Rule
When followed by a sun letter, the l of the Arabic definite article al- assimilates to the initial consonant of the following noun, resulting in a doubled consonant. For example, for "the Nile", one does not say al-Nīl, but an-Nīl. When the definite article is followed by a moon letter, no assimilation takes place.
Sun letters represent all coronal consonants except ج ǧīm (see below). Since the article al- ends in a coronal consonant, it lends itself to assimilation with these sounds.
The sun and moon letters are as follows:
| Sun letters | ﺕ | ﺙ | ﺩ | ﺫ | ﺭ | ﺯ | ﺱ | ﺵ | ﺹ | ﺽ | ﻁ | ﻅ | ﻝ | ﻥ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| t | ṯ | d | ḏ | r | z | s | š | ṣ | ḍ | ṭ | ẓ | l | n | |
| Moon letters | ء | ﺏ | ﺝ | ﺡ | ﺥ | ﻉ | ﻍ | ﻑ | ﻕ | ﻙ | ﻡ | ﻭ | ﻱ | ه |
| ʾ | b | ǧ | ḥ | ḫ | ʿ | ġ | f | q | k | m | w | y | h |
Read more about this topic: Sun And Moon Letters
Famous quotes containing the word rule:
“It seems to be a rule of wisdom never to rely on your memory alone, scarcely even in acts of pure memory, but to bring the past for judgment into the thousand-eyed present, and live ever in a new day.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“A right rule for a club would be, Admit no man whose presence excludes any one topic. It requires people who are not surprised and shocked, who do and let do, and let be, who sink trifles, and know solid values, and who take a great deal for granted.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
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—Lewis Carroll [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson] (1832–1898)