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{{short description|First letter of many Semitic abjads}}
{{redirect|Alef|other uses|Aleph (disambiguation)|and|Alef (disambiguation)}}
{{For|the large number represented by this letter|aleph number}}
{{Phoenician glyph|letname=Aleph|nextlink=Bet (letter)|nextletter=Bet|arrowleft= |archar=ا|sychar=ܐ|hechar=א|amchar=𐡀|nbatchar=𐢀|gechar=አ|phchar=𐤀|grchar=[[Α]]|lachar=[[A]], [[Latin alpha|Ɑ]]|cychar=[[А]], [[Я]]|ipa={{IPA link|ʔ}}, {{IPA link|a}}|num=1|gem=1}}
'''Aleph''' (or '''alef''' or '''alif''', transliterated [[ʾ]]) is the first [[Letter (alphabet)|letter]] of the [[Semitic abjads]], including [[Phoenician alphabet|Phoenician]] ''ʾālep'' 𐤀, [[Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew]] ''ʾālef'' {{Script|Hebr|א}}, [[Aramaic alphabet|Aramaic]] ''ʾālap'' 𐡀, [[Syriac alphabet|Syriac]] ''ʾālap̄'' ܐ, [[Arabic alphabet|Arabic]] ''ʾalif'' {{Script|Arabic|ا}}, and [[Ancient North Arabian|North Arabian]] 𐪑. It also appears as [[Ancient South Arabian script|South Arabian]] 𐩱 and [[Ge'ez script|Ge'ez]] ''ʾälef'' አ.
These letters are believed to have
[[phonetics|Phonetically]], ''aleph'' originally represented the onset of a vowel at the [[glottis]]. In Semitic languages, this functions as a [[Prothesis (linguistics)|prosthetic]] weak consonant, allowing roots with only two true consonants to be conjugated in the manner of a standard three consonant Semitic root. In most Hebrew dialects as well as Syriac, the ''aleph'' is an absence of a true consonant, a [[glottal stop]] ({{IPAblink|ʔ}}), the sound found in the catch in ''uh'''-'''oh''. In Arabic, the ''alif'' represents the glottal stop pronunciation when it is the initial letter of a word. In texts with diacritical marks, the pronunciation of an ''aleph'' as a consonant is rarely indicated by a special marking, [[hamza]] in Arabic and [[mappiq]] in Tiberian Hebrew. In later Semitic languages, ''aleph'' could sometimes function as a ''[[mater lectionis]]'' indicating the presence of a vowel elsewhere (usually long). When this practice began is the subject of some controversy, though it had become well established by the late stage of Old Aramaic (ca. 200 BCE). Aleph is often [[transliteration|transliterated]] as {{unichar|02BE}}, based on the Greek ''[[spiritus lenis]]'' {{lang|grc|ʼ}}; for example, in the transliteration of the letter name itself, ''{{
==Origin==
The name ''aleph'' is derived from the West Semitic word for "[[ox]]" (as in the Biblical Hebrew word Eleph (אֶלֶף) 'ox'<ref name=":0" />), and the shape of the letter derives from a [[Proto-Sinaitic]] glyph that may have been based on an [[Egyptian hieroglyphs|Egyptian hieroglyph]], which depicts an ox's head.<ref>{{cite web |date=2014-10-31 |title=Meet The Animal That Inspired The Letter A |url=http://www.dictionary.com/e/a/ |access-date=2019-05-05 |work=Everything After Z |publisher=Dictionary.com |archive-date=2019-05-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509022716/https://www.dictionary.com/e/a/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
{| class=wikitable style="text-align: center;"
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== {{anchor|Egyptian}} Ancient Egyptian==
{{
{{Hiero|"Aleph" |<hiero> A </hiero>|align=right|era=egypt}}
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The [[phoneme]] is commonly [[transliterated]] by a symbol composed of two half-rings, in [[Unicode]] (as of version 5.1, in the [[Latin Extended-D]] range) encoded at U+A722 Ꜣ <small>LATIN CAPITAL LETTER EGYPTOLOGICAL ALEF</small> and U+A723 ꜣ <small>LATIN SMALL LETTER EGYPTOLOGICAL ALEF</small>. A fallback representation is the numeral ''3'', or the Middle English character ''ȝ'' [[Yogh#In Egyptology|Yogh]]; neither are to be preferred to the genuine Egyptological characters.
==Arabic ʾalif==
Written as {{lang|ar|ا}} or 𐪑, spelled as {{lang|ar|ألف}} or 𐪑𐪁𐪐 and transliterated as ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|alif}}'', it is the first letter in [[Arabic alphabet|Arabic]] and [[Ancient North Arabian|North Arabian]]. Together with Hebrew aleph, Greek [[Alpha (letter)|alpha]] and Latin [[A]], it is descended from [[Phoenician alphabet|Phoenician]] {{transliteration|sem|ʾāleph}}, from a reconstructed Proto-Canaanite ''{{transliteration|sem|ʾalp}}'' "ox".
Alif has the highest frequency out of all 28 letters in the [[Arabic abjad]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}} Alif is also the most used letter in Arabic.
Alif is written in one of the following ways depending on its position in the word:
{{Arabic alphabet shapes|ا}}
{| class="wikitable"
!North Arabian
|-
|{{Huge|𐪑|300%}}
|}
===Arabic variants===
====Alif mahmūza: {{big|أ}} and {{big|إ}}====
{{Main|Hamza}}
{{anchor|hamzat qaṭ‘|hamzat qaṭ`|hamzat qaṭ}}
The Arabic letter was used to render either a long {{IPA|/aː/}} or a [[glottal stop]] {{IPA|/ʔ/}}. That led to [[orthographical]] confusion and to the introduction of the additional marking ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|hamzat qaṭ‘}}'' <big>{{lang|ar|ﺀ}}</big> to fix the problem. [[Hamzah|Hamza]] is not considered a full letter in Arabic orthography: in most cases, it appears on a carrier, either a ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|wāw}}'' (<big>{{lang|ar|ؤ}}</big>), a dotless ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|yā’}}'' (<big>{{lang|ar|ئ}}</big>), or an alif.
{{Arabic alphabet shapes|أ}}
The choice of carrier depends on complicated orthographic rules. Alif <big>{{lang|ar|إ أ}}</big> is generally the carrier if the only adjacent vowel is ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|fatḥah}}''. It is the only possible carrier if hamza is the first phoneme of a word. Where alif acts as a carrier for hamza, hamza is added above the alif, or, for initial alif-''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|kasrah}}'', below it and indicates that the letter so modified is indeed a glottal stop, not a long vowel.
{{anchor|hamzat waṣl|hamzat wasl}}
A second type of hamza, ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|hamzat waṣl}}'' ({{lang|ar|همزة وصل}}) whose diacritic is normally omitted outside of sacred texts, occurs only as the initial letter of the [[Al-|definite article]] and in some related cases. It differs from ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|hamzat qaṭ‘}}'' in that it is elided after a preceding vowel. Alif is always the carrier.
{{Arabic alphabet shapes|ٱ}}
====Alif mamdūda: {{big|آ}}====
{{anchor|alif maddah|alif madda|Alif maddah|Alif madda}}
The ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|alif [[Arabic diacritics#Maddah|maddah]]}}'' is a double alif, expressing both a glottal stop and a long vowel. Essentially, it is the same as a {{lang|ar|أا}} sequence: {{lang|ar|آ}} (final {{lang|ar|ـآ}}) {{transliteration|ar|ALA|’ā}} {{IPA|/ʔaː/}}, for example in {{lang|ar|آخر}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|ākhir}}'' {{IPA|/ʔaːxir/}} 'last'.
{{Arabic alphabet shapes|آ}}
"It has become standard for a ''hamza'' followed by a long ā to be written as two ''alifs'', one vertical and one horizontal."<ref>{{cite book |last=Jones |first=Alan |url=https://archive.org/details/arabicthroughqur00jone |title=Arabic Through The Qur'an |publisher=The Islamic Texts Society |year=2005 |isbn=0946621-68-3 |location=Cambridge |page=[https://archive.org/details/arabicthroughqur00jone/page/n21 4] |url-access=limited}}</ref> (the "horizontal" alif being the ''maddah'' sign).
====Alif maqṣūrah: {{big|ى}}====
{{Anchor|alifmaqsura|alif maqsura|Aifmasqsura|Alif maqsura}}
The '''<big>ى</big>''' ('limited/restricted alif', ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|alif maqṣūrah}}''), commonly known in Egypt as ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|alif layyinah}}'' ({{lang|ar|ألف لينة}}, 'flexible alif'), may appear only at the end of a word. Although it looks different from a regular ''alif'', it represents the same sound {{IPA|/aː/}}, often realized as a short vowel. When it is written, ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|alif maqṣūrah}}'' is indistinguishable from final [[Persian alphabet|Persian]] ''[[Yodh#Perso-Arabic ye|ye]]'' or Arabic ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|yā’}}'' as it is written in Egypt, Sudan and sometimes elsewhere.
The letter is transliterated as {{transliteration|ar|ALA|y}} in [[Kazakh language|Kazakh]], representing the vowel /[[Mid central vowel|ə]]/. ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|Alif maqsurah}}'' is transliterated as {{transliteration|ar|ALA|á}} in [[ALA-LC Romanization|ALA-LC]], {{transliteration|ar|DIN|ā}} in [[DIN 31635]], {{transliteration|ar|ISO|à}} in ISO 233-2, and {{transliteration|ar|ISO|ỳ}} in [[ISO 233]].
In Arabic, ''alif maqsurah'' {{lang|ar|ى}} is not used initially or medially, and it is not joinable initially or medially in any font. However, the letter is used initially and medially in the [[Uyghur Arabic alphabet]] and the Arabic-based [[Kyrgyz alphabet]], representing the vowel /[[Close back unrounded vowel|ɯ]]/: (<big>{{script/Arabic|ىـ ـىـ}}</big>).
{{Arabic alphabet shapes|ى}}
As a vowel, the letter ''alif maqsurah'' can be a carrier with a [[hamza]]. The ''alif maqṣūrah'' with hamza is thus written as:
{{Arabic alphabet shapes|ئ}}
===Numeral===
As a numeral, alif stands for the number one. It may be modified as follows to represent other numbers.{{Citation needed|date=December 2021}}
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Modification to alif
!Number represented
|-
|One dot below
|1,000
|-
|One line below
|10,000
|-
|One line above
|1,000,000
|-
|Two dots below
|10,000,000
|}
==Aramaic==
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Aleph, along with [[ayin]], [[resh]], [[He (letter)|he]] and [[Heth (letter)|heth]], cannot receive a [[dagesh]]. (However, there are few very rare examples of the [[Masoretes]] adding a dagesh or [[mappiq]] to an aleph or resh. The verses of [[Hebrew Bible|the Hebrew Bible]] for which an aleph with a mappiq or dagesh appears are [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] 43:26, [[Leviticus]] 23:17, [[Book of Job|Job]] 33:21 and [[Ezra]] 8:18.)
In Modern Hebrew, the frequency of the usage of alef, out of all the letters, is 4.94%.
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! colspan="5" |<small>[[Orthography|Orthographic]] variants</small>
|-
! colspan="3" |<small>Various
! rowspan="2" |<small>[[Cursive Hebrew|Cursive<br />Hebrew]]</small>
! rowspan="2" |<small>[[Rashi
|-
!|<small>[[Serif]]</small> !! <small>[[Sans-serif]]</small> !! <small>[[Monospaced font|Monospaced]]</small> <!-- !! </small> [[Rounded Roman]]</small> -->
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===Rabbinic Judaism===
Aleph is the subject of a [[midrash]] that praises its humility in not demanding to start the Bible. (In [[Hebrew]], the Bible begins with the second letter of the [[alphabet]], [[Bet (letter)|bet]].) In the story, aleph is rewarded by being allowed to start the [[Ten Commandments]]. (In [[Hebrew]], the first word is [[Wikt:אנוכי|anoki]] ({{Script/Hebrew|אָנֹכִי}}), which starts with an aleph.)
In the [[Sefer Yetzirah]], the [[letter (alphabet)|letter]] aleph is [[king]] over breath, formed air in the universe, temperate in the year, and the [[chest]] in the soul.
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===Yiddish===
In [[Yiddish]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Weinreich|first=Uriel|date=1992|title=College Yiddish|location=New York|publisher=[[YIVO]] Institute for Jewish Research|
* With no diacritics, aleph is silent; it is written at the beginning of words before vowels spelled with the letter [[Waw (letter)|vov]] or [[yodh|yud]]. For instance, ''oykh'' 'also' is spelled {{lang|yi|rtl=yes|אויך}}. The [[digraph (orthography)|digraph]] {{lang|yi|rtl=yes|וי}} represents the initial [[diphthong]] [{{IPA|oj}}], but that digraph is not permitted at the beginning of a word in Yiddish orthography, so it is preceded by a silent aleph. Some publications use a silent aleph adjacent to such vowels in the middle of a word as well when necessary to avoid ambiguity.
* An aleph with the diacritic ''[[patach|pasekh]]'', {{lang|yi|rtl=yes|אַ}}, represents the vowel {{IPAblink|a}} in standard Yiddish.
* An aleph with the diacritic ''[[kamatz|komets]]'', {{lang|yi|rtl=yes|אָ}}, represents the vowel {{IPAblink|ɔ}} in standard Yiddish.
[[Loanword]]s from Hebrew or Aramaic in Yiddish are spelled as they are in their language of origin.
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|{{Huge|𐩱|300%}}
|{{Huge|አ|300%}}
|}
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===Mathematics===
In [[set theory]], the Hebrew aleph glyph is used as the symbol to denote the [[aleph number]]s, which represent the [[cardinality]] of infinite sets. This notation was introduced by mathematician [[Georg Cantor]]. In older mathematics books, the letter aleph is often printed upside down by accident, partly because a [[Monotype Imaging|Monotype]] matrix for aleph was mistakenly constructed the wrong way up.<ref>{{citation|mr=0553111 |last1=Swanson |first1=Ellen |first2=Arlene Ann |last2=O'Sean |first3=Antoinette Tingley |last3=Schleyer |title=Mathematics into type. Copy editing and proofreading of mathematics for editorial assistants and authors |edition=updated |publisher=American Mathematical Society |place= Providence, R.I. |year=1999 |orig-year= 1979 |isbn=0-8218-0053-1 |page=16 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pL3vAAAAIAAJ&q=aleph}}</ref>
===Politics===
The [[Mapai]] political party in [[Israel]] used an aleph as its election symbol, and featured it prominently in its campaign posters.<ref name="Weitz 2018 p870">{{cite web | last=Weitz | first=Carmel Sapir | title=Symbols of the Mapai Party | website=The Jerusalem Post | date=2018-07-12 | url=https://www.jpost.com/magazine/symbols-of-the-mapai-party-562347 | access-date=2024-03-06 | archive-date=2023-03-20 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320162638/https://www.jpost.com/magazine/symbols-of-the-mapai-party-562347 | url-status=live }}</ref>
==Character encodings==
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==References==
*{{cite web|title=The Letter Aleph (א) |url=https://hebrewtoday.com/alphabet/the-letter-alef-%d7%90/ |website=Hebrew Today |access-date=2019-05-05}}
{{
{{Reflist}}
{{Arabic language}}
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[[Category:Phoenician alphabet]]
[[Category:Arabic letters|Alef]]
[[Category:Urdu letters|Alef]]
[[Category:Hebrew letters]]
[[Category:Vowel letters]]
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