ال
See also: أل, آل, and إل
Arabic
Alternative forms
- اَمْ (am) – dialectal
Etymology
Uncertain; Rubin posits that this is a reduced form of the lost singular of Arabic أُولَى (ʾulā, “these”); compare Akkadian 𒌌𒇻𒌑𒌝 (ullûm, “that”). In this hypothesis, original initial /u/ would be lost due to low stress; the initial /a/ found in phrase-initial position would thus be prosthetic.[1]
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /al-/, /-l-/
Audio (file)
Article
اَلْ • (al-)
- the
Usage notes
- The /l/ of this prefix assimilates to and geminates the first letter of the base word when it begins with a traditionally-coronal consonant, natively called sun letters: ت (t), ث (ṯ), د (d), ذ (ḏ), ر (r), ز (z), س (s), ش (š), ص (ṣ), ض (ḍ), ط (ṭ), ظ (ẓ), ل (l), and ن (n). This does not traditionally include ج (j), as its original pronunciation was palatal rather than coronal, but in regions where it is pronounced /d͡ʒ ~ ʒ/ it can be found assimilating the definite article as well. The ل (l)’s assimilation is not observed by the article's spelling, which is invariably ال (al-); however, in fully vocalised texts, a shadda is written over the following sun letter to reflect gemination.
- The initial vowel a- is only pronounced when the article occurs either after a pause, at the beginning of an utterance, or after the preposition مِنْ (min). Otherwise, the article consists solely of the coronal consonant preceded by the final vowel of the previous word; if this previous word is consonant-final, then i is used as a linking vowel.
Descendants
- Egyptian Arabic: ال (el)
- Gulf Arabic: ال (il)
- Maltese: il-
- Moroccan Arabic: ال (el)
See also
- moon letter
- sun letter
References
- Aaron Rubin (2005), “Definite Articles”, in Studies in Semitic Grammaticalization, Brill, DOI:, →ISBN, pages 77-78
Egyptian Arabic
Article
الـ • (el-)
- the
Gulf Arabic
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /(ʕ)ɪl/, [l], (before sun letters) /ɪ/
Etymology 1
From Arabic اَلْ (al-).
Article
اِلـ • (il-)
- the definite article; the
Etymology 2
Contraction of الي (illi, “the relative clause”), itself a contraction of Arabic اَلَّذِي m (allaḏī) and اَلَّتِي f (allatī)
Pronoun
اِلـ • (il-)
- (colloquial) the relative clause; that, who, which, etc
- Synonym: الي (illi)
Etymology 3
Could be directly from Arabic إِلَىٰ (ʾilā).
Preposition
اِلـ • (il-)
- (colloquial) to (destination)
- Synonyms: (colloquial) لي (lē), (colloquial) ل (li)
Alternative forms
- لـ (l-)
Hijazi Arabic
Etymology
From Arabic اَلْ (al-).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /al/, (before sun letters) /a/
Article
الـ • (al-)
- the definite article; the
Kalami
Adjective
ال (al) m
- wet
Khalaj
Noun
اَل (əl) (definite accusative اَلی, plural اَللَر)
- Arabic spelling of əl (“hand”)
Declension
Declension of اَل
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | اَل | اَللَر |
| genitive | اَلیین | اَللَریین |
| dative | اَلكه, اَله | اَللَركه, اَللَره |
| definite accusative | اَلی | اَللَری |
| locative | اَلچه | اَللَرچه |
| ablative | اَلده | اَللَرده |
| instrumental | اَلله | اَللَرله |
| equative | اَلوارا | اَللَروارا |
| quantitative | اَلقَدَر | اَللَرقَدَر |
North Levantine Arabic
Etymology 1
From Arabic ال (al-).
Article
الـ • (l-)
- the
Usage notes
- The article in fact consists solely of the consonant /l/, which is assimilated to the same onsets as in Standard Arabic (see above). Following the usage note there, some speakers extend this process of assimilation to the now-coronal ج (j /ʒ/).
- An epenthetic linking vowel is added as phonotactically necessary, be it before the article or after, in order to avoid a three-consonant cluster. Note that its notation with a schwa is not meant to represent IPA [ə], as its actual value varies between /i~e~o/ depending on context:
- النص المكتوب ― n-naṣṣ əl-maktūb ― the written text
- الكتاب المقدس ― lə-ktāb lə-mʾaddas ― the Holy Book, i.e. the Bible
- Assimilation is optionally ignored when the article precedes a consonant cluster where the initial consonant would normally trigger assimilation, as the epenthetic vowel separates them if it appears:
- الولاد الصغار ― lə-wlād lə-ṣḡār ― the small children
Etymology 2
Reduction of the definite relative pronoun اللي (lli) or its alternative form لي (li).
Pronoun
ال • (l-)
- contraction of اللي
- 1961, Said Akl, Yara:
- يَارَا الجّدَايِلهَا شُقْر
- yāra j-jdāyilha šuʾr
- Yara, whose braids are gold
- (literally, “Yara who her braids are gold”)
-
Usage notes
- Although this contraction is superficially identical to the definite article, some speakers do not assimilate it to a following coronal, allowing the two to be told apart in this context. Other speakers do, such as Said Akl in the reading linked from the quote above.
Ottoman Turkish
Etymology
From Proto-Turkic *el, *elig.
Noun
ال • (el)
- hand
Descendants
- Turkish: el
Persian
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Noun
ال • (al)
- (Dari) plough; the beam of a plough
Derived terms
- ال زدن (al zadan)
South Levantine Arabic
Etymology
From Arabic ال (al-).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /l/, [l]
Article
الـ • (l-)
- the (definite article)
Usage notes
- Phonemically, the article consists solely of the consonant /l/, which is assimilated to the same onsets as in Standard Arabic (see above), with some speakers extending the assimilation to the now-coronal ج (j /ʒ/). While the epenthetic vowel [ɪ] may be added before or after in order to avoid problematic consonant clusters, different speakers may be more or less tolerant of these clusters; those who tolerate an initial two-consonant cluster may not insert the vowel before /l/, meaning the article may be virtually inaudible in cases that the /l/ is assimilated.
- الميّ الباردة ― (i)l-mayy (i)l-bārde ― the cold water
Audio (Ramallah) (file) - الشباب الشاطرين ― (i)š-šabāb (i)š-šāṭrīn ― the smart guys
Audio (Ramallah) (file) - الكتاب الكبير ― li-ktāb li-kbīr ― the big book
Audio (Ramallah) (file)
- Assimilation is optionally ignored when the article precedes a consonant cluster where the initial consonant would normally trigger assimilation, as the epenthetic vowel separates them if it appears:
- الزلمة الزغير ― (i)z-zalame li-zḡīr ― the small man
Audio (Ramallah) (file)