A story
Nuqta's Long Train and the Three Stretching Letters
Yousef and his sister Dana made a train out of chairs in the living room. On the first chair... hop, hop! Nuqta sat in a tiny driver's cap.
"Toooot tooot! The train is leaving!" shouted Yousef.
"Listen!" said Nuqta. "You stretched the sound: toooot! In Arabic, three letters stretch a sound like a train whistle: Alif (ا), Waw (و) and Yaa (ي). They're called the letters of madd (حروف المد)!"
"Who gets on first?" asked Dana.
"Alif!" said Nuqta. "It stretches the sound after a fatha: baa, naa, maa."
The children shouted, "بـــاب (baab, door)! نـــار (naar, fire)! مـــاء (maa', water)!" and stretched their arms forward.
"Then Waw, after a damma: noo, too."
"نـــور (noor, light)! تـــوت (toot, berries)! يـــوسُف! My name has a stretch!" said Yousef, making his lips round like a circle.
"Then Yaa, after a kasra: fee, dee."
"فـــيل (feel, elephant)! ديـــك (deek, rooster)! عـــيد (eid, festival)!" said Dana with a big wide smile.
Can you stretch your voice? Maaa, mooo, meee!
"And where do I sit?" said Nuqta. "Under the Yaa! My sister and I live there!" She hopped under the Yaa, and the children laughed.
The train went round: choo, choo, choo! At every station they said a word with a stretch.
But Yousef wanted to be the driver all the time. Dana felt sad and sat far away.
Nuqta said gently, "Yousef, a madd letter stretches out to help the letter before it."
Yousef understood. "I'll stretch my hand out to you, Dana, like a madd letter! Come on, you're the driver now."
Dana was delighted. "Toooot tooot! Next station: سَعـــادَة (happiness)!"
And they all sang:
Alif after fatha: baab, naar,
Waw after damma: noor, toot, here we are,
Yaa after kasra: feel and deek,
Stretch your voice, and help those you seek!
Let's practise (هيّا نتمرّن):
1. Circle the madd letter in each word: كِتاب (book) — صوص (chick) — فيل (elephant)
2. Choose the word with no madd: طَيْر (bird) — نار (fire) — نور (light)
3. Fill in the right madd letter (ا, و, ي): بـــب, تـــت, دـــك
4. Say one word with an Alif madd and one with a Yaa madd.
Answers: 1) كِتاب: Alif, صوص: Waw, فيل: Yaa. 2) طَيْر. 3) باب, توت, ديك.
"Toooot tooot! The train is leaving!" shouted Yousef.
"Listen!" said Nuqta. "You stretched the sound: toooot! In Arabic, three letters stretch a sound like a train whistle: Alif (ا), Waw (و) and Yaa (ي). They're called the letters of madd (حروف المد)!"
"Who gets on first?" asked Dana.
"Alif!" said Nuqta. "It stretches the sound after a fatha: baa, naa, maa."
The children shouted, "بـــاب (baab, door)! نـــار (naar, fire)! مـــاء (maa', water)!" and stretched their arms forward.
"Then Waw, after a damma: noo, too."
"نـــور (noor, light)! تـــوت (toot, berries)! يـــوسُف! My name has a stretch!" said Yousef, making his lips round like a circle.
"Then Yaa, after a kasra: fee, dee."
"فـــيل (feel, elephant)! ديـــك (deek, rooster)! عـــيد (eid, festival)!" said Dana with a big wide smile.
Can you stretch your voice? Maaa, mooo, meee!
"And where do I sit?" said Nuqta. "Under the Yaa! My sister and I live there!" She hopped under the Yaa, and the children laughed.
The train went round: choo, choo, choo! At every station they said a word with a stretch.
But Yousef wanted to be the driver all the time. Dana felt sad and sat far away.
Nuqta said gently, "Yousef, a madd letter stretches out to help the letter before it."
Yousef understood. "I'll stretch my hand out to you, Dana, like a madd letter! Come on, you're the driver now."
Dana was delighted. "Toooot tooot! Next station: سَعـــادَة (happiness)!"
And they all sang:
Alif after fatha: baab, naar,
Waw after damma: noor, toot, here we are,
Yaa after kasra: feel and deek,
Stretch your voice, and help those you seek!
Let's practise (هيّا نتمرّن):
1. Circle the madd letter in each word: كِتاب (book) — صوص (chick) — فيل (elephant)
2. Choose the word with no madd: طَيْر (bird) — نار (fire) — نور (light)
3. Fill in the right madd letter (ا, و, ي): بـــب, تـــت, دـــك
4. Say one word with an Alif madd and one with a Yaa madd.
Answers: 1) كِتاب: Alif, صوص: Waw, فيل: Yaa. 2) طَيْر. 3) باب, توت, ديك.
