A Linguistic Approach to Arabic Pronunciation/Ee = ي

ي>

makes the "ee" sound in "greet" or the "y" sound in "year".

The English Speaker's Guide

Ee

You know this sound already. Just say "me", "tea", or another other word with that distinct, high pitch "ee".

This sound occurs when ي >follows another letter.

Ye

Sometimes, this letter takes on a "y" sound. Say "you", "yawn", or another word with that "y" sound.

This sound occurs when ي >appears at the beginning of the word or when it appears with a little ّ >so that it looks like يّ >or ـيّ>.

The Linguist's Guide

This section will need help from a professional.

Practice

Read the following out loud. Try to figure out what the English word would be. (These are written left to right because the purpose is not to learn the writing but the pronunciation.)

Encouragement

Woo hoo! You've made it to your first letter. You're on a roll!

That enough for today? Come back tomorrow! Or you can keep going...