Sun). Pronounced “ash-shams”. The transliterated DH, S, SH, Z, R, TH, D, T, and N are all Sun letters. When the “al” is used with a word that begins with a Sun letter, it is written in Arabic with the “al”, but when spoken, the “l” assumes the sounds of the Sun letter. Depending on the audience it may be transliterated as it sounds, or as it is written. For example, ar-rajul (the man), ad-din (the religion), or an-nahar (the river). These words can be seen written with the “al” or as it is pronounced, it still represents the same word, and neither is necessarily incorrect.

The importance of consistency. Use your field’s guidance when it comes to how spelling in done or use of punctuation/diacritic markings. Ensure that you remain consistent with how you use the language. If you capitalize the “Al”, then always capitalize it, do not mixed cases with its use. If you use the hyphen between “al” and the corresponding word, then always use the hyphen. There is not a universal rule for translation and transliteration of Arabic to English, though there are industry guides and standards. Know your audience when preparing your communication and documents, and follow their standards. If there is word or phrase that is not translated or transliterated correctly by your audience’s standards, use their generally accepted and used version. The most professional thing you can do is to remain consistent throughout your work.