TAJWEED TIDBIT LESSONS
Places of Articulation
to articulation points of the Arabic letters
The articulation point of a letter is the place the letter is emitted, meaning a sound that comes out of the mouth relying on a specific place of articulation or an approximate one. Using the correct articulation point of a letter is necessary to utter the letter correctly, and of course this is even more important when reciting the book of Allah, the Holy Qur’an.
all the articulation points in Arabic are specific places, but there are some
that have a general area of articulation.
are ways for you to see what articulation point YOU are using for a letter (not
necessarily the correct one), so that you can compare what you are using to the
correct way of articulating a letter:
Pronounce the letter with a shaddah; in other words, double the letter.
Pronounce the letter with no vowel and put a hamzah before the letter you
You can then check the position of your tongue, mouth, or feel what area of the throat you are using.
are five general areas of the throat and mouth that have within them the
specific or general articulation points of the Arabic letters.
empty space in the mouth and throat
has in it one articulation point for the three lengthened letters, which are wow
with no vowel with a dhammah before it, ya’ with no vowel with a kasrah before
it, and an alif with a fath before it.
It has three articulation points for six different letters which are pronounced
from the deepest, middle, and closest part of the throat
It has ten articulation points for eighteen letters
The lips have two articulation points for four letters
From the hole of nose towards the inside of the mouth, here there is one
articulation point, that of the ghunnah
The following pictures shows these areas: