CT Language-Specific Transliteration Rules 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In Arabic transliteration for US official documents, how is the letter ع (ayn) typically represented?
- As the letter 'a'
- As an apostrophe or opening single quotation mark (ʿ) (Correct answer)
- It is silently dropped
- As the letter 'g'
Correct answer: As an apostrophe or opening single quotation mark (ʿ)
The Arabic letter ʿayn (ع) is conventionally represented by a reversed apostrophe or the symbol ʿ in standard transliteration schemes such as ALA-LC.
Question 2: When transliterating Arabic names with the definite article 'ال' (al-) into English for official US documents, which practice is correct?
- Always capitalize 'Al' regardless of position
- Use 'al-' in lowercase when it is not the first word of the name (Correct answer)
- Drop the definite article entirely
- Render it as 'el-' to reflect spoken pronunciation
Correct answer: Use 'al-' in lowercase when it is not the first word of the name
Standard practice for Arabic definite articles in official transliteration is to use lowercase 'al-' when it appears after the first element of a name.
Question 3: In the ALA-LC romanization scheme for Arabic, the letter ق (qaf) is rendered as:
- k
- gh
- q (Correct answer)
- c
Correct answer: q
The Arabic letter qaf (ق) is always rendered as 'q' in ALA-LC romanization, even though it sounds similar to 'k' in some dialects.
Question 4: When a sun letter (شمسية) follows 'al-' in Arabic, what happens to the 'l' in transliteration according to phonetic-based systems?
- The 'l' is doubled
- The 'l' is assimilated and replaced by the following consonant (Correct answer)
- The 'al-' is dropped
- The 'l' is replaced with 'r'
Correct answer: The 'l' is assimilated and replaced by the following consonant
In phonetic-based Arabic transliteration, assimilation of the 'l' in 'al-' to a sun letter is reflected, e.g., al-shams becomes ash-shams.
Question 5: The Arabic letter خ (kha) is most commonly transliterated in US official documents as:
- x
- kh (Correct answer)
- h
- ch
Correct answer: kh
The Arabic kha (خ) is standardly transliterated as 'kh' in ALA-LC and most US official schemes, representing the voiceless velar fricative.
Question 6: In Arabic transliteration, the hamza (ء) is typically represented by:
- A closing apostrophe or right single quotation mark (ʾ) (Correct answer)
- The letter 'h'
- The letter 'a'
- It is omitted in all official US systems
Correct answer: A closing apostrophe or right single quotation mark (ʾ)
Hamza (ء) is represented by ʾ (a right single quotation mark or closing apostrophe) in ALA-LC and related scholarly Arabic transliteration schemes.
Question 7: When transliterating an Arabic name for a US passport, which system is most commonly specified by the State Department for consistency?
- BGN/PCGN romanization system (Correct answer)
- ALA-LC romanization
- ISO 233
- Hunterian transliteration
Correct answer: BGN/PCGN romanization system
The US Board on Geographic Names (BGN) and the Permanent Committee on Geographical Names (PCGN) system is the standard used by US federal agencies including the State Department for official documents.
CT Language-Specific Transliteration Rules 2
In Arabic transliteration for US official documents, how is the letter ع (ayn) typically represented?