On July 13th, we held another engaging session of our Arabic language meetup, marking a key milestone in our journey—completing the full Arabic alphabet!
This session focused on the final four letters of the Arabic alphabet, examining the distinct shapes they take depending on their position within a word. As with previous sessions, we emphasized the unique forms these letters adopt when they appear at the beginning, middle, or end of a word, as well as in isolation.
A significant portion of the meetup was dedicated to understanding the rules surrounding the placement of the hamza (ء). Known for its versatility, the hamza follows specific orthographic rules depending on its position and the surrounding vowels. We discussed these patterns in depth, helping participants build a clearer mental map of how and where hamza appears in written Arabic.
To reinforce our learning, we practiced with a variety of identification exercises. These activities helped participants isolate and recognize the different shapes of letters, especially the newly learned ones, in both handwritten and printed forms.
If you missed the session or would like to revisit the material, here is the deck from this session:
Now that we’ve completed our tour of the Arabic alphabet, our next step is an exciting one: reading simple Arabic words. This new phase will focus on combining letters, recognizing them in context, and gradually building reading fluency. It’s a shift from recognizing letters in isolation to understanding how they function together in real language.
We’re proud of the progress our group has made and are looking forward to diving into reading exercises in the upcoming sessions. Whether you’re just joining us or have been along from the start, this is a great time to jump in as we begin to see the fruits of our foundational work.
Stay tuned, and as always, happy learning!