The Arabic script has two features which make it unique in terms of encoding. One is that it is written from right to left (or RTL). The other feature is that the shapes of individual letters change forms depending on whether the letter is alone, at the beginning of a word, the middle of a word or at the end.
In order to process Arabic correctly, a software must be able to display text from right to left and make sure the letter forms are displayed correctly depending on their positions within a word. Unfortunately, there is incomplete implementation of creating correct letter forms in many software packages.
The Arabic script is used for other languages besides Arabic, but their local alphabets may include special characters for sounds not found in Arabic. Supporting these languages may require special fonts for extra keyboards and special keyboards.
See the following pages for more details.
In order to integrate foreign scripts into your computer, you must set up "keyboard" or input utilities in your operating system. These utilities will allow you to switch between typing English and other languages in word processors and Web tools. This process will also make sure the correct fonts are installed and available on your operating system.
See instructions for Setting up Keyboards for details.
Microsoft provides a variety of free keyboard utlities, but they must be installed from the disk, then activated from the Regional Control Panel. Both standard and AZERTY layouts are available.
In AZERTY layouts, the Arabic letters mapped similar to a French keyboard (where in French keyboards, the upper right key is A, not Q).
Student Computing Labs - The utilities are installed in the University Park Student Computing Labs, but students must install the utlities by going to the Start menu then International Language Support » Microsoft » Office Microsoft Office Asian Character Input Support.
Home Computers - Several Asian and Middle Eastern keyboards are available in Windows, but you may have to install it from the Windows System disk because it is a complex script. After that you can activate the keyboards from the Regional Control Panel.
See Windows East Asian and Complex Script Keyboards for detailed instructions with screen captures.
Once the keyboards have been installed, they must be activated in the Regional Control Panel. Read the summary instructions below or go to East Asian and Complex Scripts Keyboards for detailed instructions with screen captures.
Microsoft provides an Arabic keyboard, but it may need to be installed from the Windows System disk. See the Windows Complex Scripts Keyboard Instructions for details on how to activate the keyboard. To see where the critical keys are, go to the Microsoft Keyboard Layouts Page.
See the Microsoft Arabic Support Page for instructions for Vista with screencaptures.
See instructions for configuring right to left typing in Word for Windows for tips on how to type RTL languages.
Microsoft has developed new fonts and utilites for Arabic. See the Microsoft Arabic Support page for additional details.
Both Arabic and QWERTY Arabic keyboard are available in Macintosh. On a QWERTY keyboard, Arabic letters are arranged in a manner similar to the Western QWERTY keyboard. See instructions below for information on how to activate the utlities.
Student Computing Labs - Many language keyboards have been activated in the labs and are available through the flag menu on the upper right. Skip to Step #4 in the instructions below.
Home Computers - A variety of keyboards are available from Apple, but you may have to install it from the Macintosh System disk then they can be activated through the International System Preferences. See details below.
). Use the dropdown menu to select a script or language.See the Macintosh Keyboard Activation for complete instructions with screen captures.
See tips for creating Mac Right-to-Left documents (including alternatives to Microsoft Office) for more information.
If you have your browser configured correctly, the Web sites above should display the correct characters. If you have difficulties, see list below for font and browser configuration instructions.
Additional freeware fonts can be downloaded from the sites below.
See also
Browsers which fully support Unicode are strongly recommended. Click link in list to view configuration instructions. You will be asked to match a script with a font.
If you see Roman character gibberish instead of Arabic you will need to manually switch from Western encoding view to the Arabic or Unicode encoding under the View menu of your browser.
See Using Encoding and Language Codes for more information on the meaning and implementation of these codes.
See Using Encoding and Language Codes for more information on the meaning and implementation of these codes.
One option is to use Dreamweaver, Microsoft Expression or other Web editor and change the keyboard to the correct script. This will allow you to type content in directly with the appropriate script. However, it is important to verify that the correct encoding is specified in the Web page header.
Another option is to compose the basic text in an international or foreign language text editor or word processor and export the content as an HTML or text file with the appropriate encoding. This file could be opened in another HTML editor such as Dreamweaver or Microsoft Expression, and edited for formatting.
For Web tools such as Blogs at Penn State, Facebook, Twitter, del.icio.us, Flicker, and others, users can typically change the keyboard and input text. In most cases, this content will be encoded as Unicode.
Some HTML editors set the direction of the text automatically. but it can also be set manually by using the newer <dir> and <bdo> attributes. See the Right-to-Left Alignment Tips page for more details.
In some cases, your best options may be to use PDF files or image files. See the Web Development Tips section for more details.
Computers process text by assuming a certain encoding or a system of matching electronic data with visual text characters. Whenever you develop a Web site you need to make sure the proper encoding is specified in the header tags; otherwise the browser may default to U.S. settings and not display the text properly.
To declare an encoding, insert or inspect the following meta-tag at the top of your HTML file, then replace "???" with one of the encoding codes listed above. If you are not sure, use utf-8 as the encoding.
Generic Encoding Template
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=??? ">
...
<head>Declare Unicode
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8 ">
...
<head>
The final close slash must be included after the final quote mark in the encoding header tag if you are using XHTML
Declare Unicode in XHTML
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
...
<head>
If no encoding is declared, then the browser uses the default setting, which in the U.S. is typically Latin-1. In that case many Unicode characters could be displayed incorrectly. Also, older browsers such as Netscape 4.7 may not be able to process the entity codes correctly without the "utf-8" declaration.
Language tags are also suggested so that search engines and screen readers parse the language of a page. These are metadata tags which indicate the language of a page, not devices to trigger translation. Visit the Language Tag page to view information on where to insert it.
Although most educated speakers learn to read, write and speak in the same Modern Standard Arabic or fusha (a form similar to the Classical Arabic used in the Koran), the spoken or colloquial varieties from each region vary widely. The variation is enough that linguists classify the totality of these forms as a series of closely related languages.
One local form which is written is Maltese Arabic from the island of Malta. Malta is formally a part of the European Union and uniquely uses the Western Roman alphabet. It's grammar has diverged further than some of the other forms of Arabic, but shares similarities with North African Arabic forms.
See the Maltese page for additional information writing the accents.
The use of Colloquial Arabic in formal writing is used for most formal publications, but can be found in some television dramas, local poems and local plays. If you are transcribing one of these forms, then it is recommended that one of the following language tags be used.
The following codes, as implemented by Microsoft, assume there is one variety of Arabic per country. The advantage of these codes is that there are utilities such as spell checkers which may be available, however there are colloquial forms which do not conform to national boundaries.
Note: The Subsaharan African codes have not been implemented by Microsoft.
These ISO-639-3 codes from SIL codes are meant to match linguistic classification of the Colloquial Arabic forms and do not always match national boundaries.
| Name | Code | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Algerian | arq | Algeria |
| Algerian Saharan | aao | Algeria (minority language) |
| Babalia Creole Arabic | bbz | Chad (minority language) |
| Baharna Arabic | abv | Bahrain |
| Chadian Arabic | shu | Chad |
| Cypriot Arabic | acy | Cyprus (minority language) |
| Dhofari Arabic | adf | Oman (Salala) |
| Egyptian | arz | Egypt |
| Egyptian (Eastern) Bedawi | avl | Sinai (Bedouin), Gaza, Red Sea coast |
| Gulf Arabic | afb | Persian Gulf (Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen. Zubair & Fau Peninsula |
| Hadrami | ayh | Yemen, minority language |
| Hijazi Arabic | acw | Saudi Arabia, Red Sea coast |
| Levantine (South) | ajp | Jordan, Palestine, Israel, Kuwait |
| Levantine (North) | apc | Syria, Lebanon |
| Mesopotamian | acm | Iraq, eastern Jordan/Syria, western Iran, Turkey |
| Mesopotamian (North) | ayp | Tigris & Euphrates north of Baghdad |
| Moroccan | ary | Morocco |
| Nadji | ars | Saudi Arabia |
| Omani Arabic | acx | Oman, Hajar Mountains |
| Saidi Arabic | aec | Southern Egypt |
| Sanaani | ayn | Northern Yemen |
| Standard | arb | Formal written standard |
| Sudanese | apd | Sudan |
| Sudanese Creole Arabic | pga | Southern Sudan (minority language) |
| Tai'izzi-Adeni | acq | Yemen, except east |
| Tajiki Arabic | abh | Afghanistan (minority language) |
| Tunisian Arabic | aeb | Tunisia |
| Uzbeki Arabic | auz | Uzbekistan (Central Asia), minority language |
These Web sites provide additional information on developing Right-to-Left Pages.
