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ال

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: أل, آل, and إل

Arabic

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Uncertain; Rubin posits that this is a reduced form of the lost singular of Arabic أُولَى (ʔulā, these); compare rare Hebrew אֵל (el, these) and 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 prothetic.[1]

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /al-/, /-l-/
  • Audio:(file)

Article

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اَلْ (al-)

  1. the

Usage notes

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  • 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 (), د (d), ذ (), ر (r), ز (z), س (s), ش (š), ص (), ض (), ط (), ظ (), 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

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  • Egyptian Arabic: ال (el)
  • Gulf Arabic: ال (il)
  • Maltese: il-
  • Moroccan Arabic: ال (el)
  • Persian: الـ (al-)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Aaron Rubin (2005) “Definite Articles”, in Studies in Semitic Grammaticalization, Brill, →DOI, →ISBN, pages 77-78

Brahui

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Inherited from Proto-Dravidian *eli. Cognate with Kannada ಇಲಿ (ili), Kodava ಎಲಿ (eli), Gondi యెల్లి (yelli), Tamil எலி (eli), Tulu ಎಲಿ (eli), Telugu ఎలుక (eluka) and Malayalam എലി (eli).

A mouse

Pronunciation

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Noun

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اَل (al)

  1. mouse
    Synonym: مُوش (mūś)

Bulgar

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Bulgar cardinal numbers
 <  40 50 100  > 
    Cardinal : ال

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Proto-Turkic *ellig.

Numeral

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الُّ (ellü)

  1. fifty

Descendants

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References

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  • Tekin, Talât (1988) Volga Bulgar kitabeleri ve Volga Bulgarcası [Volga Bulgarian Ephitaphs and Volga Bulgarian Language]‎[1] (in Turkish), Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, →ISBN, pages 90-91, 144-145, 198

Egyptian Arabic

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Article

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الـ (el-)

  1. the

Gulf Arabic

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Arabic اَلْ (al-).

Article

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اِلـ (il-)

  1. the definite article; the

Etymology 2

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Contraction of الي (illi, the relative clause), itself a contraction of Arabic اَلَّذِي m (allaḏī) and اَلَّتِي f (allatī)

Pronoun

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اِلـ (il-)

  1. (colloquial) the relative clause; that, who, which, etc
    Synonym: الي (illi)

Etymology 3

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Could be directly from Arabic إِلَىٰ (ʔilā).

Preposition

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اِلـ (il-)

  1. (colloquial) to (destination)
    Synonyms: (colloquial) لي (), (colloquial) ل (li)
Alternative forms
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Hijazi Arabic

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Etymology

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From Arabic اَلْ (al-).

Pronunciation

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Article

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الـ (al-)

  1. the definite article; the

Kalami

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Etymology

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    Inherited from Sanskrit आर्द्र (ārdra).

    Adjective

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    ال (alm

    1. wet

    References

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    • Baart, Joan L. G. (1997) “al”, in The sounds and tones of Kalam Kohistani: with wordlist and texts (Studies in Languages of Northern Pakistan; 1)‎[2], National Institute of Pakistan Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University; Summer Institute of Linguistics, page 77

    Karakhanid

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    Etymology

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    From Proto-Turkic *o-l (that). Cognate with Turkish o (he, she, it; that) and Chinese (, “that”).

    Pronoun

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    ال (ol)

    1. (nominative case) he, she, it
    2. (nominative case) that

    Determiner

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    ال (ol)

    1. that

    Postposition

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    ال (ol)

    1. Denotes "to be" for third person singular when at the end of an object; is.
    2. Denotes third person singular after various tenses.

    Khalaj

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    Noun

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    اَل (əl) (definite accusative اَلی, plural اَللَر)

    1. Arabic spelling of əl (hand)

    Declension

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    North Levantine Arabic

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    Etymology 1

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    From Arabic ال (al-).

    Article

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    الـ (l-)

    1. the
    Usage notes
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    • 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 المكتوبn-naṣṣ əl-maktūbthe written text
      الكتاب المقدس-ktāb -mʾaddasthe 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 الصغارlə-wlād -ṣḡārthe small children

    Etymology 2

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    Reduction of the definite relative pronoun اللي (lli) or its alternative form لي (li).

    Pronoun

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    ال (l-)

    1. contraction of اللي
      • 1961, Said Akl, Yara[3]:
        يَارَا الجّدَايِلهَا شُقْر
        yāra j-jdāyilha šuʾr
        Yara, whose braids are gold
        (literally, “Yara who her braids are gold”)
    Usage notes
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    • 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

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    Etymology

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    From Proto-Turkic *el, *elig.

    Noun

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    ال (el)

    1. hand

    Derived terms

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    Descendants

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    • Turkish: el

    Persian

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    Etymology

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    (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

    Noun

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    ال (al)

    1. (Dari) plough; the beam of a plough

    Derived terms

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    South Levantine Arabic

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    Etymology

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    From Arabic ال (al-).

    Pronunciation

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    Article

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    الـ (l-)

    1. the (definite article)

    Usage notes

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    • 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-bārdethe cold water
      Audio (Ramallah):(file)
      الشباب الشاطرين(i)š-šabāb (i)š-šāṭrīnthe smart guys
      Audio (Ramallah):(file)
      الكتاب الكبيرli-ktāb li-kbīrthe 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-zḡīrthe small man
      Audio (Ramallah):(file)