Every dialect region has its own pronunciation of the Standard Language, because letters not found in the local languages spoken at home are hard to learn in school. These different accents give a color and a flavor to speaking fus-Ha among educated Arabs, as well as Muslims whose first language is not a dialect of Arabic, but Urdu, Persian, Indonesian, or an African language. Here are some example of non-standard pronunciations of certain letters.
th as in "think"
Many colloquial dialects do not have this sound, and students who are unable to master it in school continue to pronounce it as either t, s, or z depending on how the word is pronounced in their dialect.
For example thalaatha three is very often pronounced telaata by Levantine speakers, and ithneyn two is pronounced itneyn.
ð as in "the" or "that"
Most colloquial dialects do not have this sound. It is extremely common to hear even educated speakers pronounce this letter as d or z.
haaða this in most dialects is some form of "haada," or simply "da," as in Egyptian. Also haaza.
ðaalika that becomes zaalika in the speech of many Arabs.
j
As mentioned before, j is pronounced as g in all instances in Egypt. Even our word "camel" comes from the Egyptian pronunciation of the word "jamal."
However, this letter varies by region from the hard j in English "junk" to the soft, smooth French j in Bonjour.
Z This letter is techincally pronounced Ð, a "dark" emphatic version of the letter ð. However, this letter is difficult to learn, even for Arabs, and most Arabs shortcut and pronounce it as emphatic Z. Some books even teach this letter as Z since the pronunciation is so common.
q
This is certainly the letter with the most variation. It is always pronounced in the classical fashion when saying the name of Cairo, al-qaahira. However, elsewhere, it seems like this letter is a free-for-all, being pronounced as g, ', k, or q in different places even by the same speaker. Certain dialects favor ' (the glottal stop) such as Egyptian and Levantine, while the Gulf favors g or k. I am certain someone much more educated than me could explain to me how to pronounce this letter, but for now I usually pronounce it as ' since I think it is the ugliest letter in the language and the harshest on the ears.
daqiiqa minute
da'ii'a minute (Egyptian/Levantine pronunciation)
r
When reciting the Qur'an, it is considered unbecoming to pronounce this letter as a trill, for reasons unbeknownst to me. Therefore, when listening to the Qur'an, or singers from minarets, one will usually hear the letter r pronounced in the French way, the same as gh.
3
The letter 3 is more prominent in the speech of men, and is considered a masculine sound. In women's speech, it is significantly less noticeable.
'
The glottal stop is sometimes cut out, with the vowels on either side pushed together, as in English.
aL-mar'a
aL-mara
th as in "think"
Many colloquial dialects do not have this sound, and students who are unable to master it in school continue to pronounce it as either t, s, or z depending on how the word is pronounced in their dialect.
For example thalaatha three is very often pronounced telaata by Levantine speakers, and ithneyn two is pronounced itneyn.
ð as in "the" or "that"
Most colloquial dialects do not have this sound. It is extremely common to hear even educated speakers pronounce this letter as d or z.
haaða this in most dialects is some form of "haada," or simply "da," as in Egyptian. Also haaza.
ðaalika that becomes zaalika in the speech of many Arabs.
j
As mentioned before, j is pronounced as g in all instances in Egypt. Even our word "camel" comes from the Egyptian pronunciation of the word "jamal."
However, this letter varies by region from the hard j in English "junk" to the soft, smooth French j in Bonjour.
Z This letter is techincally pronounced Ð, a "dark" emphatic version of the letter ð. However, this letter is difficult to learn, even for Arabs, and most Arabs shortcut and pronounce it as emphatic Z. Some books even teach this letter as Z since the pronunciation is so common.
q
This is certainly the letter with the most variation. It is always pronounced in the classical fashion when saying the name of Cairo, al-qaahira. However, elsewhere, it seems like this letter is a free-for-all, being pronounced as g, ', k, or q in different places even by the same speaker. Certain dialects favor ' (the glottal stop) such as Egyptian and Levantine, while the Gulf favors g or k. I am certain someone much more educated than me could explain to me how to pronounce this letter, but for now I usually pronounce it as ' since I think it is the ugliest letter in the language and the harshest on the ears.
daqiiqa minute
da'ii'a minute (Egyptian/Levantine pronunciation)
r
When reciting the Qur'an, it is considered unbecoming to pronounce this letter as a trill, for reasons unbeknownst to me. Therefore, when listening to the Qur'an, or singers from minarets, one will usually hear the letter r pronounced in the French way, the same as gh.
3
The letter 3 is more prominent in the speech of men, and is considered a masculine sound. In women's speech, it is significantly less noticeable.
'
The glottal stop is sometimes cut out, with the vowels on either side pushed together, as in English.
aL-mar'a
aL-mara
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