Emphatic S & D

The letter ص (Sad) is an emphatic "s" sound. It is produced by pressing the tongue against the palate instead of the teeth, giving a heavy, deep "s." The book transcribes it with an underdotted "s." It is a sun letter in Arabic. Letter Forms: - Isolated: ص (a wide oval body with a small tooth, NO dot) - Initial: صـ (when it begins a word) - Medial: ـصـ (when it appears in the middle of a word) - Final: ـص (when it ends a word) The letter ص is a connector: it joins to the letters on both sides. It looks the same as ض (Dad) but ص has NO dot, while ض has ONE dot above. Hamzat-l-wasl (the joining Hamza): An Arabic word never begins with a vowelless letter. When one would, a Hamza on an alif is placed in front to carry a helping vowel, e.g. اُكْتُبْ ("uktub," write!) instead of كْتُبْ. This beginning Hamza is pronounced only when the word starts a sentence. Inside a sentence its Hamza and vowel drop, and the sign wasla ( ٱ ) is written over the alif; the alif is then silent and merely joins the words. For example قَالَ اُكْتُبْ is read "qaala-ktub," and فِي الْبَيْتِ الْكَبِيرِ is read "fi-l-bayti-l-kabeer." This joining Hamza is called Hamzat-l-wasl. Sun and Moon Letters: ص is a SUN letter. With the article ال the "l" assimilates and doubles the ص: الصَّدِيق is pronounced "as-sadeeq," not "al-sadeeq." Vowel Marks (Harakat): - With Fatha (صَ): Pronounced "sa" (heavy emphatic s + a) - With Damma (صُ): Pronounced "su" (heavy emphatic s + u) - With Kasra (صِ): Pronounced "si" (heavy emphatic s + i) - With Sukoon (صْ): Consonant only, the heavy "s" stopped - With Shadda Fatha (صَّ): Pronounced "ssa" (doubled emphatic s with "a") - With Shadda Damma (صُّ): Pronounced "ssu" (doubled emphatic s with "u") - With Shadda Kasra (صِّ): Pronounced "ssi" (doubled emphatic s with "i") - With Tanween Fath (صً): Pronounced "san" (adds "-an" sound) - With Tanween Damm (صٌ): Pronounced "sun" (adds "-un" sound) - With Tanween Kasr (صٍ): Pronounced "sin" (adds "-in" sound) Practice Tips: 1. Press the tongue against the palate for a heavy, deep "s" 2. Contrast ص (heavy, emphatic) with س (light, ordinary s): compare صَيْف "summer" and سَيْف "sword" 3. NO dot distinguishes ص from ض which has ONE dot above 4. ص is a connector - it joins on both sides 5. Very common: صَامَ (he fasted), صَدِيق (friend), صَاحِب (companion)