# Distinguishing languages written in Arabic script **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 24, 2017, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distinguishing-languages-written-in-arabic-script/780663 "2017-02-24T20:30:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distinguishing-languages-written-in-arabic-script/780663/1 "2017-02-24T20:30:03Z")
I will be working a local election again, and Los Angeles County has added three languages to those in which voting materials are available–Armenian, Russian, and Farsi. I know that Farsi and Urdu, and Arabic, of course, are written in that script. Is there a way to tell those three written languages apart? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distinguishing-languages-written-in-arabic-script/780663/2 "2017-02-24T21:45:15Z")
Farsi and Urdu are usually written in a different style than Arabic. Hard to describe. [Arabic](https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%83%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%A9) [Farsi](https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%86%D9%88%D8%B4%D8%AA%D9%86) The letters in Arabic seems be “more connected”. You also see a lot of “al” in Arabic, not so much in Farsi. “al” in Arabic looks like the first 2 letters here (reading from the right): القاعدة‎‎ ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distinguishing-languages-written-in-arabic-script/780663/3 "2017-02-24T22:15:04Z")
One thing to keep in mind is that Arabic script was designed, oddly enough, for Arabic which is a Semitic language. Semitic languages tend to have words based on a roots consisting of 3 consonants. (Think Salam = SLM) Each arabic letter has three forms, depending on whether it is at the beginning, middle or end of the word. Farsi and Urdu are Indo-Eurpean languages, which do not have this basis of 3-consonant root words, so the Arabic alphabet isn’t an ideal fit. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distinguishing-languages-written-in-arabic-script/780663/4 "2017-02-24T22:23:31Z")
I once read that Turkish, which used to be written in Arabic script, wasn’t suited for it either: According to the source, Turkish had eight vowel sounds and Arabic only three. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distinguishing-languages-written-in-arabic-script/780663/5 "2017-02-24T22:32:26Z")
For example, check out these translations of the start of the Biblical Book of Genesis in [Arabic](http://biblehub.com/arb/genesis/1.htm), [Farsi](https://www.stepbible.org/?q=version=FCB%7Creference=Gen.1), and [Urdu](https://www.wordproject.org/bibles/parallel/a/urdu.htm). Some things to look out for, besides the ones **John Mace** mentioned: Farsi and Urdu look quite a bit alike, but the conjunction “and” is “wa” و in Arabic and Farsi, but “aur” اور in Urdu. The “three-dots-under” rule: All three languages use a script that has a little triangle of three dots **over** some of the consonants, but Arabic script doesn’t employ letters with three dots **under** them, whereas Persian and Urdu do. Like this: چگونه, پيش The “heart five”: If [decimal numerals are written in the language’s own script](https://d1k5w7mbrh6vq5.cloudfront.net/images/cache/cc/44/b2/cc44b256cac115c20808a3a246181238.png), you will see the number 5 as a little circle in Arabic, but a sort of upside-down heart shape in Farsi and (usually) Urdu. ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2017, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distinguishing-languages-written-in-arabic-script/780663/6 "2017-02-24T23:29:13Z")
Scripts are usually adapted for whatever local language chooses to adopt them. When English adopted the Latin alphabet it added letters from the original 23 to make 26; some other European languages added more, some removed letters (Italian only uses 21). The Persian alphabet (which is used by Farsi and Urdu) added a few letters to represent sounds not found in Arabic پ /p/, چ /ch/, ژ /je/, and گ /ɡ/.