: beginner’s urdu script goal category reading and writing language content q| « learn to write, step by step + understand the script in different contexts + get a headstart in learning the language be where you want to be with teach yourselfteach yourself beginner's urdu script richard delacy For over 60 years, more than 40 milion people have leamt over 750 subjects the teach yourself way, with Impressive results, be where you want to be with teach yourselfFor UK order enquiries: please contact Bookpoint Ltd, 130 Mitton Par, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 488, Telepnone: +48 (0) 1235 827720, Fax +44 (0) 1235 400454. Lines are open 9.00-18.00, Monday to Saturday, with 2 24-hour message ngwering service You can also oder through our website ‘war. madaboubooks. com. For USA order enquts: pleas contact McGraw Customer Services, P.O, Box 549, Blacklick, OH 49004-0545, USA. ‘elaphone: 1-800-722-4726, Fax 1-614-755-5645, For Canada order enquires: please contact McGraw-Hill, Ayerson Li, 300 Water St, Whithy, Ontario L1N 986, Canada. “Telephone: 905430 000. Fax: 905 430 502. Long renowned as the authoritative source for self-guided ‘eaming~ wit more than 30 milion copies sold worawide—the Teach Yoursel series Includes over 300 tiles in the fils of languages, rats, hobbies, business, computing and education, i ion at cae ty frm see en tay Compe ey re x Fist published in UK 2001 by Hodder Headline Lt, 338 Euston oad, London, NW 38H. Fist published in US 2001 by Contemporary Boos, a Division ‘of The McGraw Hil Companies, 1 Prudential Plaza, 130 East Randolph Street, Chicago, IL 60601 USA This eto pubished 2003, ‘The Teach Yourself name is a registered trade mark of Hodder & Stoughton Le. Copyright© 200, 2008 chard Deacy ‘In UK: At rights reserved No pat of this pubcation may be reproduced of transmitted in any form or by any means, ‘ecronic or mechanical including photocopy, recording, oa information storage and retrieval syste, wathoutpermssion it ‘wing fom the publisher or under cece from the Copyright LUcensing Agony Lied, Further details of such foanoes tor 'eprographic reproduction) may be obtained rom the Copyright LUeesing Agency Lined, of 0 Totenham Cour Road, London wira. ‘In US: Al ight reserved. Excap as permite under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this book may be produced or distributed in any form or by any means, oF sored ina database or eval syste, without the prior writen ‘ermision of Contemporary Books. ‘Typeset by Ask Language Series Ld Printed in Great Bran for Hodder & Stoughton Educational, a (vision of Hodder Headline Lo, 338 Euston Road London NWT ‘9H by Cox & Wyman Lid, Reading, Berkshire. Impression number 10987654321 Year 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 | CONTENTS Introduction vu (Characters of the Urdu alphabet xi Unit 1 1 be, S tat, J tam, tm, pronunciation, Positional forms, Writing practice, Representation of short vowels, Reading and writing practice, Summary, Answers t0 practices Unit 2 8 4 att, Positional forms, Pronunciation, Modified form of kaf, + tashdid, Reading and writing practice, ‘Summary, Answers to practices Unit 3 15 e F pe, © nm, S gat, 2 chotthe, Pronunciation, Positional forms, Writing practice, Modified form of _f* gaf, Reading and writing practice, Aspiration, Pronunciation, Writing practice, Reading and writing practice, Summary, Answers to practicesv BEGINNER'S URDU SCRIPT Unit 4 25 J ye, Positional forms, Writing practice, Pronunciation, Reading and writing practice, Punctuation, Reading and writing practice, Summary, Answers to practices Unit 5 35 & te, & aim, U sin, nan, Pronunciation, Positional forms, Writing practice, Reading and writing practice, Nasalisation, Reading and writing practice, Summary, [Answers to practices Unit 6 46 4 vio, Positional forms, Writing practice, Pronunciation, Reading and writing practice, Summary, Answers to practices Unit 7 56 2 daa, J re, U part he, U shin, O svad, Pronunciation, Positional forms, Writing practice, Reading and writing practice, Summary, Answers to practices Unit 8 4 © une, 5 zat, 5 ze, UP 2nd, SF fe, Pronunciation, Positional forms, Writing practice, Reading and wi practice, Summary, Answers to practices CONTENTS v Unit 9 7 L te 5 dat Fre, © stain, F gat Pronunciation, Positional forms, Writing practice, Reading and writing practice, Summary, Answers to practices Unit 10 86 & . se, F she, b tore, $ zo'e, © ‘ain, Pronunciation, Positional forms, Writing practice, Pronunciation of ( ‘ain, Reading and writing practice, Summary, Answers to practices Unit 11 7 # hamz&, izifat, Modified forms of characters, Shortened alif, Doubled vowel-markers, The Arabic definite article U! al, Further notes on pronunciation, Doubling of ® choff he, Reading and writing practice, Summary, Answers to practices Appendix 12 ‘Numbers, Decimals and fractions, Dates, Days of the week, MonthsINTRODUCTION The Urdu script ‘The Urdu language is written in a modified form of the Persian script which is in tum a modified form of the Arabic script. This modification takes the form of the addition of characters to represent sounds that occur in Urdu but are not found in Arabic or Persian. In addition to Urdu, Persian and Arabic, the same script is used to write several other languages in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, including Kashmiri, Punjabi and Pashto. There are two styles of this script: nasta‘iq and naskh. The basic difference between these styles is minor. Whereas in naskh words tend to run along the bottom line, in the more cursive nasta‘liq style they tend to slant diagonally from the top line to the bottom line. A et She LAI nasta‘liq naskh While the naskh style of writing lends itself to type printing, texts written iin the nasta‘tiq style are still mostly prepared by a calligrapher and then Printed using a technique called lithography. Both naskh and nasta‘liq fonts have been developed for use in computer software programs. The nasta‘Tiq style is conventionally employed in most Urdu texts, although the naskh style, which is used to write both Arabic and Persian, is ‘occasionally used in some scholarly publications and reference books. Because of the continued predominance of nasta‘liq to write Urdu, it is this style with which the student will have to become most familiar and which is, therefore, treated in this book.vat BEGINNER'S URDU SCRIPT ‘The Urdu script runs from right to left except for numerals, which are written from left to right. The alphabet contains thirty-five characters, each of which possesses a name. For example, the first character in the alphabet is called alif and is used to represent several vowel sounds in Urdu. alif ‘The script is cursive, in that the characters are joined together to form words. There are no capital letters. Most characters are made up of a basic linear portion and one, two, or three dots or another symbol that resembles a ‘flat’ symbol in music. These are written either above or below the linear portion of the character. The basic shape of some of the characters is the same and, for this reason, the alphabet is traditionally arranged in series of characters that have a similar basic form but are differentiated by the number or position of accompanying dots etc. For example, the second series of the alphabet comprises five characters, all of which have the same shape but a different number of dots or the symbol that resembles a flat sign in music. os Ya - 3 Fo. wt se te te pe be ‘While all characters join to the preceding character in a word, not all join to the character that follows. Therefore, characters are conventionally considered to be of two types: those that join to characters on both sides and those that join only to the preceding character. Characters that join on both sides are called connectors while those that join only to the INTRODUCTION x preceding character are called non-connectors. The shape of connecting characters also varies more or less depending on whether they occur at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of a word. There is also an independent form of characters, which occurs at the end of a word following a non-connector. Itis the independent form that appears in the alphabet. Characters that do not connect to the following character have essentially only two forms, an initial and a final form. The initial form is the same as the independent form because it does not join to the following character and the final form is the same as the medial form for the same reason. Another important feature of this script is that there are no characters to represent the three short vowels in Urdu. This makes leaning how to Pronounce new words difficult. There are, however, three symbols that ‘may be employed to indicate which of these short vowels is present. There is also a symbol that is used to indicate when no vowel is pronounced with a character. These four symbols are rarely provided by writers because Urdu readers simply know the pronunciation of many of the words they read. However, they are always included in the Holy Quran to guarantee accurate pronunciation as well as in children’s primers and dictionaries. ‘They have also been used throughout this book with new words wherever they appear. Other features of the Urdu script include both the existence of several characters that represent more or less the same sound for Urdu speakers and also characters that may represent more than one sound. For example, there are four characters that represent the sound 2 and two characters that may each represent three vowels and a semi-vowel. There also exist some characters, the pronunciation of which is almost silent in particular words. ‘Some of these unique features can be explained by the fact that the Arabic script came to be used to write a language that evolved in thex BEGINNER'S URDU SCRIPT subcontinent, a long distance from where the script originated in the Middle East. How this came about is in turn related to the history of ‘Muslim influence in the subcontinent and the evolution of languages and literary traditions in the places where Muslims settled in India and ruled from around the 141) until the 18h century. For Indian Muslims, Arabic ‘maintained its importance as the sacred language of the Holy Quran and Persian continued to be an important spoken language as well as the language of administration and literary expression for much of this time. ‘Over time a new language began to evolve, however, which was based on the dialect spoken in the north around Delhi but greatly influenced by Persian and Arabic. This influence came mostly in the form of the adoption of Arabic and Persian words and, eventually, the use of a modified form of the Persian script for writing purposes. In particular, new characters were added to this script to represent sounds that did not exist in Persian and Arabic and some of the distinctly Arabic and Persian sounds represented by particular characters were gradually diluted over time by speakers of this new language. The spellings of Persian and Arabic words have, however, remained faithful to the original. Hence the existence of different letters in the script representing the same sounds. The language that evolved, based on the dialect spoken in and around Delhi and enhanced by literary traditions in places such as Hyderabad in the south, came to be known as rekhta (‘mixed speech’) as well as zabain- e-urda-e-mu‘alld (‘the speech of the royal camps’). It was this second term which was finally abbreviated to provide Urdu with its modem name. Many of the features of the Arabic script, and the anomalies that exist on account of its being applied to write Urdu, make learning to read and write this script a challenging task. It is for this reason that this book has been prepared. It is devoted entirely to the Urdu script rather than to the actual language, to give the student the opportunity to focus on leaming to recognise the characters, both independently and when they occur in INTRODUCTION xi words. Itis aimed at those with no previous knowledge of Urdu as well as those who can speak Urdu but cannot read or write it. The thirty-five characters are introduced gradually throughout the book and in an order that highlights those aspects of the script that are most likely to cause problems. Characters have not been introduced in the order in which they appear in the alphabet or in the conventional order in which they are taught. Rather, characters that are similar in shape have been deliberately spread over the chapters to focus attention on their differences rather than on their similarities. Because the book is also designed to help the student eam to write the characters, their formation is clearly detailed. There are also instructions on how to form whole words. These are designed to give the student a sense of the correct proportion of characters in relation to each other in a word and a feel for the flow of words when writing in Urdu. As far as possible, the words included in this book are generally common and it is hoped that this may assist the student in developing a reasonable vocabulary. This will be of use when he or she goes on to learn the language proper. Finally, a modified form of the Roman script has been used to indicate the pronunciation of particular sounds in Urdu. This ‘means that some of the letters included are marked by macrons (~) or tildes (~), e.g. & & 4, or dots underneath. A macron indicates a long vowel, a tilde indicates that a vowel is pronounced through the nose and ‘a dot under a consonant indicates that it is pronounced by placing the tip of the tongue on the roof of the mouth (e.g. d, f, r). At the end of this introduction, all of the characters in the Urdu alphabet are provided, both in the order used in this book as well as their dictionary order. This will be a useful guide for quick reference while working through the chapters. Also included is a chart showing all of the other symbols that are explained and the chapter in which they first appear. There is also a reference section in which other useful materials for the study of Urdu are listed. Several people have contributed to the production of this book and Ix BEGINNER'S URDU SCRIPT INTRODUCTION would like to thank them for their time and efforts. I am particularly indebted to Jeananne Webber who read through the entire manuscript with ye GC ve 4 4 ‘great attention to detail; Rashid Sultan Sahib provided valuable comments z z = > and criticisms concerning the structure and content of the book; Belinda 5 te e — 4 o t Greenwood-Smith, Ralph Saubern, John Robinson, Novi Djenar, Lidia - & & &. z, ‘Tanaka and Sudha Joshi all commented on various parts of the text and the cm 7% © Department of Asian Studies, La Trobe University, Bundoora, provided te uv wz s me with the facilities to complete this manuscript. I am also thankful to . the students who have tested out these materials in various forms in nan g FT ko Gf a particular Francesca Gaiba at the University of Illinois, Chicago. I am solely responsible for all errors and inaccuracies. 6 vaio 3 yx Xx 3 do,au,v Characters of the Urdu alphabet 7 al ? ~ x? ‘ re 4 F 4 4 r Order used in this book bari he ev é 6 7 h ‘Unit Name of Final form Final form Medial Initial Transliteration : oo character (unjoined) (joined) form form shin uv uu ~ ~ sh 1 be y ee 4 4 b svad UP vw ~ # s w Of of CS som 3 BOR SG um J) gd 4) 1 wood S 4 x mm (Of FO * om me & £ * FF th mad p pw» 2 2 2 ali 1 t bf aime ¥ “ toe fe 2 wg i t 3 pe y Se 4 ; 7 FP 9 fe Bh EO Jim & & 4 % i 3 RR OS a . , , eat St t t f & re 3 yY »y 3 r chofi he ° * Yr 7 h ghain b z » ehB xv BEGINNER'S URDU SCRIPT INTRODUCTION 5 * ; of ‘vowel sound. Its positioned ar z 3 bi 0 v 4 above the character. 10 se & & a o s 2 ~ madd placed above { alif when in an 2 x Bos initial position to represent the zhe 2 FJ 4 G5 1 aad Tong vowel & tote b b b + t 2 ¢ irregular initial and medial forms note y bob gs : of the character Skat with 1 alif and J lam. ‘ ~ ‘ an t o 3 2 do cashmi he denotes that a character is aspirated (ie. produced with a Other symbols breath of ait), 4 irregular initial and medial forms Unit Symbol Name Description of the character S° gat with | L407 aabar indicates a short a vowel as well sit acd) tim. as the vowels af and au when used nF hamzi indicates that one syllable in a with the characters 1 alit, J ye word ends with a vowel and the and 2 vao. next begins with one. 14 e mer denotes a short i vowel and is also used with the character ye (mm) or (f) after a noun indicates that it is respectively masculine or to denote a long i vowel. It is feminine positioned under the character. Ura bet in d de lu alphabet in dictionary order 1s esh denotes a short u vowel and is also ~ used with the character 3 vio to ‘ indicate a long & vowel. It is ali Positioned above the character. 1 2 jasm indicates that a short vowel is not - ve ee pronounced with a character. It is be pete fe se positioned above the character. b & vb . tashdid icates that a character is jim cm baythe he repeated without an interveningam BEGINNER'S URDU SCRIPT ‘There are ten vowel sounds in Urdu, three short and seven long vowels. The following chart shows the characters that are used to represent these sounds in particular positions in a word. Vowel sound Initial Medial Final a (in ago) 4 - alif zabar iGinbity ! . ali + zer zer 1 (in put) f , alif + pesh pesh 1 Gin beet) 4 = v alif+ye+zer ye +zer ye INTRODUCTION xv e (bet) « = < alif + ye ye ye ai (in hay) =! = e alif'+yer zabar ye + zabar ye 4 (in food) J 3 5 alif + vio +pesh _vao+pesh vo + pesh © (in go) J ’ ’ alif + vao vio vao ‘au (in lord) f 3 4 alif+vao+zabar véo+zabar vo + zabar Useful reference materials Barker, M. et al, A Course in Urdu (New York: Spoken Languages Service, 1990) Barz, R. and Yadav, Y., An Introduction to Hindi and Urdu (Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1993) Ferozsons Urdu English Dictionary: a comprehensive dictionary of current vocabulary (Lahore: Ferozsons Ltd, 1987) Matthews, D. and Dalvi, M., Teach Yourself Urdu (London: Hodder & ‘Stoughton,1999) McGregor, R. S., Outline of Hindi Grammar (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987, second edn) McGregor, R. S., Urdu Study Materials (Delhi: OUP, 1992) McGregor, R. S. (ed.), Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary (Delhi: OUP, 1993)xv BEGINNER'S URDU SCRIPT Naim, C.M., Ahmad, Q.S., Nadvi, S.S., and Haq, M.A., Introductory Urdu (Chicago: Committee on South Asian Languages, University of Chicago, 1975) Platts, J., A Dictionary of Urdu, Classical Hindi and English (London: OUP, 1960) Russell, R., A New Course in Urdu and Spoken Hindi (London: School of Oriental and African Studies, London University, 1986) Shackle, C. and Snell, R., Hindi and Urdu since 1800: A Common Reader (London: Schoo! of Oriental and Aftican Studies, London University, 1990) ‘Zakir, M., Lessons in Urdu Script (Delhi: Idara-e-Amini, 1973) Ww In the introduction we saw that the Urdu alphabet contains thirty-five characters, each of which has a name. When these characters are joined together to create words, the form of many changes depending on whether they appear at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of a word. The majority of characters join to both the preceding and the following character and, as a result, are known as connecting characters. Those that only join to the preceding character (but not to the following character) are called non-connectors. The four characters introduced in this unit are all connecting characters. v Ss J cr be kat tam mim Pronunciation ‘These four characters represent consonant sounds. [Character] Name | Transiteration ‘Pronunciation v be b bin bin S | nat k kin skip J | tam 1 1 in tong C | mim m min man2 BEGINNER'S URDU SCRIPT uN 3 Positional forms st ur ‘The shapes of each of these characters vary in four ways depending on 5 i 9 S—intial form their position in a word. Remember thatthe following table should be read eo. : L from right to left. L _& w& ‘medial form Name | Final | Final | Medial | Initial | Transliteration ance G6 Sanat form Goinea) form | form | form | form 2 (unjoined} Goined) Sis A | 4 b we | S| oo} cls k d{aufta |) 1 mm | f | f | 4 | " Writing practice Each of the characters in the Urdu alphabet is formed in a precise manner and it is important to copy this exactly. Practise drawing the various forms of these four characters, following closely the guidelines given. — be aw < initial form aA Wes wns ST final form (unjoined) + 1 4 ‘medial form é 4 é final form (joined) £ “2 7 final form (unjoined)4 BEGINNER'S URDU SCRIPT Representation of short vowels ‘There are no characters in the Urdu script representing the three short vowels in the language. These vowels are: ain ago* iin hit in put “It is important to remember that while the Roman letter a may represent several different sounds in English (e.g. in the words ago, ate, arson, authority and ban), itis used in this book to represent a single sound in Urdu. These short vowels can be pronounced with all of the characters in the alphabet appearing anywhere in a word, except atthe end. Two characters ‘can also occur anywhere in a word without an intervening vowel sound. Because there are no characters to represent the short vowels, itis difficult to tell which short vowel, if any, should be pronounced with a consonant character. There are, however, symbols that are employed, chiefly in dictionaries and children’s primers, to clarify the pronunciation of words. ‘These symbols represent the three short vowels and the omission of a vowel. These four symbols, written above and below characters, also possess names. They are: zabar (written above the character) = a 7 er (written below the character) 4 esh (written above the character) = u 7 jazm (written above the character) = no vowel *In some texts jazm appears as ° or * . UNIT 5 “These symbols, however, are not used in most Urdu texts except where the pronunciation of a word needs clarification. In this book only the symbols 1 er, * pesh, indicating the short i and u, and * jazm are provided. > jamm is, however, never written above the final character in a word ‘because, as a rule, a short vowel cannot be pronounced in this position. Where ~ zer or pesh are not provided in a word, itis to be assumed that the character is followed by a short a vowel. For example, the pronunciation of three words made up ofthe initial form of the character ‘© be and the final form of the character {kaif is clarified in the following manner: Jf st Jf bak bik buk nonsense (f) _stem of the verb ook (8) “to be sold” Reading and writing practice 1. Read the following words in Urdu and write them in Roman script. ‘Remember that the short vowels i and u are marked by ~ zer and * /pesh, that the absence of a vowel symbol indicates the presence of a short a vowel and that a short vowel is not pronounced at the end of a word.6 BEGINNER'S URDU SCRIPT when we book of « 2. Practise forming these words according to the guidelines given. Meaning strength (m) gg ue trem wu ue sit eo se less fa , d @ when es nt d) © ook (f) of ‘ wa fas Ve x a a 3. Connect the appropriate forms of the following characters to form the words. Remember to write in the short vowel symbols - zer and * pesh and the symbol > jasm, used to denote the omission of a vowel, where necessary. Roman ‘Meaning =S+d +f uk J+ +S kamat =J0 +040 +S kambal J +40 + 5 bubul ‘country (m) (a lotus (m) (b blanket (m) (c nightingale (m) (4 UNT1 z Summary + The forms of most characters vary depending on whether they occur at the beginning, in the middle, at the end of a word or at the end after a non-connector. + Each character has a name as well as a basic pronunciation. + There are four symbols occasionally employed to indicate the presence ofa short vowel or the omission of a vowel ( - zabar, - zer, # pesh and > jazm). + Only the symbols - zer and * pesh are used in this book to represent short vowels, Answers to practices 1.a) bal b) lab c) mil d) kam e) kab f) buk 3.a) ut b) aa ° ae d) adae" 2 In this chapter the first non-connecting character is introduced, It is also the first character in the Urdu alphabet and represents four vowel sounds, / alif Positional forms ‘Non-connecting characters such as | alif have only two forms, both of which are easy to recognise and draw. Name | Final Goined) and | Initial and final | Transliteration medial form | form (unjoined) jae] | ane Pronunciation ‘The pronunciation of | alif depends on its position in a word. Initial | alif In the absence of characters to represent the three short vowels in Urdu, J ali is employed at the beginning of a word to indicate that it begins with one of these vowels. Occasionally the vowel symbols introduced in Unit 1 (- zabar, ~ zer and + pesh) are used to clarify which of these vowels is present. In this book only the symbols for the short vowel i NIT 2 9 (© zer) and u (4 pesh) are written in. An initial short a vowel is thus indicated by | alif without a vowel symbol. For example: with the symbol ~ mad J alif also represents a long & vowel at the beginning of a word. When it does, the symbol ~ madd is written (from right to left) above it. ‘Character Name ‘Transliteration _| Pronunciation 1 *The line above this letter in the Roman is used to distinguish this vowel ‘sound from the short a (in ago) vowel introduced in Unit 1. if and madd ay ain father Medial ! alif In the middle of a word ! alif represents a long & vowel. Character ‘Name ‘Transliteration | Pronunciation 1 vali a ain father10 BEGINNER'S URDU SCRIPT Modified form of kaf ‘The initial and medial forms of J” kf are written in a modified form when they are followed by either { alifor J lim. For example: belt So Sede kal = am ki alif kat kat 's yesterday/tomorrow » tashdid ‘The symbol ~ tashdid, which looks very much like the letter w, represents the doubling of a character without an intervening vowel sound. It is written above the character that is repeated. For example: 61 ikka a one-horse vehicle (m) Reading and writing practice 1. Practise forming the following words according to the guidelines given. Roman Meaning kal Aa & yesterday/tomorrow (a kam ae 6 5) ‘work (m) (b mukki “ a be e % fist, punch (m) (c UNIT 2 u 2. Join the appropriate forms of the following characters. Roman Urdu ba el+twa " -l+ So a lade ms -!4f @ 3, Read the following words and write them in Roman script. Meaning Roman Urdu Jotus (m) JK @ hair (m) ub © red Ju « tall, long Uv @ ‘Muslim spiritual guide (m) fu e black 1 a collection of poetry (i) ¢ we bomb (m) fo ‘mango (m) a a ood (m) wu12 Meaning Roman ‘maternal uncle (m) a. woman’s name (f) complete BEGINNER'S URDU SCRIPT Urdu » jazm (omission of vowel). Fel ed om Cb S tam 214042 paw Ss S tata bade lee baa bade taf mata 4. Join the appropriate forms of the following characters to form the words given. Also write in the words any necessary short vowels symbols and Meaning Roman = +t = S+l ab ‘water (m) (a now (b name of a character ( work (m) (d calamity () (e art (f) (f high, above (g necklace (f) (h UNIT 2 Roman 2! 495,040 ae Seba FS amas Se 1 04S teak sl +%+ ! abba 13 Meaning honorific ttle (i miracle (mn) ( clock (m) (k: father (m) 5, Read the following phrases in Urdu and then write them in Roman complete work (m) less work (m) along hair (m) yesterday/ tomorrow's work (m) ‘uncle's miracle (m) script. Meaning Roman Urdu black blanket (m) J ue @ red lotus (m) J Jue J 6 le4 BEGINNER'S URDU SCRIPT the Imam's work (m) father's mango (m) Summary + J alifis a non-connector (i.e. does not join to the following character). J alif is used to indicate a short vowel (3 word. u) at the beginning of a + J alif with ~ madd at the beginning of a word represent the long vowel a + J alif in the middle of a word also represents the long vowel &. ‘+ The form of the character S kaf is modified when followed by { alif or J tam, + The doubling of a character without an intervening vowel is represented by the symbol ~ tashdid, written above the character. Answers to practices 29 b yb oVal 3.a) kamal b) bal c) lal d)lambé c) imam f) kalé g) kalim h) bam i) 4m j) mal k) mama 1) kamla m) mukammal sot odtort off ob ne pth ntl nW pW woe vo 5. a) kil kambal b) lal kamal c) mukammal kim ) kam kam ¢) lamba bal f) kal ka kam g) mam ki kamal h) imam ka kam i) abba ka am ‘The four characters introduced in this unit are all connecting characters representing consonant sounds. In addition to these, the symbol that represents aspiration (i.e. a breath of air expelled with a character) is described. The four characters are: vr e JS o pe jim sat chofi he Pronunciation [Character] Name | Transliteration Pronunciation y pe P Pin spin © | im j Jin jump Slal os ging qever isin gi > | choti he| h hin hut In some words a short a vowel followed by ® chof he at the end of a Word are pronounced together as a long & vowel. They are also ‘ceasionally pronounced as a short i or e vowel. Where such words are introduced in this book, first the Roman transliteration is given and then the pronunciation in parentheses.16 BEGINNER'S URDU SCRIPT For example: £ kalmah * (kalma) the expression of faith of a Muslim (m) (‘there is no God but Allah...") *See below for the final form of ® choff he. Positional forms Being connectors, all of these characters have four forms. “¥ pe and S° gat have the same basic shape as the characters ‘* be and S kaf, introduced in Unit 1. Because of this similarity both sets of characters are traditionally considered part of the same series in the Urdu alphabet. Name Final Final Medial | Initial | Transliteration form form form form |(unjoined)} (joined) pe y yl 4 3 P jim % é £ % j a | S| | f | ¢ 8 chofihe | 2 - 7 4 h Writing practice Practise drawing the various forms of the four characters introduced in this unit according to the guidelines given. UNIT3 7 ‘F pe For a description of how to draw the character "F pe, see the formation of | be on p.2. & mm % initial form medial form E, final form (joined) } final form (unjoined) S at For a description of how to draw the character oS gif, see the formation of J kaf on p.3. The second stroke at the top of the character is drawn the same way as the first, ie, downwards, ° choft he There are two initial forms of the character chofihe: 9 chofi he when joined to { alif and when joined to any other character. 4 4 4 initial form 2 1 initial form b ot 4 Grotiowed by 4 aif 2 “a (medial form «! © final form (joined) 3& = final form (unjoined)18 BEGINNER'S URDU SCRIPT Modified form of _/ gaf ‘As with Ska, the inital and medial forms ofthe character, gif also appear in a modified form when followed by either alifor UJ kim. For example: bert fe dey gi aif ga gul am gf stem of the flower (m) verb to sing Reading and writing practice 1. Read the following words and then write them in Roman script. UNITS. 19 Roman Meaning ys 2 2 1 a pk’ by’ w "drinking vessel (m) (b ae ¢ yo & cheek (m) (c oF ‘ ue hall (mya 3. Join the appropriate forms of the following characters to form the words given. Meaning Roman Urdu you (polite) ~ @ today eT © fire (f) St © a sigh (f) 7 @ 2, Practise forming the following words according to the guidelines and then write them in Roman script. Note that any dots are added to a portion of a word after writing a non-connecting character. For example, in the first word the three dots that complete the character ‘ype are added after drawing | alif but before beginning the character _{ kaif. If more than one character with dots occurs in a word, the dots are completed from right to left Roman Meaning = S44 tapak leap (0 (a = 1 4 ba baja chimed (b = / Se J Jaga attached (c = te ot S kaha said (€ 4. Write out the full (unjoined final) forms of the characters that make up the following words and then provide their Roman equivalents.20 BEGINNER'S URDU SCRIPT uNT3 2 Roman Meaning Roman Meaning + = gossip (0) (a +See > hatka light (g + = & jusge ay eo Sei +0eo hatak killed (h + = eb world (m) (c =l+ J + JS gala ‘throat (m) (i eee KH eco oes 21 +0+S kaw art (0G 5. Select the appropriate forms of the characters provided and then join Aspiration them to make the following words. =U +Se efataSed =Srd as a=G+l+Far C + “( Roman + ef +S gama pagal pablik bajaj Meaning flower pot (m) (a crazy (b reins (D (€ public (4 brand name of a scooter (€ sin (m) (f Aparticular form of the character 9 choff he is also employed to indicate that a consonant character is pronounced with a breath of air (ie. aspiration). An example of an aspirated consonant in English is the initial P in the word pit. Place your open palm approximately ten centimetres from your mouth and pronounce both pit and spit. Can you feel the breath of air which is expelled with the first p? The form of choff he that indicates aspiration is called do cashmi he. Pronunciation Character] Name ‘Transliteration Pronunciation @ | docashmi h a breath of air expelled he with a consonant22 BEGINNER'S URDU SCRPT Writing practice Practise forming the character do cashmi he according to the guidelines given. 2D i) 2) do cashmi he Reading and writing practice 6. Write the following forms in Roman script. UNIT 23 . |, Roman Meaning ls ZS 4 ae ye phal s wa 4 y khal skin ( (4 rare fruit (m) (¢ Ge 6a @ Roman fo Sa Ka Be Ke Roman 7. Practise forming the following words according to the guidelines given. Roman Meaning tu By dhiea fled (a % ~ jnatak — glimpse (f) wm ew & Summary +The characters SF’ peand ga have the same basi form asthe characters “©” be and troduced in Unit 1 ‘© Dots are added last of after a non-connecting character. If there is more ‘than one character with dots in a word, they are added from right to left. © There are two forms of the character © chofi he in an initial position: ‘> chofi he with | alifand 9 chofi he with any other character. © The character f gaf has a modified form before { alif or (J lam. * A particular form of ® choff he called do cashmi he 2 is used to indicate that a consonant character is aspirated (i.e. produced with a breath of air). * Occasionally a short a vowel followed by ® choti he in a word final position is pronounced as a long vowel.24 BEGINNER'S URDU SCRIT Answers to practices 1. a) Sp b) aj c) ag d) ab 2.a) pak b) jam c) gal dyhal sa » * » & o & 4. a) wv gap ° te Jag 6.a) ba b) pa c) ja d) ka e) ga f) bha g) pha h) jha i) kha j) gha Only one character is introduced in this unit. It is a connector and represents three long vowels and the semi-vowel y. U ye Positional forms The basic shape of the initial and medial forms ofthe character U ye is ‘the same as that of “= be and ‘¥ pe, introduced in early units. This ‘character also has two final forms, both of which represent separate vowel sounds. Name | Final | Final | Medial | Initial | Transliteration form | form | form | form |(unjoined)| Goined) vw [UE] Ge} % | % | reay26 BEGINNER'S URDU SCRIPT Writing practice Practise drawing the various forms of this character according to the guidelines given G* 404 <_ initiat form mw y' 22, medial form GS «' GF final form (joined) SYS Hinat form Goines) (e, at) Gg Ge" ——(S Sina form (unjoined) Se Sina form (unoined ai) Pronunciation ‘The character U' ye represents three long vowels and the semi-vowel y. [Character] Name | Transliteration Pronunciation y yin yes 1 Tin beet U ye e ein play ai ai in had uN a Word-initial (f ye ‘tthe beginning of a word, (S ye represents the semi-vowel y. For example: 4 2 ya yah Gor or this, he, she, it, they *The pronunciation of this word is exceptional. See the explanation of the pronunciation of 9 chofi he at the end of a word in Unit 3 (p.15). Initial i, e, ai vowels When a long J, e, or ai vowel occurs at the beginning of a word, it is represented by US ye, preceded by the character { alif. Occasionally the vowel symbol ~ zabar is employed to indicate that it represents ai and - zer to indicate that it represents J. The absence of these two vowel- markers thus indicates the presence of the vowel e £ wl ui ikh ek aisa* sugarcane (f) one such/thus(f) + » is the medial form of the character LU sin, which represents the ‘consonant s. This is introduced in Unit 5.28 BEGINNER'S URDU SCRIPT Medial ye In the middle of a word (§ ye may represent any one of the three long vowels and the semi-vowel y. Once again the vowel symbols ~ zabar and» er are occasionally used to indicate which of these sounds is present. When US ye is followed by J alif, it frequently represents the semi-vowel y or iy or even Ty. bow &e ck Ye cl pila kela bail byah = kya kiya ayyam. yellow banana(m) ox(m) marriage(m) what did days (m) Word-final U ye There are two forms of (J ye when it occurs at the end of a word: (S and © @ai). For example: + - Ge be hai ii without ivare heart/mind (prefix) (also a polite suffix) © Reading and writing practice 1. Follow the steps to form the following words and then write them out in Roman script. UNIT 29 Roman Meaning 2 Mo he Fated my c@ ‘ ra (an Indian sweet) Ce ws suddenly (b 2. Read the following words and write them in Roman script. Meaning Roman Urdu even, also a drunk, drink bo take Le is/are é@ hee (m) (carfied butter) fe30 BEGINNER'S URDU SCRIPT 3. Write the following words employing the appropriate forms of the characters supplied. Roman Meaning §4d4 Ue ¥ om yellow (a UC +o + + S kabhi — sometimes " ala 4h 4 4 S khaya eaten ( Sr Set ax one (d 4, Read the following words quickly, focusing on the differences that separate them, and then write them in Roman script. “wok we db bu «a good calamity (f) above —hair(m) _ strength (m) ee uw bo gf 4 fruit (m) reared nurtured a sail(m) bridge (m) Fi iw te dk shining burnt — cobweb (m) net (m) —_ water (m) Www we OF skin() art (f)_—black_—_—period (m) yesterday UNIT 31 £ we OU throat (m) cotton ball (m) cheek (m) flower (m) wow ee AW g wet yellow jail (m/f) game (m) lamp (m) banana (m) Punctuation ‘The most important punctuation marks used in Urdu sentences are as follows: ° Other punctuation marks are the same as the English. Reading and writing practice ‘5. Itis now possible to read one or two sentences using some of the words ‘you have learnt already. Try and read the following sentences and write them out in Roman script. It will help to know that the verb generally ‘comes at the end of the sentence in Urdu. (The words in parentheses show the Urdu word order.)32 BEGINNER'S URDU SCRIPT uns 33 tev, 2653 - bz @ t c vf y e Roman (is what this) (is alley your this) What is this? Is this your alley? 2 & Lie (is fruit one this) This is a fruit. eS - «€ (is jalebi your this) Is this your jalebi? 6 & Ue (is yellow cup this) This cup is yellow. o Roman Roman @ Roman -& be Ue 6 oT (is yellow cup your) Your cup is yellow. Summary + The character UF ye represents three long vowels (, ¢, ai) and the semi-vowel y. + G yeas two final forms UF (and < (e, ai) + At the beginning of a word the long vowels Ie and ai are represented by J alifand U ye * The vowel symbol ~ zer is employed to mark that the character ye represents the vowel 1 while the vowel symbol “ zabar is temployed to mark that it represents a * The pronunciation ofthe pronoun yah (ye) (he, she, it this, they) is imregulr. of 5 2Pn BEGINNER'S URDU SCRIPT Answers to practices 1. a) jalebt b) yakayak c) lahje (Iehje) 2. a) bhi b) pic) led) hai ¢) ghi f) ke 4 oe ° we ad 4 3.a) *F by 4, a) bal, bal, bala, bala, bhala b) pul, pal, pal, pala, phal c) jal, jal, Jal, jald, jhala jhal d) kal, kal, kala, kald, khal e) gul, gal, gata, gala £) kela, laimp, khel, jel, pila, gila 5. a) yah (ye) kya hai? b) yah (ye) ek phal hai c) kya yah (ye) ap ki jalebi hai? d) yah (ye) pyala pila hai e) kya yah (ye) ap ki gall hai f) dp ka pyala pila hai In this unit four connecting characters are introduced, one of which is also used to represent the nasalisation of a vowel. These characters are: © & v Y te aim sin nan Pronunciation All four of these characters represent consonant sounds, [Character] Name | Transliteration Pronunciation oe | te t tin tom (the tip of the tongue touches the back of the top teeth) & | am e ‘ch in church (never the ¢ in cat)* Uv | sn s sin sun UY | non a nin nut “Note that the sound ch is represented in the Roman by the letter ¢ in this book. This is because there is an aspirated form of @ elm, which is Tepresented in Roman script by ch.36 BEGINNER'S URDU SCRIPT UNITS 37 Positional forms Um ‘The basic form of the character = te is the same as that of “=” be and wy! — initial form ‘F pe. The shape of G cim is also identical to that of © jim, we, 1 introduced in Unit 3. In both cases it is only the number of dots that wg og 4 medial form differs. uo “ g ¢ "op final form Goined) Name | Final ] Final | Medial | Initial ] Transliteration ; : : form form form form Oo q v (U% final form (unjoined) (unjoined)| Goined) te fe lel sf] s t yy , Onan 1 a initial form aim & & % % c sa : , i x pos PF medial form sin y lr) - s : 2 Dog uv yw “2 OJ final form (joined) nan g oe a i n 2 Writing practice Practise forming these new characters according to the guidelines given. © te For a description of how to draw the character \& te, see the formation of “=” be on p. 2. Gam For a description of how to draw the character G cim, see the formation of C jim on p.17. © © ina form (unjoined) Reading and writing practice 1, Practise forming the following words according to the guidelines given. Roman Meaning HB) Zo Fl scons eh wl a yeo4 pakistan Pakistan (m) (> ‘good, okay (a38 BEGINNER'S URDU SCRIPT Roman Meaning 4 4 2 ms kuch some, something (c PfZ" 46 s 48 aoe 2° D' samajhna to understand (4 OS £ &. 4 2. Read the following words and write them in Roman script. Meaning Roman Urdu hand (m) e) @ conversation (f) egel o smile () Ue from & cipkali jhalak lizard () glimpse () o Bb »b tha was » Sb ealak shrewd woe40. BEGINNER'S URDU SCRIPT 5, Read the following words and write them in Roman script. Meaning Roman Urdu statement (m) Ok @ to tell th © tosave th © to ring, strike te @ beard Ye assembly () lr ¢ Tuesday (m) 9 « Jungle (m) & a such ui a how me 6 Nasalisation The character (J niin is also used to represent nasalisation (the pronunciation of a vowel sound partly through the nose) in Urdu. In the middle of a word the medial form of (J niin is employed ( £ ) while at the end of a word the final form of () nin is written without the dot UNITS a when it represents a nasalised vowel, ie. . This particular final form of U nim is called nan ghunna (lt: ‘talking through the nose’). In this ook, the nasalisation of vowel is represented in Roman script by a tilde (~) written above a vowel, e.g. &. When trying to determine whether the character nin in a medial position represents the nasalisation of a vowel or the consonant n, it may help to remember that long vowels are often nasalised. For example: yu! ft insan kh ‘human being (m) eye (f) ob Ub man ma honour/respect (m) mother (f) Occasionally the final form of ( nan without the dot, representing ‘nasalisation, is found in the middle of a word. For example: wh Lue likhége he/they (m) will writea2 BEGINNER'S URDU SCRIPT Nasalisation is a very common feature in Urdu. Two commonly used words that are nasalised are the words for yes and no: yd HE ha jimabi* yes no *The word (% jiiterally means heart or mind but is used hereto soften the words and to add a degree of respect. It is also commonly used after people's names as a sign of respect. Reading and writing practice 6. Choose the appropriate forms of the following characters and form the words given. Roman Meaning: =U+5s0 m ing =U +l +040 yana here (b samjhége will understand (c + SrU + Senos balay UNITS 43 7. Read the following words and write them in Roman script Meaning Roman Urdu where (?) (to) us 1 4 (to) himerthem aia books (f) Ur « 8, Read the following words quickly and then write them in Roman script. é wf we ¢ how much (?) similar to become tired thirty-two kettle (f) banana (n) the KK JS © to make blanket (m) destitute. ae tue ug conclusion (m) totell prophet (m)a4 BEGINNER'S URDU SCRIPT Summary * The character G elm is represented by the letter ¢ in Roman script ‘This is pronounced as ch in the word church. ‘+ The basic form of < teis the same as thatof ‘ beand ‘F pe. + The tip of the tongue touches the back of the top teeth when pronouncing = te. + The form of & cim is the same as that of @ jim. * The initial and medial forms of () niin have the same basic shapes as those of the characters in the “be series. + The character OJ) nitnis also used to represent nasalisation in Urdu. In the middle of a word the medial form of () niin is employed ( 4 ) while at the end of a word the final form of ( niin is written without the dot when it represents a nasalised vowel (U)), UNITS: 45 Answers to practices 2. a) hath b) bat cit c) muskin d) se ¢) basti 3.8) & ») rt ° G& ¢d Jv ao » @ 9 st o & 0 UE oe) By TH 5, a) bayn b) batana c) bacdna d) baja ¢) sund f) sabha g) mangal h) jangal i) ais j) kais& cot Me 7.a) kah& b) hamé c) mai d) unhé ¢) kitabé 8, a) thaknd, yaks, kitna, keld, ketll, battis b) kangal, kambal, bandna, nabi, batland, natijah (natij4) c) cbt, japani, majlis, machlt, sajand, sacmue6 In this unit the character 4 vo, a non-connector that represents three ong vowels and a semi-vowel, is introduced. ’ vio Positional forms Because it does not connect to the following character in a word, 9 vio, like | alif, has only two forms, both of which are almost identical in appearance and easily recognisable. Name Medial and final | Initial and final | Transliteration form (joined) _| form (unjoined) vio yx ’ 8, 0,au,¥ Writing practice Practise writing the two forms of the character 9 vio following the guidelines. 9 vo Do & 3 initial and final form (unjoined) medial and final form (joined) UNITS a7 Pronunciation ‘The character 9 vo may represent three vowel sounds and the semi- vowel ¥. [Character] Name | Transliteration a | vio v Pronunciation somewhere between the English vv and w. The upper teeth make slight contact with the back of the lower lip in food © in go (without the w sound atthe end) au au in lord Word-initial » vao ‘At the beginning of a word, 9 vio represents the semi-vowel v. For example: 2 Op vajah vaht reasor ‘there Initial a, 0, au vowels ‘The presence of one of the long vowels @, 0, au at the beginning of a word is marked by | alif followed by 9 vao. This combination of characters ‘may, however, also represent a short vowel and the semi-vowel v. The ‘Vowels @ and au are occasionally distinguished using the short vowel- ‘markers - zabar (au) and + pesh (8). This practice has been followed in this book.48 BEGINNER'S URDU SCRIPT UNITS 49 For example: Roman Meaning - > ses a wl bt asi St we dele & F nme : , ‘ an ole aur* avval july yl wool (n) __hailstones (n) and —_first, chief, best vr uke we *The final character in this word isthe independent form of the character 6. HH HY wile © 4 re, which represents the consonant r. ‘ roy 1 BE OAD ad reas Medial 4 vao In the middle of a word 9 vaio generally represents one of the three long vowels just described. Again, the short vowel signs may be employed to clarify which vowel is present. When 3 vo is followed by either | alif or US ye, it often represents the semi-vowel ¥. For example: x3 % dir ag to to sau saval navis you then one hundred question (n) _writer/scribe Reading and writing practice 1. Following the guidelines given, write out these words. After you have done this, write their Roman equivalents. Roman Meaning lg 2 og ® bx bx jubilee (D) (@ ae Bet en on 2. Read the following words and write them out in Roman script. Meaning Roman ‘Urdu square (m) Ss gz @ high ¥ yf © death (f) ey © step-, half-* 1g y@ as in step-sister ‘3. Join the appropriate forms of the following characters to make the ‘words given.50. BEGINNER'S URDU SCRIPT UNIT 6 SY Roman Meaning '5, Read the following phrases and write them in Roman script. Note that . 2, words that appear with vowel-markers ( “ zabar,- zer and 4 pesh) or BO +t 49+ & Javan youth (mn) (a +» jasm reappear without these symbols. This is designed to assist in =J +941 + & caval rice (m) (b recognising words as they would appear in unedited texts. ah +049 +f + UO samosi — samosa (m)(c “ @ ay ost =f +49 4 F mausam weather (m) red book your book Roman al 4 04a 4 S49 4 VU sikhna to dry (e =U 49 45s S iyo why (2 (F We bul2i COSulzd © the youth's: the youth's 4. Write the full (unjoined final) forms of the characters that make up the goods book a Roman following words. z Veal : : ‘oman janing ober Sib ye Pakistani food Pakistani +4 4 + & = GH susatman Muslim (m) (a People Roman +4 et = CIF router leamed : L man (m) (b Sidhe & uve Sih @ some Punjabi some books some people le +444 2 pensil pencil (m)(e |! peor Roman tet ee + 2 ORF nau javan young (6G ibe URZIde ¢ man (m) (4 bank's) Punjab’s bank Punjabi youth work “ Roman eee eee 2 Ue haspatal hospital (m) (e52 BEGINNER'S URDU SCRIPT UNIT 6 58 Pee pth Kg the name the name of hospital(’s) of the book the hospital work Roman aw rer phy how much how much work? the name of ‘money? the bank Roman Side Stee ase g many Pakistani ‘many people much money People he/she/ivthat Roman (pronounced 8 > ao irregularly as vo) (Ir oe £ Syl é x fe Iso ‘the maulvi’s some Muslims Muslim people work ~~ 7 Roman is Se 5 1 ole eT LK IY 4 you (polite) y 8 chiloods your childhood the mais ae ft Roman : ( 6, Read the following graffiti and translate it into English. all —_ é dint JU country (m) y 2 OD r -& dtl ff “54. BEGINNER'S URDU SCRIPT Summary + 4 vio represents three long vowel sounds and the semi-vowel v. * At the beginning of a word, 9 vo represents v. * The three long vowels &, 0, and au are represented at the beginning of aword by J alif and 3 vao. * When 4 vio is followed by either ! alif or ye in the middle of a word, it often represents the semi-vowel v. * The pronunciation of the pronoun 84 vah (vo) (he, she, it, that) is irregular. Answers to practices 1.) jabM b) jisis c) bivi d) bojhal 2, a) cauk b) fied c) maut d) sautels 3a WIR » Joy ® (7 ° Sb » ut 49 OIF U0 SE mustaman » Bs daF maui 9 JLIE F pensi d) UIs 50 — naujavan o be 2 JIS FU» haspital UNITS 55 5, a) Sp ki kitSb, lal kitab b) naujavan ki kitab, naujavan ka saman ) pakistani log, pakistani khana d) kuch log, kuch kitabé, kuch panjabi log e) panjabi naujavan, panjab ki baink, baink ka kim {) haspatal ka kim, haspatal ki ndm, kitab ka nim g) baink ka nm, Kitna kim, kitna paisah (pais) h) babut paisah (paisa), bahut log, ahut pakistani log i) musalmén log, kuch musalman, maulvi ka kam jj) maulvi ka simén, ap ka bacpan, bacpan ki bat 6. a) vah (vo) bhi pakistani hai he/she also is Pakistani b) ap bbl pakistani hai You also are Pakistani c) ham sab pakistani hai we are all Pakistani d) ham sab ka mulk hai pakistan Pakistan belongs to us all (ve all’s country is Pakistan)7m 7 Five characters are introduced in this unit. This brings the total number of characters thus far to twenty. All five of these characters represent consonant sounds in Urdu. Three of these are connectors and two are non- ‘connectors. 37 UNT 7. (Character Name | Transliteration Pronunciation din done (the tip of the tongue ’ dal a touches the back of the top teeth) 4 re r rinrun O | pari ne bh hin but ¢ | shin sh shin shun ¥ svid 8 sinsun Positional forms It is often difficult for the beginner to distinguish between the non- i" ilar shape. It -conn connecting characters } dal and J re because of their simi ; a nonsomner will help to remember that 9 dal joins to the preceding character at the 4 re non-connector middle whereas J re joins at the top. These characters are also often u bari he connector ‘confused with the character 2 vio. ? ‘Name | Final | Final | Medial | Initial | Transliteration Uv shin connector Final | Final | Medial | eit Vv svid ‘connector (unjoined)| Goined) | f= dal 2 x a 2 a Pronunciation re J y at J r For most Urdu speakers the pronunciation of the characters (/ bari he ra 7 h barthe | © é and (* svad is almost exactly the same as that of ® chofi he and U” A 2 ohn 4 2 2’ 3 sh sin, introduced in earlier units. This is because the sounds that these mj) o characters represent in Arabic were gradually diluted in Urdu but the sid | oy uv ~ “ s ‘original spellings of words in which they occur have been maintained. For this reason, they are represented in Roman script in this book by the same letters (h and s). It is important to remember that the letter h is also used to represent the aspiration of a consonant.