Editing Classical Arabic (section)

==== Case ====
The A1 inscription dated to the 3rd or 4th century&nbsp;AD in the [[Greek alphabet]] in a dialect showing affinities to that of the Safaitic inscriptions shows that short final high vowels had been lost in at least some dialects of [[Old Arabic]] at that time, obliterating the distinction between nominative and genitive case in the singular, leaving the accusative the only marked case:<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |url=https://www.academia.edu/12463830 |title=New Epigraphica from Jordan I: a pre-Islamic Arabic inscription in Greek letters and a Greek inscription from north-eastern Jordan |journal=Arabian Epigraphic Notes 1 |access-date=2015-12-09 |last1=Al-Manaser |first1=Ali |last2=Al-Jallad |first2=Ahmad |date=19 May 2015}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
! scope="col" | Translation
! scope="col" | Original Greek transcription
! scope="col" |Arabic approximate transcription
|-
| ʾAws son of ʿūḏ (?) || lang="ar-Grek" | Αυσος Ουδου || lang="ar" | أوس عوذ
|-
| son of Bannāʾ son of Kazim || lang="ar-Grek" | Βαναου Χαζιμ || lang="ar" | بناء كازم
|-
| the ʾidāmite came || lang="ar-Grek" | μου αλΙδαμι αθα || lang="ar" | الإدامي أتو
|-
| because of scarcity; he came || lang="ar-Grek" | οα μισειαζ αθαοευ̣  || lang="ar" | من شحاص أتو
|-
| to Bannāʾ in this region || lang="ar-Grek" | α Βαναα αδαυρα || lang="ar" | بناء الدور
|-
| and they pastured on fresh herbage || lang="ar-Grek" | αουα ειραυ βακλα || lang="ar" | ويرعو بقل
|-
| during Kānūn || lang="ar-Grek" | βιΧανου || lang="ar" | بكانون
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Safaitic (ca. 3rd – 4th century AD)
|-
!
!Triptote
!Diptote
!Dual
!Masculine plural
!Feminine plural
|-
|Nominative
|∅..الـ<br />''(ʾal-)...-∅''
| rowspan="3" | -''∅''
|الـ)..ـَان)<br />''(ʾal-)...-ān''
|الـ)..ـُون)<br />''(ʾal-)...-ūn''
| rowspan="3" |الـ)..ـَات)<br />''(ʾal-)...-āt''
|-
|Accusative
|الـ..ـَا<br />''(ʾal-)...-a''
| rowspan="2" |الـ)..ـَيْن)<br />''(ʾal-)...-ayn''
| rowspan="2" |الـ)..ـِين)<br />''(ʾal-)...-īn''
|-
|Genitive
|∅..(الـ)<br />''(ʾal-)...-∅''
|}

Classical Arabic however, shows a far more archaic system, essentially identical with that of [[Proto-Arabic]]:

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Classical Arabic (ca. 7th century AD)
|-
!
! colspan="2" |Triptote
!Diptote
!Dual
!Masculine plural
! colspan="2" |Feminine plural
|-
|Nominative
|ـٌ<br />''-un''
|الـ..ـُ<br />''ʾal-...-u''
|ـُ<br />-''u''
|الـ)..ـَانِ)<br />''(ʾal-)...-āni''
|الـ)..ـُونَ)<br />''(ʾal-)...-ūna''
|ـَاتٌ<br />''-ātun''
|الـ..ـَاتُ<br />''ʾal-...-ātu''
|-
|Accusative
|ـًا، ـً<br />''-an''
|الـ..ـَ<br />''ʾal-...-a''
| rowspan="2" |ـَ<br />-''a''
| rowspan="2" |الـ)..ـَيْنِ)<br />''(ʾal-)...-ayni''
| rowspan="2" |الـ)..ـِينَ)<br />''(ʾal-)...-īna''
| rowspan="2" |ـَاتٍ<br />''-ātin''
| rowspan="2" |الـ..ـَاتِ<br />''ʾal-...-āti''
|-
|Genitive
|ـٍ<br />''-in''
|الـ..ـِ<br />''ʾal-...-i''
|}