On Sun, 30 Sep 2001, Philipp Reichmuth wrote:
> >> This includes 'Subscript Alef' and 'Turned Damma' (Ulta Pesh), used in
> >> Iran and Pakistan;
>
> MMA> I think these are also used in Arab countries, because even my Arabic teacher
> MMA> who's from Syria referred to this "ulta pesh" as a "Koranic sign".
>
> Hm, as far as I understand it, it is mainly used as a calligraphic
> sign in Arab-speaking countries and carries no phonetic or
> recitational information of its own. I've checked through my own
> copies of the Qur'an briefly, but as far as I can see, it's used only
> in calligraphic script as an ornamental sign. Since Qur'anic verses
> tend to be rather ornately decorated, the association with the Qur'an
> appears quite straightforward. On the other hand, all of my copies are
> printed (says something already) either in Egypt or Sudan, so they
> need not be representative.
At least not in the Korans I've seen. In those, Turned Damma is clearly
used to mark an /u:/ sound when a Waw is not there (and only that). It is
not an ornament in any way. I'm talking about Iranian Korans.
roozbeh
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