So, س, which is basically our “S,” would just be S, but ص, which is pronounced more in the back of the throat and has a heavier sound, would be Ṣ. This method uses limited diacritical marks under letters to indicate their Arabic equivalent. There are actually several ways that academics transcribe Arabic into Roman script, but the one that I encountered the most in my studies is the “Hans Wehr” method, named for the system used in the Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic by (you guessed it) Hans Wehr.
Transcription is a little bit art, a little bit science, and a lot of understanding how Arabic and its dialects sound when spoken. That is, taking the sounds of Arabic and writing them in Roman script. A word is always spelled the same way, and we’re discouraged from taking creative liberty with alternate spellings.īut then we enter the wild and wooly world of transliterating Arabic, or, more accurately, transcription. We English speakers learn that there is a correct and incorrect way to spell a word. If you read and write the language, you can type it into the search bar in Arabic and voila! There’s that song you’re obsessed with.īut if you have to search in Roman script… things get a little tricky. If you don’t read or write Arabic, it can be incredibly frustrating to try to find an Arabic song that you love, or maybe YouTube video of a singer performing that song you just discovered and need to hear right now. What about “Laylat Hob”? Or is it “Laylat Hobb,” “Lailet Hob,” “Laylet Hob,” or “Lailat Hobb”? “Baladi,” “Balady,” “Beledi,” “Beledy,” or “Belady,” or “Beladi”?
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