Article: Dotting and diacritical marks.(Arabic language)

Arabic is a Semitic language, as is Hebrew. Both use an alphabet in which mainly the consonants are represented in writing. Using marks called diacritics to represent vowels is optional. Historically, Arabs could easily figure out words composed with these letter shapes. They could also distinguish between letters based on the same shape by their relationship to surrounding letters and words in the sentence. A good knowledge of grammar and usage helped them avoid misreading a word or sentence. Written text was often used as an aid to remembering what the reader had learned orally. The Arabs had a very strong oral tradition.

Advances in Arabic writing occurred ...

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