Editing Comorian languages (section)

=== Arabic alphabet ===

[[Comoros]] being located near the East African coast, the archipelago being connected by deep trade links to the mainland, and Comorian being a [[Bantu languages|Bantu language]] much like [[Swahili language]], means that historically, the Arabic orthography of Comorian followed the [[Swahili Ajami|Swahili suit]] in being part of the tradition of the African [[Ajami script]]. Key components of the Ajami  tradition are mainly that vowels were always represented with [[Arabic diacritics|diacritics]] (thus differing from [[Persian alphabet|Persian]] conventions). The letters ''alif'' {{script/Arabic|ا}}, ''wāw'' {{script/Arabic|و}}, and ''yāʼ'' {{script/Arabic|ي}} were used for indicating stressed syllable or long vowels. Furthermore, whereas Bantu languages have 5 vowels, while Arabic has 3 vowels and 3 diacritics; until recently, specifically until the early 20th century, there hasn't been an agreed upon way of writing the vowels {{IPAblink|e}} and {{IPAblink|o}}. Furthermore, sounds unique to Bantu languages were generally shown with the closest matching letter in the Arabic alphabet, avoiding as much as possible the creation of new letters in order not to deviate from the authentic 28-letter base. In addition, [[Prenasalized consonant|prenasalized consonants]] were shown using digraphs.<ref name="lafon">{{cite journal |language= fr |first1=Michel |last1=Lafon |title=Le système Kamar-Eddine : une tentative originale d’écriture du comorien en graphie arabe |journal=Ya Mkobe |volume= |issue=14-15 |date=2007 |pages=29-48 |url=https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00265704/document |access-date=26 August 2022 }} ([https://web.archive.org/web/20230430044934/https://shs.hal.science/halshs-00265704/document Archive]).</ref>

The 20th century marked the start of a process of orthographic reform and standardization across the [[Muslim world]]. This process included standardizing, unifying, and clarifying the Arabic script in most places, ditching the Arabic script in favour of Latin or Cyrillic in others in places such as [[Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic|Soviet Turkistan]] and [[Mountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic|Soviet Caucasus]], to [[Turkey]] and [[Kurdistan]], to the Eastern African coast ([[Swahili Ajami]]) and Comoros.

The mantle of standardization and improvement of Arabic-based orthography in Comoros was carried by the literaturist ''Said Kamar-Eddine (1890-1974)'' in 1960. Only two decades before, in 1930s and  1940s, Swahili literaturists such as ''Sheikh el Amin'' and ''Sheikh Yahya Ali Omar'' had developed the Swahili Arabic alphabet as well.<ref name="Omar">{{Cite journal |last=Omar |first=Yahya Ali |last2=Frankl |first2=P. J. L. |date=April 1997 |title=An Historical Review of the Arabic Rendering of Swahili Together with Proposals for the Development of a Swahili Writing System in Arabic Script (Based on the Swahili of Mombasa) |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=55-71 |doi=10.1017/S1356186300008312}}</ref><ref name="lafon"/>

In [[Swahili Ajami|Swahili]], two new diacritics were added to the 3 original [[Arabic diacritics|diacritics]], namely {{Script/Arabic|◌ٖ}} to represent the phoneme {{IPA|[e]}}, and {{Script/Arabic|◌ٗ}} to represent the phoneme {{IPA|[o]}}. Furthermore, the usage of the 3 [[mater lectionis]] (or vowel carrier letters) followed the following convention too: Vowels in stressed ([[wikt:Swahili/Pronunciation#Stress|second-to-last]]) syllable of the word are marked with diacritic as well as a carrier letter, namely ''alif'' {{script/Arabic|ا}} for vowel {{IPA|[a]}}, ''yāʼ'' {{script/Arabic|ي}} for vowels {{IPA|[e]}} and {{IPA|[i]}}, and ''wāw'' {{script/Arabic|و}} for vowels {{IPA|[o]}} and {{IPA|[u]}}.<ref name="Omar"/><ref name="lafon"/>

But, in the proposal by ''Said Kamar-Eddine'' for Comorian, there was a departure from the [[Ajami script|Ajami tradition]] and a divergence from what was done by Swahili literaturists. ''Kamar-Eddine'' had an eye on [[Iraqi Kurdistan|Iraqi]] and [[Iranian Kurdistan|Iranian]] [[Kurdistan]], and the orthographic reforms implemented there. In Kurdish, the direction of the reforms of the alphabet favoured elimination of all diacriticts and designating specific letters to each and every vowel sound, thus creating a full ''[[alphabet]]''. Kurdish orthography wasn't unique in this regard. A similar direction was pursued in various Turkic languages such as [[Uzbek language|Uzbek]], [[Azerbaijani language|Azerbaijani]], [[Uyghur language|Uyghur]], and [[Kazakh language|Kazakh]], as well as languages of the Caucasus such as [[Adyghe language|Western]] and [[Kabardian language|Eastern]] Circassian languages and [[Chechen language]]. This makes ''Said Kamar-Eddine'' orthography for Comorian, a unique case for Sub-saharan African languages that have been written with the Arabic script.<ref name="lafon"/>

In the initial position, the vowels are written as a single letter. No preceding ''alif'' or ''hamza'' is required. (This is similar to the convention of [[Kazakh alphabets|Kazakh Arabic alphabet]])

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Vowels in Comorian<ref name="lafon"/>
! 
! Final !! Medial !! Initial !! Isolated
|-
! a 
| colspan = "2" dir="rtl" | <span style="font-size:150%;line-height:1.00;">{{Script/Arabic|ـا}}</span>
| colspan = "2" dir="rtl" | <span style="font-size:150%;line-height:1.00;">{{Script/Arabic|ا}}</span>
|-
! u
| colspan = "2" dir="rtl" | <span style="font-size:150%;line-height:1.00;">{{Script/Arabic|‍ـو}}</span>
| colspan = "2" dir="rtl" | <span style="font-size:150%;line-height:1.00;">{{Script/Arabic| و }}</span>
|-
! i 
| dir="rtl" | <span style="font-size:150%;line-height:1.00;">{{Script/Arabic|‍ـی}}</span>
| dir="rtl" | <span style="font-size:150%;line-height:1.00;">{{Script/Arabic|‍ـیـ}}</span>
| dir="rtl" | <span style="font-size:150%;line-height:1.00;">{{Script/Arabic|‍یـ}}</span>
| dir="rtl" | <span style="font-size:150%;line-height:1.00;">{{Script/Arabic|ی}}</span>
|-
! o 
| dir="rtl" | <span style="font-size:150%;line-height:1.00;">{{Script/Arabic|‍ـه}}</span>
| dir="rtl" | <span style="font-size:150%;line-height:1.00;">{{Script/Arabic|‍ـهـ}}</span>
| dir="rtl" | <span style="font-size:150%;line-height:1.00;">{{Script/Arabic|هـ}}</span>
| dir="rtl" | <span style="font-size:150%;line-height:1.00;">{{Script/Arabic|ه}}</span>
|-
! e
| dir="rtl" | <span style="font-size:150%;line-height:1.00;">{{Script/Arabic|‍ـ‍ہ‍}}</span>
| dir="rtl" | <span style="font-size:150%;line-height:1.00;">{{Script/Arabic|‍ـ‍ہ‍ـ}}</span>
| dir="rtl" | <span style="font-size:150%;line-height:1.00;">{{Script/Arabic|‍ ‍ہ‍ـ }}</span>
| dir="rtl" | <span style="font-size:150%;line-height:1.00;">{{Script/Arabic|‍ ‍ہ‍ }}</span>
|}

In [[Kurdo-Arabic alphabet|Kurdish]], new vowel letters were created by adding accents on existing letters. The phonemes {{IPA|[o]}} and {{IPA|[e]}} are written with {{Script/Arabic|ۆ}} and {{Script/Arabic|ێ}} respectively. In Comorian, new independent letters were assigned instead. The letter ''hāʾ'' in two of its variants are used for both aforementioned phonemes. A standard Arabic ''hāʾ'', in all its 4 positional shapes ({{Script/Arabic|ه هـ ـهـ ـه}}) is used for the vowel {{IPA|[o]}}. This is a unique innovation exclusive to this orthography. The letter ''hāʾ'' in these shapes is not used as vowel in any other Arabic orthography. A letter ''hāʾ'', in a fixed ''medial'' zigzag shape (medial form of what's known in Urdu as [[gol he]]) ({{Script/Arabic| ‍ہ‍ }}) is used for the vowel {{IPA|[e]}}. The usage of this variant of the letter ''hāʾ'' as a vowel is not unique to Comorian. In the early 20th century, [[Adyghe language|West]] and [[Kabardian language|East]] Circassian Arabic orthography also used this variant of the letter ''hāʾ'' to represent the vowel {{IPA|[ə]}} (written as ''ы'' in Cyrillic).

Letters representing consonant phonemes that are not present in Arabic have been formed in either of the two following methods. First method is similar to [[Persian alphabet|Persian]] and [[Kurdo-Arabic alphabet|Kurdish]], where new letters are created by adding or modifying of dots. The second method is to use the Arabic gemination diacritic ''[[Shaddah]]'' on letters that are most similar to the missing consonant phoneme. This is similar to the tradition of [[Sorabe alphabet|Sorabe (Arabo-Malagasy)]] orthograhpy, where a geminated ''r'' ({{Script/Arabic|رّ}}) is meant to represent {{IPA|[nd]}} or {{IPA|[ndr]}}, and where a geminated ''f'' ({{script/Arabic|فّـ ࢻّ}}) is meant to represent {{IPA|[p]}} or {{IPA|[mp]}}.

{|class="wikitable Unicode" dir="rtl"
|+ ''Kamar-Eddine's'' Comorian Arabic Alphabet<ref name="lafon"/>
|-
! Arabic<br><small>(Latin)</small><br><nowiki>[</nowiki>[[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]<nowiki>]</nowiki>
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ا}}</span><br><small>‌( A a )</small><br>{{IPAblink|a}}
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ب}}</span><br><small>(B b / Ɓ ɓ)</small><br>{{IPAblink|b}}/{{IPAblink|ɓ}}
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|پ}}</span><br><small>(P p)</small><br>{{IPAblink|p}} 
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ت}}</span><br><small>(T t)</small><br>{{IPAblink|t}}   
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|تّ}}</span><br><small>(Tr tr)</small><br>{{IPAblink|ʈ}}  
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ث}}</span><br><small>(Th th)</small><br>{{IPAblink|θ}}  
|-
! Arabic<br><small>(Latin)</small><br><nowiki>[</nowiki>[[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]<nowiki>]</nowiki>
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ج}}</span><br><small>(J j / Dj dj)</small><br>{{IPAblink|d͡ʒ}}   
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ح}}</span><br><small>(H h)</small><br>{{IPAblink|h}}
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|د}}</span><br><small>(D d / Ɗ ɗ)</small><br>{{IPAblink|d}}/{{IPAblink|ɗ}}
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ذ}}</span><br><small>(Dh dh)</small><br>{{IPAblink|ð}}
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ر}}</span><br><small>(R r / Dr dr)</small><br>{{IPAblink|r}} / {{IPAblink|ɖ}}
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ز}}</span><br><small>(Z z)</small><br>{{IPAblink|z}} 
|-
! Arabic<br><small>(Latin)</small><br><nowiki>[</nowiki>[[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]<nowiki>]</nowiki>
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|زّ}}</span><br><small>(Dz dz)</small><br>{{IPAblink|d͡z}} 
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|س}}</span><br><small>(S s)</small><br>{{IPAblink|s}}  
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|سّ}}</span><br><small>(Ts ts)</small><br>{{IPAblink|t͡s}}  
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ش}}</span><br><small>(Sh sh)</small><br>{{IPAblink|ʃ}}  
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|شّ}}</span><br><small>(C c)</small><br>{{IPAblink|t͡ʃ}}  
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|غ}}</span><br><small>(G g / Gh gh)</small><br>{{IPAblink|ɡ}}/{{IPAblink|ɣ}}  
|-
! Arabic<br><small>(Latin)</small><br><nowiki>[</nowiki>[[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]<nowiki>]</nowiki>
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ف}}</span><br><small>(F f)</small><br>{{IPAblink|f}}  
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ڢ}}</span><br><small>(Pv pv)</small><br>{{IPAblink|β}}  
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ڤ	}}</span><br><small>(V v)</small><br>{{IPAblink|v}} 
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ك}}</span><br><small>(K k)</small><br>{{IPAblink|k}}  
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ل}}</span><br><small>(L l)</small><br>{{IPAblink|l}} 
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|م}}</span><br><small>(M m)</small><br>{{IPAblink|m}}  
|-
! Arabic<br><small>(Latin)</small><br><nowiki>[</nowiki>[[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]<nowiki>]</nowiki>
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ن}}</span><br><small>(N n)</small><br>{{IPAblink|n}}
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|نّ}}</span><br><small>(Ny ny)</small><br>{{IPAblink|ɲ}} 
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|هـ ـهـ ـه ه}}</span><br><small>(O o)</small><br>{{IPAblink|o}} 
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{Script/Arabic|‍ ‍ہ‍ }}</span><br><small>(E e)</small><br>{{IPAblink|e}} 
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|و}}</span><br><small>(U u / W w)</small><br>{{IPAblink|u}}/{{IPAblink|w}}  
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ی}}</span><br><small>(I i / Y y)</small><br>{{IPAblink|i}}/{{IPAblink|j}}  
|-
! Arabic<br><small>(Latin)</small><br><nowiki>[</nowiki>[[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]<nowiki>]</nowiki>
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ئ}}</span><br><small>( - )</small><br>{{IPAblink|ʔ}}   
|}

There are two types of [[Vowel sequence|vowel sequencees]] in Comorian, a glide or a vowel hiatus. Latin letters ''w'' and ''y'', represented by {{script/Arabic|و}} and {{script/Arabic|ی}}, are considered semivowels. When these letters follow another vowel, they are written sequentially.

Other succession of vowels are treated as ''vowel hiatus''. In these instances, a ''hamza'' ({{script/Arabic|ئ}}) is written in between.

[[Prenasalized consonant]]s are written as digraphs, with either ''m'' ({{script/Arabic|م}}) or ''n'' ({{script/Arabic|ن}}).