Italarab (ایتالعرب)

Italarab is a way to write Italian with the Arabic alphabet devised by Pamir Martini. It is also known as the Arabic alphabet for the Italian language.

Italarab alphabet

Italarab alphabet - consonants

Notes on consonants

تٔ and its variant تٕ are abbreviations of تئ which can be used instead of څ when there is an alternation between the sounds /t/ and /ts/ (تىـ is another accepted variant) - example: فرت forte ('strong'); فرڅ forza (but also فرتٕ) ('strength')
دٔ and its variant دٕ are abbreviations of دئ which can be used instead of ڊ when there is an alternation between the sounds /d/ and /dz/ (دىـ is another accepted variant) - example: مدی medio ('average'); مڊّ mezzo (but also مدّٕ) ('middle')
ښ can be used instead of the sequence سك when in the word there is an alternation between the sounds /sk/ and /ʃ/ - example: ناسكؤ nasco ('I'm born'); ناسكئی nasci (but also ناښؤ and ناښئی) ('you're born')
سٔ and its variant سٕ are abbreviations of ښئ which can be used instead of سكئ when in the word there is an alternation between the sounds /sk/ and /ʃ/ (ښىـ is another accepted variant) - example: ناښؤ nasco ('I'm born'); ناښئی nasci (but also ناسٕی) ('you're born')
ڛ can be used instead of the sequence سكئ when in the word there is not an alternation between the sounds /sk/ and /ʃ/ but closely related words do have it - example: پښؤ pesco ('I fish') and پښی peschi ('you fish'); پښئ pesce ('fish' sing.) and پښئی pesci ('fish' pl.) (but also پڛ pesce and پڛی pesci)
كٔ and its variant كٕ are abbreviations of كئ which is used when in the word there is an alternation between the sounds /k/ and /tʃ/ (كىـ is another accepted variant) - example: امیكؤ amico ('friend'); امیكئی amici (but also امیكٕی) ('friends')
سكٔ and its variant سكٕ are abbreviations of سكئ which is used when in the word there is an alternation between the sounds /sk/ and /ʃ/ (سكىـ is another accepted variant) - example: ناسكؤ nasco ('I'm born'); ناسكئی nasci (but also ناسكٕی) ('you're born')
گٔ and its variant گٕ are abbreviations of گئ which is used when in the word there is an alternation between the sounds /g/ and /dʒ/ (گىـ is another accepted variant) - example: بیعلگ biologo ('biologist'); بیعلگئی biologi (but also بیعلگٕی) ('biologists')
لٔ and its variant لٕ are abbreviations of لئ which can be used instead of ڵ when there is an alternation between the sounds /l/ and /ʎ/ (لىـ is another accepted variant) - example: ۋلېر volere ('to want'); ۋڵؤ voglio (but also ۋلئؤ and ۋلٕؤ) ('I want')
نٔ and its variant نٕ are abbreviations of نئ which can be used instead of ڼ when there is an alternation between the sounds /n/ and /ɲ/ (نىـ is another accepted variant) - example: نؤت noto ('known'); ایڼؤت ignoto (but also اینئؤت and اینٕؤت) ('unknown')
ىٕ is used for showing that an internal piece of a word has been dropped - example: دیىٕر dire ('to say, to tell') instead of دیكٕېر dicere (an old and now considered incorrect version of dire where the middle c hasn't been dropped out)
ث, ح, خ, ذ, ز, ص, ض, ط and ظ are native Arabic letters which in Italian are only used for loanwords (or non-standard dialectal words)
ژ, ڥ and ۏ are letters not found in the Arabic alphabet but they are used in Italian to represent some foreign and dialectal words
ڼ has also the variant ݩ (by analogy with ل and ڵ)

Italarab alphabet - vowels

Notes on vowels

The difference between short and long vowels is mainly etymological and graphic but never phonemic (the most common exception is the copula عېء/عهٔء è ('he/she/it is'), which according to its etymology should be written as عئ, but it mustn't written as such)
/e/ and /ɛ/ as well as /o/ and /ɔ/ are usually not distinguished in writing (as with the Latin alphabet), but the distinction can be done for emphasis, word differentiation or to show the correct pronunciation
Stress is always marked on the last syllable if it ends with a vowel, otherwise it is optional
ؠ and ۄ are always stressed because of etymological reasons, so they do not need to have their stress marked, but they have a compulsory special marking when they are not stressed (ؠٔ and ۄٔ)
The vowel ې (e; ېٚ and ېٛ) has also a variant هٔ (e; هٚ and هٛ), which is used in the exact same way as ې with one exception: when a word begins with ههٔـ it can be shortened to هٔـ (never to اهٔـ, otherwise it would be etymologically different and so incorrect), but this cannot be done with هېـ (which always stays as such) - example: هېلی and ههٔلی and هٔلی are correct spellings for the word elio ('helium'), but اېلی and ېلی and اهٔلی are wrong
ىٚ and ىٛ are common abbreviations for ئٚ and ئٛ
ي is used when the i represents a double i - examples: maschi- مسكیـ ('male') + -ile ـیل > maschile مسكیٔل ('masculine'); occhi- اكّیـ ('eye') + -i ـی ('-s') > occhi اكّي ('eyes'). ۊ has the same use: when u stands for two u's, but the use of this letter is only theoretical, dialectal or very rare; the letter exists mainly by analogy with ي i
ي inside a word becomes ـیٔـ not to get confused with ی (which is ـیـ inside a word)

Further notes

غ and ق in native Italian words are always followed either by و (at the end of a word) or by a long vowel regardless of its correct etymological length; they are considered semi-native letters because they have originally fairly different Arabic sounds, but since the Arabic pronunciation is still close, they have been used for a new different purpose
ء has different uses in Italian words from the original Arabic ones
ء is used instead of ئ when a word having a long vowel written as its last letter has the stress falling on the last syllable, but only if the stress isn't caused by the dropping of some parts of the word (example: سیئ sì from Latin sic, but sé سېء from Latin se)
ه is used when etymologically needed, ع is mostly used at the beginning of some words and to mark a hiatus inside a word, ڠ can be used instead of ع when there is a /v/ sound dropped (it usually occurs only in some verb endings etymologically coming from the verb avere ('to have') and in some old and/or dialectal words)
ـئٕـ, ـئٕٚـ and ـئٕٛـ are abbreviations for ـئىٕـ, ـئٚىٕـ and ـئٛىٕـ; there are also further abbreviations: ـىٕٚـ (for ـئٕٚـ) and ـىٕٛـ (for ـئٕٛـ)
Throughout a text, if there are no specific reasons, the writer should be coherent with the variants and abbreviations s/he uses (e.g. there should not be both ې and هٔ in a single piece of writing)
ڢ and ۋ are most properly used when the /v/ sound comes respectively from an etymological /b/ or from an etymological /w/, but in practice both can be used for all purposes and can just be counted as variants of a same letter, but in that case their use has to be consistent (so there should be either only one or the other, or both but used in the etymologically correct way)
There are no rules on how to use the additional foreign/dialectal vowels, and some words (especially loanwords) have irregular spellings (usually following other rules or the native spelling of the source language) - example: الكحلیك alcolico ('alcoholic') from الكحل alcol/alcool/alcole (which comes from Arabic)

Download an alphabet chart for Italarab (Excel)

Sample texts

Article 1 of the Italian Constitution without vowel diacritics

لْ ایتالی عېء اون رېپوبّلیك دېمكرتیك، فندات سول لڢؤر۔ لا سڢرانیتئ آپّرتؠن آل پپل، ك لا اسرچیت نېلّې فؤرمې ع نېی لیمیتی دېلّا كؤستیتوڅیؤن۔

Article 1 of the Italian Constitution with vowel diacritics

لْ ایتالیَ عېء اونَ رېپوبّلیكَ دېمُكرَتیكَ، فُنداتَ سول لَڢؤرُ۔ لا سُڢرانیتَئ اَپَّرتؠنِ آل پُپُلُ، كِ لا اِسِرچیتَ نېلّې فؤرمې عِ نېی لیمیتی دېلّا كؤستیتوتٕیؤنِ۔

Transliteration

L'Italia è una Repubblica democratica, fondata sul lavoro. La sovranità appartiene al popolo, che la esercita nelle forme e nei limiti della Costituzione.

Translation

Italy is a democratic Republic founded on labour. Sovereignty belongs to the people, who exercise it in the forms and within the limits laid down by the Constitution.
(Article 1 from the Constitution of the Italian Republic)

Article 1 of the UDHR without vowel diacritics

توتّی ڵی عسّېری هومانی ناښؤن لیبری عد اېغالی این دیڼیتئ ع دیریتّی۔ اسّی سؤن دؤتاتی دی رجؤن ع دی كؤشئنڅ ع دېڢؤن آجیر ڵی اونی ڢرس ڵی آلتری این سپیریت دی فراتلّنڅ۔

Article 1 of the UDHR with vowel diacritics

توتّی ڵی عِسّېری هومانی ناښؤنُ لیبِری عِد اېغُالی این دیڼیتَئ عِ دیریتّی۔ اِسّی سؤنُ دؤتاتی دی رَجؤنِ عِ دی كؤشئِنتَٕ عِ دېڢؤنُ اَجیرِ ڵی اونی ۋِرسُ ڵی اَلتری این سپیریتُ دی فراتِلَّنتَٕ۔

Transliteration

Tutti gli esseri umani nascono liberi ed eguali in dignità e diritti. Essi sono dotati di ragione e di coscienza e devono agire gli uni verso gli altri in spirito di fratellanza.

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

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