The Arabic letter Ta ﻁ (2024)

There are two t letters in Arabic. A normal t and this emphatic T. For clarity, I write the pronunciation of the emphatic one with a capital T.
When you pronounce this T, your tongue should touch your tooth.
The letter Ta is one of the letters that gives the Arabic language its character. If you want to sound as a professional Arabic speaker and not a beginner, you must pronounce these letters properly. Do not be careful when you pronounce these letters. It is better to exaggerate, then it is easier for the people you are talking with to hear the difference. If you exaggerate the pronunciation, it is also easier for you to memorize the words, and you will know what letter to use when you spell them.

Emphatic consonants has a special pronunciation that also affects the pronunciation of nearby vowels.
Wikander* describe the pronunciation of emphatic letters: 'as if one had a potato or a whole egg pressing down the tongue: the back of the toungue should be pressed down.' The result will be that 'the sound willl have a thick, dark tone. That tone often affects surrounding vowels.'

The vowel fatha (a) is mostly affected by emphatic consonants. As an example, we can use one of these food references.
The Arabic word for egg is written بَيضَة and pronounced 'bäjDa'

. The vowel fatha is surrounded by the letters ba (ب) och ya (ي) and ya, and none of them are emphatic. Therefore, the pronunciation is like a Sswedish 'ä' (like in airs).
The Arabic word for potato is written بَطَاطِس and pronounced 'baTaaTis'

. The letter Ta (ط) is emphatic and both the short a and the long aa is pronounced like 'a', even a bit like the Swedish 'å' (like in for and door).

Ta isolerad form

This is how the Arabic letter Ta is written in its isolerad form:

ﻁ

This form is used in the following situations:

Ta alone

When Ta stands by itself, the isolated form is used.

Ta in the end after right joining letter

When Ta is the last letter of a word and comes after a right joining letter, the isolated form is used. It is free to the right since the letter before it does not connect to the left. It is also free to the left since there is no letter after.

Ta initial form

This is how the Arabic letter Ta is written in its initial form:

ﻃـ

This form is used in the following situations:

Ta in the beginning of words

When Ta is the first letter of a word, the initial form is used. It is free to the right and has a tail to the left to connect with the letter after it.

Ta in the middle after right joining letter

When Ta is in the middle of a word and follows a right joining letter, the initial form is used. It is free to the right since the letter before it does not connect to the left, and it has a tail to the left to connect with the letter after.

Ta medial form

This is how the Arabic letter Ta is written in its medial form:

ـﻄـ

This form is used in the following situation:

Ta in the middle of words

When Ta is in the middle of a word, e.g. when Ta is neither the first nor the last letter, the medial form is often used. It has tails in both directions to connect with both the letter before it and the letter after it.

Ta final form

This is how the Arabic letter Ta is written in its final form:

ـﻂ

This form is used in the following situation:

Ta in the end of words

When Ta is the last letter of a word, the final form is often used. It has a tail to the right to connect with the letter before it, and it is free to the left since there is no letter after.

ﺍﺏﺕﺙﺝﺡﺥﺩﺫﺭﺯﺱﺵﺹﺽﻁﻅﻉﻍﻑﻕﻙﻝﻡﻥﻩﻭﻱ