1- Short
vowels take half the time to pronounce compared to long
vowels. Hearing the difference between a
short vowel and its long counterpart is not only tricky but
a cornerstone to learning to read and to spell Arabic. You
will confuse a long for a short vowel, and the reverse, for
sometime to come. So roll up your sleeves and make a point
to get good at it!
2- All three long vowels can also play the
role of a consonant! So how do
you know if the
alif,
waaw,
yih
is a
long vowel or a consonant? You learn as you
go and you recognize words. Surprisingly, students usually
pick this up with relative ease. They feel their way as they
are attempting to read the word is they need a vowel or a
consonant.
A helpful rule is
you
can not have more than two consonants in a
row in an Arabic word nor can you have more
than one long vowel in a word. Therefore,
as you read a word, if there
are two consonants in a row you will find
yourself "naturally" wanting to say a vowel
-- without thinking!
Similarly, if you
say a long vowel in one part of
the word you can not extend again into a
second long vowel within the same word.
3-
For practice:
Listen to the Arabic alphabet with short and
long vowels attached.
[01]
[02]
