Hans Wehr transliteration

The Hans Wehr transliteration system is a methodology for transliteration of the Arabic alphabet, used in the Hans Wehr dictionary, with some changes enacted to the system between two editions of the dictionary. The transliteration system uses no digraphs. It is always displayed in the italic style of Latin-alphabet font. It uses two types of diacritics. It uses a dot underneath or upside for some letters. It also uses a line underneath for other letters. For long vowels a macron is used (a line on top of the letter). No capital letters are used (they were in previous editions).

The transliteration of the Arabic alphabet:

• Hamza (ء): Transliterated as ʾ. Never transliterated at the beginning of a word.
• No special letter for the tāʾ marbūṭa (ة). Either the letter "t" or the letter "h" depending on context. When a word with a tāʾ marbūṭa is written alone a normal letter "h" (or just as an "a") is used to transcribe it. This depends on pronunciation.
• Native Arabic long vowels: ā ī ū
• Long vowels in borrowed words: ē ō
• Diphthongs: ai, au
• Short vowels: Fatḥa should be transcribed as "a", kasra as "i" and ḍamma as "u".
• Non-Standard Arabic consonants: p (پ), ž (ژ), g (گ)
• Alif maqṣūra (ى): ā
• Madda (آ): ʾā
• Words that end in a letter yāʾ (يّ) that could be written with a šadda (consonant gemination symbol): This nisba ending is transliterated as īy.
• Capitalization: in the current Hans Wehr transliteration system (the fourth edition) no capital letters are used whatsoever, even in proper nouns; the reason given for this is that the upper-case /lower-case contrast does not exist in Arabic writing, so deciding whether a word should begin with a capital letter would be pointless guess work (it is pointless because the definition of the word given beside the word in the dictionary).
• Arabic definite Article: The Arabic definite article ال is always rendered as "al-" except where assimilation occurs (al + šams BECOMES aš-šams). Never does the "a" in "al-" change.

See also

• Arabic letters
• Romanization of Arabic (compare other systems, such as ALA-LC or DIN 31635)
• Arabic phonology
• WP:IPA for Arabic