Pe (Semitic letter)

Template:Short description Template:About Template:Infobox Semitic letter Pe is the seventeenth letter of the Semitic abjads, including Arabic fāʾ Template:Script, Aramaic pē 𐡐, Hebrew pē Template:Script, Phoenician pē 𐤐, and Syriac pē ܦ. (in abjadi order). It is related to the Ancient North Arabian 𐪐‎, South Arabian Template:Lang, and Ge'ez Template:Lang. Template:Contains special characters The original sound value is a voiceless bilabial plosive Template:IPA and it retains this value in most Semitic languages, except for Arabic, where the sound Template:IPA changed into the voiceless labiodental fricative Template:IPA, carrying with it the pronunciation of the letter. However, the sound Template:IPA in Arabic is used in loanwords with the letter pe as an alternative. Under the Persian influence, many Arabic dialects in the Persian Gulf, as well as in Egypt and in some of the Maghreb under the Ottoman influence uses the letter pe to represent the sound Template:IPA which is missing in Modern Standard Arabic. Not to be confused with the Turned g. The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek Pi (Π), Latin P, Glagolitic Ⱂ,<ref>Template:Citation</ref> and Cyrillic П.

Origins

Pe is usually assumed to come from a pictogram of a "mouth" (in Hebrew pe; in Arabic, فا fah). <hiero>D21</hiero>

Arabic fāʾ

Template:Infobox graphemeThe letter Template:Lang is named Template:Lang Template:Transliteration Template:IPA. It is written in several ways depending on its position in the word: Template:Arabic alphabet shapes

In the process of developing from Proto-Semitic, Proto-Semitic Template:IPA became Arabic Template:IPA, and this is reflected in the use of the letter representing Template:IPA in other Semitic languages for Template:IPA in Arabic.

Examples on usage in Modern Standard Arabic:

• Template:Transliteration (Template:Lang Template:IPA) is a multi-function prefix most commonly equivalent to "so" or "so that." For example: Template:Lang Template:Transliteration ("we write") → Template:Lang Template:Transliteration ("so we write").

Maghrebi variant

In Maghrebi scripts, the i'ajami dot in Template:Transliteration has traditionally been written underneath (Template:Lang). Once the prevalent style, it is now mostly used in countries of the Maghreb in ceremonial situations or for writing Qur'an, with the exception of Libya and Algeria, which adopted the Mashriqi form (dot above). When the letter is isolated or word-final, it may sometimes become unpointed.

The Maghrebi Template:Transliteration

Position in word:	Isolated	Final	Medial	Initial
Form of letter:	Template:Script/Arabic	Template:Script/Arabic	Template:Script/Arabic	Template:Script/Arabic

The Maghrebi alphabet, to write Template:Transliteration (Template:Lang), a letter that resembles Template:Transliteration (Template:Lang) in the initial and medial forms is used, but it is really a Template:Transliteration with a single dot (Template:Lang).

Central Asian variant

In the Arabic orthographies of Uyghur, Kazakh and Kyrgyz, the letter Template:Transliteration has a descender in the final and isolated positions, much like the Maghrebi version of Template:Transliteration.<ref name="L20289">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="L20293">Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Arabic alphabet shapes Theoretically this shape could be approximated by using Template:Unichar, but in practice Template:Unichar is used in databases of these languages, and most commercial fonts for these languages give the codepoint of the usual Arabic Template:Transliteration a shape like Template:Lang.

File:KB Uyghur Arabic.png

MS Windows Uyghur keyboard layout. On the key combination Template:Key press, Template:Unichar on the "Legacy" keyboard layout is shown in pink, and Template:Unichar on the latest keyboard is shown in blue.

When the Uyghur keyboard layout for Microsoft Windows was first added in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, the key combination Template:Key press resulted in Template:Unichar.<ref name="kbdughr">Template:Cite web</ref> The Uyghur keyboard layout in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 changed that key combination to give Template:Unichar.<ref name="kbdughr1">Template:Cite web</ref> On the newer systems, the old keyboard layout is still available under the name Uyghur (Legacy).

Diacriticized Arabic versions

Normally, the letter Template:Lang Template:Transliteration renders Template:IPA sound, but may also be used some names and loanwords where it can render Template:IPA, might be arabized as Template:IPA in accordance to its spelling, e.g., Template:Lang (Unilever). It may be used interchangeably with the modified letter Template:Lang - Template:Transliteration (with 3 dots above) in this case. The letter fāʾ with three dots above is no longer used in Persian, as the Template:IPAblink-sound changed to Template:IPAblink, e.g. archaic Template:Lang Template:IPA > Template:Lang Template:IPA 'language'<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The character is mapped in Unicode under position U+06A4.Template:Arabic alphabet shapes

Maghrebi variant

The Maghrebi style, used in Northwestern Africa, the dots moved underneath (Unicode U+06A5), because it is based on the other style of Template:Transliteration (Template:Script/Arabic):Template:Arabic alphabet shapes

Hebrew pe

The Hebrew spelling is Template:Lang. It is also romanized pei or pey, especially when used in Yiddish.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Orthographic variants

position in word	Various print fonts			Cursive Hebrew	Rashi script
	Serif	Sans-serif	Monospaced
non final	פ	פ	פ	File:Hebrew letter Pe handwriting.svg	File:Pe-nonfinal (Rashi-script - Hebrew letter).svg
final	ף	ף	ף	File:Hebrew letter Pe-final handwriting.svg	File:Pe-final (Rashi-script - Hebrew letter).svg

Variations on written form/pronunciation

Template:Main The letter Pe is one of the six letters which can receive a Dagesh Kal. The six are Bet, Gimel, Daleth, Kaph, Pe, and Tav.

Variant forms of Pe/Fe

File:Double Pe.png

Pe Kefulah / Double Pe (Pe within a Pe)

A notable variation on the letter Pe is the Pe Kefulah (Doubled Pe), also known as the Pei Lefufah (Wrapped Pe). The Pe Kefulah is written as a small Pe scribed within a larger Pe. This atypical letter appears in Torah scrolls (most often Yemenite Torahs<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> but is also present in Sephardic and Ashkenazi Torahs), manuscripts, and some modern printed Hebrew Bibles. When the Pe is written in the form of a Doubled Pe, this adds a layer of deeper meaning to the Biblical text.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> This letter variation can appear on the final and non-final forms of the Pe.

There are two orthographic variants of this letter which indicate a different pronunciation:

Name	Symbol	IPA	Transliteration	as in the English word
Pe	Template:Script/Hebrew	Template:IPA	p	pan
Fe	Template:Script/Hebrew	Template:IPA	f	fan

Pe with the dagesh

When the Pe has a "dot" in its center, known as a dagesh, it represents a voiceless bilabial plosive, Template:IPA. There are various rules in Hebrew grammar that stipulate when and why a dagesh is used.

Fe

When Pe appears without the dagesh dot in its center (Template:Lang), then it usually represents a voiceless labiodental fricative Template:IPA.

Final form of Pe/Fe

At the end of words, the letter's written form changes to a Pe/Fe Sophit (Final Pe/Fe): Template:Lang.

When a word in modern Hebrew borrowed from another language ends with Template:IPA, the non-final form is used (e.g. Template:Lang Template:IPA "Philip"), while borrowings ending in Template:IPA still use the Pe Sofit (e.g. Template:Lang Template:IPA "fun", from Arabic). This is because native Hebrew words, which always use the final form at the end, cannot end in Template:IPA.

Significance

In gematria, Pe represents the number 80. Its final form represents 800 but this is rarely used, Tav written twice (400+400) being used instead.