Table of the Chief Sounds Represented in the Government System of Transliteration
| a | = | short u, as in “bun.” |
| á | = | broad a, as in “mast.” |
| i | = | short i, as in “bin.” |
| í | = | ee, as in “oblique.” |
| e | = | a, as in “male.” |
| o | = | long o, as in “note.” |
| u | = | short oo, as in “foot.” |
| ú | = | long oo, as in “boot.” |
| q | = | guttural k. |
| kh | = | ch, as in “loch.” |
| gh | = | guttural r, not used in English. |
| ’ | = | the Arabic letter ’ain, a guttural not used in English. |