ال
Arabic edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Uncertain; Rubin posits that this is a reduced form of the lost singular of Arabic أُولَى (ʔulā, “these”); compare rare Hebrew אֵל (el, “these”) and Akkadian 𒌌𒇻𒌑𒌝 (ullûm, “that”). In this hypothesis, original initial /u/ would be lost due to low stress; the initial /a/ found in phrase-initial position would thus be prothetic.[1]
Pronunciation edit
Article edit
اَلْ • (al-)
Usage notes edit
- The /l/ of this prefix assimilates to and geminates the first letter of the base word when it begins with a traditionally-coronal consonant, natively called sun letters: ت (t), ث (ṯ), د (d), ذ (ḏ), ر (r), ز (z), س (s), ش (š), ص (ṣ), ض (ḍ), ط (ṭ), ظ (ẓ), ل (l), and ن (n). This does not traditionally include ج (j), as its original pronunciation was palatal rather than coronal, but in regions where it is pronounced /d͡ʒ ~ ʒ/ it can be found assimilating the definite article as well. The ل (l)’s assimilation is not observed by the article's spelling, which is invariably ال (al-); however, in fully vocalised texts, a shadda is written over the following sun letter to reflect gemination.
- The initial vowel a- is only pronounced when the article occurs either after a pause, at the beginning of an utterance, or after the preposition مِنْ (min). Otherwise, the article consists solely of the coronal consonant preceded by the final vowel of the previous word; if this previous word is consonant-final, then i is used as a linking vowel.
Descendants edit
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Aaron Rubin (2005) “Definite Articles”, in Studies in Semitic Grammaticalization, Brill, , →ISBN, pages 77-78
Brahui edit
Alternative forms edit
- ہَل (hal)
Etymology edit
Inherited from Proto-Dravidian *eli. Cognate with Kannada ಇಲಿ (ili), Kodava ಎಲಿ (eli), Gondi యెల్లి (yelli), Tamil எலி (eli), Tulu ಎಲಿ (eli), Telugu ఎలుక (eluka) and Malayalam എലി (eli).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
اَل (al)
Bulgar edit
< 40 | 50 | 100 > |
---|---|---|
Cardinal : ال | ||
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Proto-Turkic *ellig.
Numeral edit
الُّ (ellü)
Descendants edit
- Chuvash: аллӑ (allă)
References edit
- Tekin, Talât (1988) Volga Bulgar kitabeleri ve Volga Bulgarcası [Volga Bulgarian Ephitaphs and Volga Bulgarian Language][1] (in Turkish), Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, →ISBN, pages 90-91, 144-145, 198
Egyptian Arabic edit
Article edit
الـ • (el-)
Gulf Arabic edit
Pronunciation edit
- IPA(key): /(ʔ)ɪl/, [l], (before sun letters) /ɪ/
Etymology 1 edit
Article edit
اِلـ • (il-)
- the definite article; the
Etymology 2 edit
Contraction of الي (illi, “the relative clause”), itself a contraction of Arabic اَلَّذِي m (allaḏī) and اَلَّتِي f (allatī)
Pronoun edit
اِلـ • (il-)
- (colloquial) the relative clause; that, who, which, etc
- Synonym: الي (illi)
Etymology 3 edit
Could be directly from Arabic إِلَىٰ (ʔilā).
Preposition edit
اِلـ • (il-)
- (colloquial) to (destination)
Alternative forms edit
- لـ (l-)
Hijazi Arabic edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
- IPA(key): /al/, (before sun letters) /a/
Article edit
الـ • (al-)
- the definite article; the
Kalami edit
Adjective edit
ال (al) m
Karakhanid edit
Etymology edit
From Proto-Turkic *o-l (“that”). Cognate with Turkish o (“he, she, it; that”) and Chinese 兀 (wù, “that”).
Pronoun edit
ال (ol)
Determiner edit
ال (ol)
Postposition edit
ال (ol)
Khalaj edit
Noun edit
اَل (əl) (definite accusative اَلی, plural اَللَر)
Declension edit
North Levantine Arabic edit
Etymology 1 edit
Article edit
الـ • (l-)
Usage notes edit
- The article in fact consists solely of the consonant /l/, which is assimilated to the same onsets as in Standard Arabic (see above). Following the usage note there, some speakers extend this process of assimilation to the now-coronal ج (j /ʒ/).
- An epenthetic linking vowel is added as phonotactically necessary, be it before the article or after, in order to avoid a three-consonant cluster. Note that its notation with a schwa is not meant to represent IPA [ə], as its actual value varies between /i~e~o/ depending on context:
- النص المكتوب ― n-naṣṣ əl-maktūb ― the written text
- الكتاب المقدس ― lə-ktāb lə-mʾaddas ― the Holy Book, i.e. the Bible
- Assimilation is optionally ignored when the article precedes a consonant cluster where the initial consonant would normally trigger assimilation, as the epenthetic vowel separates them if it appears:
- الولاد الصغار ― lə-wlād lə-ṣḡār ― the small children
Etymology 2 edit
Reduction of the definite relative pronoun اللي (lli) or its alternative form لي (li).
Pronoun edit
ال • (l-)
- contraction of اللي
Usage notes edit
- Although this contraction is superficially identical to the definite article, some speakers do not assimilate it to a following coronal, allowing the two to be told apart in this context. Other speakers do, such as Said Akl in the reading linked from the quote above.
Ottoman Turkish edit
Etymology edit
From Proto-Turkic *el, *elig.
Noun edit
ال • (el)
Derived terms edit
- ال دگرمنی (el değirmeni, “handmill”)
- ال عربهسی (el arabası, “handcart”)
Descendants edit
- Turkish: el
Persian edit
Etymology edit
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Noun edit
ال • (al)
Derived terms edit
- ال زدن (al zadan)
South Levantine Arabic edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Article edit
الـ • (l-)
- the (definite article)
Usage notes edit
- Phonemically, the article consists solely of the consonant /l/, which is assimilated to the same onsets as in Standard Arabic (see above), with some speakers extending the assimilation to the now-coronal ج (j /ʒ/). While the epenthetic vowel [ɪ] may be added before or after in order to avoid problematic consonant clusters, different speakers may be more or less tolerant of these clusters; those who tolerate an initial two-consonant cluster may not insert the vowel before /l/, meaning the article may be virtually inaudible in cases that the /l/ is assimilated.
- Assimilation is optionally ignored when the article precedes a consonant cluster where the initial consonant would normally trigger assimilation, as the epenthetic vowel separates them if it appears:
- Arabic terms with unknown etymologies
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- Arabic lemmas
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- Brahui terms inherited from Proto-Dravidian
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