There are three primary sources for determining Arabic romanization. The Library of Congress romanization table provides a comprehensive treatment of Arabic romanization (also, for Judaeo-Arabic), while “A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic” is widely used for the study of the Arabic language by western audiences and is considered the standard Arabic-English dictionary of its genre. In the Arab World, “al-Munjid” is the standard Arabic-Arabic dictionary used.
When romanizing Arabic, LC follows the table, and in so doing adheres as closely as possible to classical Arabic. If there is still some doubt as to how a word should be romanized,” A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic is consulted first. Occasionally this source will supply two possibilities for romanizing the word. If so, the next step is to consult “al-Munjid“, accepting the first form found there if there is more than one form.
Hence, “A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic” is used as the basis for most romanization decisions that are not settled by the table, with “al-Munjid” serving as the final arbiter for persisting ambiguities.
This site provides lists of romanized forms of words that are commonly found in Arabic records, and which may present a challenge to the cataloger:
BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATIONS OF SOME STANDARD DICTIONARIES:
- A dictionary of modern written Arabic / Hans Wehr ; edited by J. Milton Cowan. — 3rd ed. — Ithaca, NY: Spoken Language Services, 1971.
- al-Munjid fī al-lughah wa-al-aʿlām / edited by Luwīs Maʿlūf. — al-Tabah 28. — Bayrut: Dār al-Mashriq, 1986.
- al-Mawrid: Qāmūs Inkilīzī-ʿArabī / Munīr al-Baʿlabakkī = al-Mawrid : a modern English-Arabic dictionary / by Munir Baalbaki. — Bayrūt: Dār al-ʿIlm lil-Malāyīn, 1986.
- al-Farāʾid al-durrīyah Arabi-Inkilizi / J.G. Hava = al-Faraid: Arabic-English dictionary — al-Tabah 3. — Bayrūt: Dār al-Mashriq, c1982.
- al-Farāʾid al-durrīyah Arabi-Inkilizi / J.G. Hava = al-Faraid: Arabic-English dictionary — al-Tabah 3. — Bayrūt: Dār al-Mashriq, c1982.
- المنجد في اللغة والأعلام \ تحقيق, لويس معلوف. الطبعة 28. — بيروت: راد المشرق, 1986
- المورد: قاموس إنكليزي – عربي \ منير البعلبكي. — بيروت: دار العلم للملايين, 1986
- الفرائد الدرية: عربي – إنكليزي \ ج. ج. هافاز. — الطبعة 3. — بيروت: دار المشرق, 1982
Last modified: Jan. 2020