New Moroccan Arabic Sounds

Lesson objective

In this lesson, you will become familiar with eight Moroccan Arabic consonant sounds that do not exist in English.

Learning new sounds

Moroccan Arabic contains eight consonant sounds that English does not have. It may take time to pronounce them correctly — at the beginning, the most important thing is simply to recognize the transcription character used for each one.

Emphatic consonants

Emphatic consonants are similar to their normal counterparts, but pronounced with a lower pitch and more tension in the tongue and throat.

• ḍ — the emphatic form of d: like d, but with more tension and a lower pitch
• ṣ — the emphatic form of s: like s, but with more tension and a lower pitch
• ṭ — the emphatic form of t: like t, but with more tension and a lower pitch

Other new consonants

• q — similar to English k, but pronounced farther back in the throat
• x — similar to the “ch” in the German word Bach, or the sound some people make saying “Yech!”
• ġ — similar to x, but voiced (using the voice box) — also similar to the French r
• н — similar to English h, but produced deeply in the throat, like a loud, rough whisper
• ع — can be tricky for beginners: try saying the “a” in fat while keeping your tongue low and producing the sound as deep in the throat as possible