Knowra Perso-Arabic script Perso-Arabic script Perso-Arabic script is a family of writing systems adapted from Arabic script for languages including Persian, Urdu, and Sindhi. Its adaptations include additional letters and language-specific conventions.
Arabic script : An abjad written from right to left, whose letters generally change shape according to their position in a word. The parent writing system supplies the letterforms and joining patterns adapted across this family.
Persian alphabet : A 32-letter alphabet used to write Persian in an adaptation of Arabic script. Its added letters represent Persian sounds absent from the Arabic inventory.
Persian language : An Iranian language spoken chiefly in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan, with major literary traditions. Persian was an early major language written with an adapted Arabic script.
Shahmukhi : A Perso-Arabic-based writing system used for Punjabi in Pakistan. It applies the family’s conventions to Punjabi, alongside the distinct Gurmukhi tradition.
Latin script : A writing system used for languages including English, Spanish, and Turkish, based on the Roman alphabet. Its left-to-right conventions and letter forms differ sharply from the family’s usual practice.
Abjad : A writing system in which consonants are represented more consistently than vowels. This writing-system type explains why short vowels are often omitted in everyday Perso-Arabic writing.
Urdu alphabet : A modified Arabic-derived alphabet used to write Urdu, with conventions shaped by Persian and Arabic traditions. Its expanded inventory and letterforms show a major adaptation for another language.
Persianate society : A cultural sphere shaped by Persian language, literature, and courtly traditions across parts of Asia. Persianate institutions helped carry Persian writing practices into neighboring regions.
Kashmiri alphabet : An Arabic-derived alphabet used to write Kashmiri, with letters adapted to its sounds. Its regional use illustrates how the script family extends beyond Persian, Urdu, and Sindhi.
Devanagari : An abugida used for languages including Hindi, Marathi, and Nepali, typically written from left to right. It provides a contrasting South Asian writing tradition, including for languages also written in Perso-Arabic adaptations.
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