Ayin
Ayin | |
---|---|
Phoenician | 𐤏 |
Hebrew | ע |
Aramaic | 𐡏 |
Syriac | ܥ |
Arabic | ع |
Phonemic representation | ʕ |
Position in alphabet | 16 |
Numerical value | 70 |
Alphabetic derivatives of the Phoenician | |
Greek | Ο |
Latin | O |
Cyrillic | О |
Ayin(alsoaynorain;transliterated⟨ʿ⟩) is the sixteenthletterof theSemitic scripts,includingPhoenicianʿayin𐤏,Hebrewʿayinע,Aramaicʿē𐡏,Syriacʿēܥ, andArabicʿaynع (where it is sixteenth inabjadi orderonly).[note 1]
The letter represents avoiced pharyngeal fricative(/ʕ/) or a similarly articulated consonant. In some Semitic languages and dialects, the phonetic value of the letter has changed, or the phoneme has been lost altogether (thus, in the revivedModern Hebrewit is reduced to aglottal stopor is omitted entirely in part due to European influence).
The Phoenician letter is the origin of the Greek, Latin and Cyrillic lettersO,OandO.It is also related to the Chinese characterMục,which also means eye.
The Arabic character is the origin of the Latin-script letterƸ.
Origins[edit]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/08/Human_eye%2C_anterior_view.jpg/220px-Human_eye%2C_anterior_view.jpg)
The letter name is derived fromProto-Semitic*ʿayn-"eye", and the Phoenician letter had the shape of a circle or oval, clearly representing an eye, perhaps ultimately (viaProto-Sinaitic) derived from theı͗rhieroglyph𓁹(Gardiner D4).[1]
The Phoenician letter gave rise to theGreekΟ,LatinO,andCyrillicО,all representing vowels. The letter also related to the Chinese characterMục,which means eye.
The sound represented by ayin is common to much of theAfroasiatic language family,such as in theEgyptian language,theCushitic languagesand theSemitic languages.
Transliteration[edit]
InSemitic philology,there is a long-standing tradition of rendering Semitic ayin with the Greekrough breathingmark⟨῾⟩(e.g.῾arabعَرَبArabs). Depending on typography, this could look similar to either an articulate single openingquotation mark⟨ʻ⟩(e.g.ʻarabعَرَب). or as a raised semi-circle open to the right⟨ʿ⟩(e.g.ʿarabعَرَب).[note 2]
This is by analogy to the transliteration ofalef(glottal stop,hamza) by the Greeksmooth breathingmark⟨᾽⟩,rendered as single closing quotation mark or as raised semi-circle open to the left. This convention has been adopted by DIN in 1982 and by ISO in 1984 for Arabic (DIN 31635,ISO 233) and Hebrew (DIN 31636,ISO 259).
The shape of the "raised semi-circle" for ayin⟨ʿ⟩and alef⟨ʾ⟩was adopted by theEncyclopedia of Islam(edited 1913–1938, 1954–2005, and from 2007), and from there by theInternational Journal of Middle East Studies.[2] This convention has since also been followed by ISO (ISO 233-2andISO 259-2,1993/4) and by DIN[year needed]. A notable exception remains,ALA-LC(1991), the system used by theLibrary of Congress,continues to recommend modifier letter turned comma⟨ʻ⟩(for Hebrew) or left single quotation mark⟨‘⟩(for Arabic).[3]
The symbols for the corresponding phonemes in theInternational Phonetic Alphabet,⟨ʕ⟩forpharyngeal fricative(ayin) and⟨ʔ⟩forglottal stop(alef) were adopted in the1928 revision.
In anglicized Arabic or Hebrew names or in loanwords, ayin is often omitted entirely:Iraqʿirāqعراق,Arabʿarabعرب,Saudisuʿūdīسعودي,etc.; Afulaעֲפוּלָה,Aradעֲרָד,etc.
Maltese,which uses a Latin alphabet, the only Semitic language to do so in itsstandard form,writes the ayin as⟨għ⟩.It is usually unvocalized in speech. TheSomali Latin alphabetrepresents the ayin with the letter⟨c⟩. The informal way to represent it inArabic chat alphabetuses the digit⟨3⟩as transliteration.
Unicode[edit]
InUnicode,the recommended character for the transliteration of ayin isU+02BFʿMODIFIER LETTER LEFT HALF RING(a character in theSpacing Modifier Lettersrange, even though it is here not used as a modifier letter but as a full grapheme).[note 3][clarification needed]This convention has been adopted byISO 233-2(1993) for Arabic andISO 259-2(1994) for Hebrew.
There are a number of alternative Unicode characters in use, some of which are easily confused or even considered equivalent in practice:[4]
- U+1FFE῾GREEK DASIA,the character used to represent Greekrough breathing,
- U+02BDʽMODIFIER LETTER REVERSED COMMA,
- U+2018‘LEFT SINGLE QUOTATION MARK,[note 4]
- U+02BBʻMODIFIER LETTER TURNED COMMA,
- U+0060`GRAVE ACCENT,from its use as single opening quotation mark inASCIIenvironments, used for ayin inArabTeX.
Letters used to represent ayin:
- a superscript "c" (U+1D9CᶜMODIFIER LETTER SMALL C),
- theIPAsymbol forpharyngealization(U+02C1ˁMODIFIER LETTER REVERSED GLOTTAL STOPorU+02E4ˤMODIFIER LETTER SMALL REVERSED GLOTTAL STOP)[note 5]orʕ,a superscriptU+0295ʕLATIN LETTER PHARYNGEAL VOICED FRICATIVE,the IPA symbol forvoiced pharyngeal fricative,
It is worth noting that the phonemes corresponding to alef and ayin inAncient Egyptianare by conventiontransliteratedby more distinctive signs:Egyptian alefis rendered bytwosemi-circles open to the left, stacked vertically, andEgyptian ayinis rendered by a single full-width semi-circle open to the right. These characters were introduced in Unicode in version 5.1 (2008,Latin Extended-Drange),U+A723ꜣLATIN SMALL LETTER EGYPTOLOGICAL ALEFandU+A725ꜥLATIN SMALL LETTER EGYPTOLOGICAL AIN.
Arabic ʿayn[edit]
The Arabic letterﻉ(calledﻋَﻴْﻦْʿayn) is the eighteenth letter of thealphabet.It is written in one of several ways depending on its position in the word:
Position in word | Isolated | Final | Medial | Initial |
---|---|---|---|---|
Glyph form: (Help) |
ع | ـع | ـعـ | عـ |
Pronunciation[edit]
Arabic ʿayn is one of the most common letters in Arabic. Depending on the region, it ranges from apharyngeal[ʕ]to anepiglottal[ʢ].[5]It isvoiced,its voiceless counterpart beingح.Due to its position as the innermost letter to emerge from the throat,al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi,who wrote the first Arabic dictionary, actually started writing hisKitab al-'Ayn('The Book of ʿAyn') withʿaynas the first letter instead of the eighteenth; he viewed its origins deep down in the throat as a sign that it was the first sound, the essential sound, the voice and a representation of the self.[6]
In the Persian language and other languages using the Persian alphabet, this letter has a different function and is pronounced as/ʔ/(glottal stop), and rarely as/ʁ/in some languages.
As in Hebrew, the letter originally stood for two sounds,/ʕ/and/ʁ/.When pointing was developed, the sound/ʁ/was distinguished with a dot on top (غ), to give the letterghayn.In Maltese, which is written with the Latin alphabet, the digraphgħ,calledʿajn,is used to write what was originally the same sound.
Because the sound is difficult for most non-Arabs to pronounce, it is often used as ashibbolethby Arabic speakers; other sounds, such asḤāandḌādare also used.[citation needed]It is typically represented with a3in theArabic chat alphabet.
Southeast Asiannga[edit]
In some languages of Southeast Asia, the letterngais used. The letter is derived from the letterʿayn,which latter is derived from the letterghayn,and it is thus written as:
Position in word | Isolated | Final | Medial | Initial |
---|---|---|---|---|
Glyph form: (Help) |
ڠ | ـڠ | ـڠـ | ڠـ |
This letter, derived fromghayn(غ), is used to represent/ŋ/in:
- theJawi script,[7]for
- thePegon script,for
- Arabic Afrikaans,forAfrikaanshistorically, calledngīn(IPA:[ŋiːn])
Wolofngōn[edit]
In theWolofal alphabet,for writingWolofin Arabic script, the letterngōnis used, and it is thus written as:
Position in word | Isolated | Final | Medial | Initial |
---|---|---|---|---|
Glyph form: (Help) |
ݝ | ـݝ | ـݝـ | ݝـ |
This letter also derived from the letterʿayn,which latter is derived from the letterghayn.This leter is to represent/ŋ/in theWolof language,aNiger-Congo language.
Tamilnga[edit]
Position in word | Isolated | Final | Medial | Initial |
---|---|---|---|---|
Glyph form: (Help) |
ࢳ | ـࢳ | ـࢳـ | ࢳـ |
This letter also derived from the letterʿayn,which latter is derived from the letterghayn,with three dots inside the descender, to represent/ŋ/in theArwiscript used forTamil.
Hebrew ayin[edit]
Various print fonts | Cursive Hebrew |
Rashi script | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Serif | Sans-serif | Monospaced | ||
ע | ע | ע | ![]() |
![]() |
Hebrew spelling:עַיִן
Phonetic representation[edit]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Setham_Ayin_2.jpg)
ʿayin has traditionally been described as avoiced pharyngeal fricative([ʕ]). However, this may be imprecise. Although a pharyngeal fricative has occasionally been observed for ʿayin in Arabic and so may occur in Hebrew as well, the sound is more commonlyepiglottal([ʢ]),[5]and may also be apharyngealizedglottal stop ([ʔˤ]).
In some historical Sephardi and Ashkenazi pronunciations, ʿayin represented avelar nasal([ŋ]).[8] Remnants can be found in the Yiddish pronunciations of some words such as /ˈjaŋkəv/ and /ˈmansə/ from Hebrewיַעֲקֹב (yaʿăqōḇ,"Jacob" ) andמַעֲשֶׂה (maʿăse,"story" ), but in other cases, the nasal has disappeared and been replaced by /j/, such as /ˈmajsə/ and /ˈmajrəv/ from Hebrewמַעֲשֶׂה andמַעֲרָב (maʿărāḇ,"west" ). In Israeli Hebrew (except for Mizrahi pronunciations), it represents a glottal stop in certain cases but is usually silent (it behaves the same asaleph). However, changes in adjoining vowels often testify to the former presence of a pharyngeal or epiglottal articulation. Additionally, it may be used as ashibbolethto identify theethnolinguisticbackground of a Hebrew-speaker, as mostIsraeli Arabnon-Jews and some of Israel'sMizrahi Jews(mainlyYemenite Jews) use the more traditional pronunciation, while other Hebrew-speakers pronounce it similar to Aleph.
Ayin is also one of the three letters that can take a furtivepatach(patach ganuv).
In Hebrew loanwords in Greek and Latin, ʿayin is sometimes reflected as /g/, since the biblical phonemes/ʕ/(or "ʿ") and/ʁ/(represented by "g" ) were both represented in Hebrew writing by the letter ʿayin (seeĠain).Gomorrahis from the original/ʁamora/(modernʿAmora) andGazafrom the original/ʁazza/(ʿaza) (cf. Arabic غزة Ġazzah, IPA: [ˈɣazza].)
In Yiddish, the ʿayin is used to write the vowel e when it is not part of thediphthongey.
Significance[edit]
Ingematria,ʿayin represents the number 70.
ʿayin is also one of the seven letters which receive special crowns (calledtagin) when written in asefer Torah.
Character encodings[edit]
Preview | ע | ﬠ | ܥ | ࠏ | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unicode name | HEBREW LETTER AYIN | HEBREW LETTER ALTERNATIVE AYIN |
SYRIAC LETTER E | SAMARITAN LETTER IN | ||||
Encodings | decimal | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex |
Unicode | 1506 | U+05E2 | 64288 | U+FB20 | 1829 | U+0725 | 2063 | U+080F |
UTF-8 | 215 162 | D7 A2 | 239 172 160 | EF AC A0 | 220 165 | DC A5 | 224 160 143 | E0 A0 8F |
Numeric character reference | ע |
ע |
ﬠ |
ﬠ |
ܥ |
ܥ |
ࠏ |
ࠏ |
Preview | ع | ࣖ | ݝ | ݟ | ڠ | ݞ | ࢳ | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unicode name | ARABIC LETTER AIN | ARABIC SMALL HIGH AIN | ARABIC LETTER AIN WITH TWO DOTS ABOVE |
ARABIC LETTER AIN WITH TWO DOTS VERTICALLY ABOVE |
ARABIC LETTER AIN WITH THREE DOTS ABOVE |
ARABIC LETTER AIN WITH THREE DOTS POINTING DOWNWARDS ABOVE |
ARABIC LETTER AIN WITH THREE DOTS BELOW | |||||||
Encodings | decimal | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex |
Unicode | 1593 | U+0639 | 2262 | U+08D6 | 1885 | U+075D | 1887 | U+075F | 1696 | U+06A0 | 1886 | U+075E | 2227 | U+08B3 |
UTF-8 | 216 185 | D8 B9 | 224 163 150 | E0 A3 96 | 221 157 | DD 9D | 221 159 | DD 9F | 218 160 | DA A0 | 221 158 | DD 9E | 224 162 179 | E0 A2 B3 |
Numeric character reference | ع |
ع |
ࣖ |
ࣖ |
ݝ |
ݝ |
ݟ |
ݟ |
ڠ |
ڠ |
ݞ |
ݞ |
ࢳ |
ࢳ |
Preview | ᴥ | ᵜ | Ꜥ | ꜥ | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unicode name | LATIN LETTER AIN | MODIFIER LETTER SMALL AIN | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER EGYPTOLOGICAL AIN |
LATIN SMALL LETTER EGYPTOLOGICAL AIN | ||||
Encodings | decimal | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex |
Unicode | 7461 | U+1D25 | 7516 | U+1D5C | 42788 | U+A724 | 42789 | U+A725 |
UTF-8 | 225 180 165 | E1 B4 A5 | 225 181 156 | E1 B5 9C | 234 156 164 | EA 9C A4 | 234 156 165 | EA 9C A5 |
Numeric character reference | ᴥ |
ᴥ |
ᵜ |
ᵜ |
Ꜥ |
Ꜥ |
ꜥ |
ꜥ |
Preview | 𐎓 | 𐡏 | 𐤏 | Ⲵ | ⲵ | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unicode name | UGARITIC LETTER AIN |
IMPERIAL ARAMAIC LETTER AYIN |
PHOENICIAN LETTER AIN |
COPTIC CAPITAL LETTER OLD COPTIC AIN |
COPTIC SMALL LETTER OLD COPTIC AIN | |||||
Encodings | decimal | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex |
Unicode | 66451 | U+10393 | 67663 | U+1084F | 67855 | U+1090F | 11444 | U+2CB4 | 11445 | U+2CB5 |
UTF-8 | 240 144 142 147 | F0 90 8E 93 | 240 144 161 143 | F0 90 A1 8F | 240 144 164 143 | F0 90 A4 8F | 226 178 180 | E2 B2 B4 | 226 178 181 | E2 B2 B5 |
UTF-16 | 55296 57235 | D800 DF93 | 55298 56399 | D802 DC4F | 55298 56591 | D802 DD0F | 11444 | 2CB4 | 11445 | 2CB5 |
Numeric character reference | 𐎓 |
𐎓 |
𐡏 |
𐡏 |
𐤏 |
𐤏 |
Ⲵ |
Ⲵ |
ⲵ |
ⲵ |
Preview | 𐭏 | 𐭥 | 𐮅 | ჺ | Ჺ | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unicode name | INSCRIPTIONAL PARTHIAN LETTER AYIN |
INSCRIPTIONAL PAHLAVI LETTER WAW-AYIN-RESH |
PSALTER PAHLAVI LETTER WAW-AYIN-RESH |
GEORGIAN LETTER AIN | GEORGIAN MTAVRULI CAPITAL LETTER AIN | |||||
Encodings | decimal | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex |
Unicode | 68431 | U+10B4F | 68453 | U+10B65 | 68485 | U+10B85 | 4346 | U+10FA | 7354 | U+1CBA |
UTF-8 | 240 144 173 143 | F0 90 AD 8F | 240 144 173 165 | F0 90 AD A5 | 240 144 174 133 | F0 90 AE 85 | 225 131 186 | E1 83 BA | 225 178 186 | E1 B2 BA |
UTF-16 | 55298 57167 | D802 DF4F | 55298 57189 | D802 DF65 | 55298 57221 | D802 DF85 | 4346 | 10FA | 7354 | 1CBA |
Numeric character reference | 𐭏 |
𐭏 |
𐭥 |
𐭥 |
𐮅 |
𐮅 |
ჺ |
ჺ |
Ჺ |
Ჺ |
Preview | 𐫙 | ࡘ | 𐢗 | 𐪒 | 𐡰 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unicode name | MANICHAEAN LETTER AYIN | MANDAIC LETTER AIN | NABATAEAN LETTER AYIN | OLD NORTH ARABIAN LETTER AIN | PALMYRENE LETTER AYIN | |||||
Encodings | decimal | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex |
Unicode | 68313 | U+10AD9 | 2136 | U+0858 | 67735 | U+10897 | 68242 | U+10A92 | 67696 | U+10870 |
UTF-8 | 240 144 171 153 | F0 90 AB 99 | 224 161 152 | E0 A1 98 | 240 144 162 151 | F0 90 A2 97 | 240 144 170 146 | F0 90 AA 92 | 240 144 161 176 | F0 90 A1 B0 |
UTF-16 | 55298 57049 | D802 DED9 | 2136 | 0858 | 55298 56471 | D802 DC97 | 55298 56978 | D802 DE92 | 55298 56432 | D802 DC70 |
Numeric character reference | 𐫙 |
𐫙 |
ࡘ |
ࡘ |
𐢗 |
𐢗 |
𐪒 |
𐪒 |
𐡰 |
𐡰 |
Preview | 𐼒 | 𐼓 | 𐼘 | 𐼽 | 𐽀 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unicode name | OLD SOGDIAN LETTER AYIN | OLD SOGDIAN LETTER ALTERNATE AYIN |
OLD SOGDIAN LETTER RESH-AYIN-DALETH |
SOGDIAN LETTER AYIN | SOGDIAN LETTER RESH-AYIN | |||||
Encodings | decimal | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex |
Unicode | 69394 | U+10F12 | 69395 | U+10F13 | 69400 | U+10F18 | 69437 | U+10F3D | 69440 | U+10F40 |
UTF-8 | 240 144 188 146 | F0 90 BC 92 | 240 144 188 147 | F0 90 BC 93 | 240 144 188 152 | F0 90 BC 98 | 240 144 188 189 | F0 90 BC BD | 240 144 189 128 | F0 90 BD 80 |
UTF-16 | 55299 57106 | D803 DF12 | 55299 57107 | D803 DF13 | 55299 57112 | D803 DF18 | 55299 57149 | D803 DF3D | 55299 57152 | D803 DF40 |
Numeric character reference | 𐼒 |
𐼒 |
𐼓 |
𐼓 |
𐼘 |
𐼘 |
𐼽 |
𐼽 |
𐽀 |
𐽀 |
Preview | 𐿯 | 𐿀 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Unicode name | ELYMAIC LETTER AYIN | CHORASMIAN LETTER AYIN | ||
Encodings | decimal | hex | dec | hex |
Unicode | 69615 | U+10FEF | 69568 | U+10FC0 |
UTF-8 | 240 144 191 175 | F0 90 BF AF | 240 144 191 128 | F0 90 BF 80 |
UTF-16 | 55299 57327 | D803 DFEF | 55299 57280 | D803 DFC0 |
Numeric character reference | 𐿯 |
𐿯 |
𐿀 |
𐿀 |
See also[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ^ﻉcomes eighteenth in thehijaʾi orderof Arabic and twenty‐first in thePersian alphabet.
- ^Sometimes rendered as the Greek diacritic in aseriffont (as⟨ ̔ ⟩), e.g.Carl Brockelmann'sGrundriss Der Vergleichenden Grammatik der semitischen Sprachen,1908; Friedrich Delitzsch, Paul Haupt (eds.),Beiträge zur assyriologie und semitischen sprachwissenschaft(1890) (1968 reprint); sometimes rendered as a semi-circle open to the right with constant line thickness (as⟨ʿ⟩), e.g.Theodor Nöldeke,Beiträge zur semitischen Sprachwissenschaft(1904).
- ^Both charactersU+02BEʾMODIFIER LETTER RIGHT HALF RINGandU+02BFʿMODIFIER LETTER LEFT HALF RINGhave been present since Unicode version 1.0.0 (1991). The relevantcode chartspecifies the purpose of U+02BF as "transliteration of Arabic ain (voiced pharyngeal fricative); transliteration of Hebrew ayin".
- ^recommended by theLibrary of Congress(loc.gov); deprecated byThe European Register of Microform Masters
- ^deprecated byThe European Register of Microform Masters.
References[edit]
- ^Simons, F., "Proto-Sinaitic – Progenitor of the Alphabet"Rosetta9 (2011), 16–40 (here: 38–40)Archived2022-07-09 at theWayback Machine. See also: Goldwasser, Orly (Mar–Apr 2010). "How the Alphabet Was Born from Hieroglyphs".Biblical Archaeology Review.Washington, DC: Biblical Archaeology Society. 36 (1), following William F. Albright,The Proto-Sinaitic Inscriptions and their Decipherment(1966), "Schematic Table of Proto-Sinaitic Characters" (fig. 1Archived2016-07-03 at theWayback Machine).
- ^"IJMES Translation and Transliteration guide".Cambridge University Press.Archived fromthe originalon 8 February 2022.
- ^"ALA-LC Romanization Tables".Library of Congress.Archivedfrom the original on 6 November 2020.Retrieved15 October2022.
- ^"Various small, raised hook- or comma-shaped characters are often substituted for aglottal stop—for instance,U+02BCʼMODIFIER LETTER APOSTROPHE,U+02BBʻMODIFIER LETTER TURNED COMMA,U+02C0ˀMODIFIER LETTER GLOTTAL STOP,orU+02BEʾMODIFIER LETTER RIGHT HALF RING.U+02BB, in particular, is used in Hawaiian orthography as theʻokina." The Unicode Standard Version 7.0: chapter 7.1 "Latin", p. 294.
- ^abLadefoged, Peter & Ian Maddieson (1996).The sounds of the world's languages.Oxford: Blackwells.ISBN0-631-19814-8
- ^Suzanne Pinckney Stetkevych,The Mute Immortals Speak: Pre-Islamic Poetry and the Poetics of Ritual,pg. 178. Cornell Studies in Political Economy.Ithaca, New York:Cornell University Press,1993.ISBN9780801427640
- ^Daftar Kata Bahasa Melayu Rumi-Sebutan-Jawi, Dewan Bahasa Pustaka, 5th printing, 2006.
- ^Shabath, Heskel (1973).Romanization of the Hebrew alphabet(Thesis). p. 179.doi:10.20381/ruor-17884.hdl:10393/22146.ProQuest873832382.
External links[edit]
Media related toAyin (letter)at Wikimedia Commons