Perso-Arabic script
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Perso-Arabic script (or Arabo-Persian) is a writing system that is based on the Arabic alphabet. Originally being used exclusively for the Arabic language, the Arabic script was modified to match the demands of being a writing system for the Persian language, adding four letters: پ [p], چ [ʧ], ژ [ʒ], and گ [g]. Many languages which use the Perso-Arabic script add additional letters. The Perso-Arabic script has been applied specifically to the Persian alphabet, Urdu alphabet, Kurdish Sorani alphabet, Punjabi Shahmukhi script, and several others.
In order to represent non-Arabic sounds, new letters were created by adding dots, lines, and other shapes to existing letters. For example, the retroflex sounds of Urdu are represented orthographically by adding a small ط above their non-retroflex counterparts: د [d̪] and ڈ [ɖ]. The voiceless retroflex fricative [ʂ] of Pashto is represented in writing by adding a dot above and below the س [s] letter, resulting in ښ. The close central rounded vowel [ʉ] of Kurdish is written by writing two ﻭ [u], resulting in ﻭﻭ.
The term Perso-Arabic script is also sometimes used to refer to the general Arabic script [1], or to the Persian variant of the Arabic alphabet [2]. The term Arabetics is occasionally used to refer to general Arabic script. The word was most notably used by type designer, and systems engineer Saad D. Abulhab.
The Perso-Arabic script is exclusively written cursively. That is, the majority of letters in a word connect to each other. This is also implemented on computers. Whenever the Perso-Arabic script is typed, the computer connects the letters to each other. Unconnected letters are not widely accepted. The most notable attempt at unconnected "Perso-Arabic" letters is the Mutamathil type style.
There are many Arabic-derived alphabets which were not influenced by the Perso-Arabic script, including Jawi (used for Malay), Sorabe (Malagasy), and many alphabets used in Northern Africa. These alphabets used other innovations for writing such common sounds as [p], [g], and [ʧ], instead of the Perso-Arabic letters پ گ چ .
