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Uncertain; Rubin posits that this is a reduced form of the lost singular of Arabicأُولَى(ʔulā, “these”); compare rare Hebrewאֵל(el, “these”) and Akkadian𒌌𒇻𒌑𒌝(ullûm, “that”). In this hypothesis, original initial /u/ would be lost due to low stress; the initial /a/ found in phrase-initial position would thus be prothetic.[1]
The /l/ of this prefix assimilates to and geminates the first letter of the base word when it begins with a traditionally-coronal consonant, natively called sun letters: ت(t), ث(ṯ), د(d), ذ(ḏ), ر(r), ز(z), س(s), ش(š), ص(ṣ), ض(ḍ), ط(ṭ), ظ(ẓ), ل(l), and ن(n). This does not traditionally include ج(j), as its original pronunciation was palatal rather than coronal, but in regions where it is pronounced /d͡ʒ ~ ʒ/ it can be found assimilating the definite article as well. The ل(l)’s assimilation is not observed by the article's spelling, which is invariably ال(al-); however, in fully vocalised texts, a shadda is written over the following sun letter to reflect gemination.
The initial vowel a- is only pronounced when the article occurs either after a pause, at the beginning of an utterance, or after the preposition مِنْ(min). Otherwise, the article consists solely of the coronal consonant preceded by the final vowel of the previous word; if this previous word is consonant-final, then i is used as a linking vowel.
Tekin, Talât (1988) Volga Bulgar kitabeleri ve Volga Bulgarcası [Volga Bulgarian Ephitaphs and Volga Bulgarian Language] (in Turkish), Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, →ISBN, pages 90-91, 144-145, 198
Baart, Joan L. G. (1997) “al”, in The sounds and tones of Kalam Kohistani: with wordlist and texts (Studies in Languages of Northern Pakistan; 1), National Institute of Pakistan Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University; Summer Institute of Linguistics, page 77
The article in fact consists solely of the consonant /l/, which is assimilated to the same onsets as in Standard Arabic (see above). Following the usage note there, some speakers extend this process of assimilation to the now-coronal ج(j/ʒ/).
An epenthetic linking vowel is added as phonotactically necessary, be it before the article or after, in order to avoid a three-consonant cluster. Note that its notation with a schwa is not meant to represent IPA , as its actual value varies between /i~e~o/ depending on context:
النص المكتوب ― n-naṣṣ əl-maktūb ― the written text
الكتاب المقدس ― lə-ktāb lə-mʾaddas ― the Holy Book, i.e. the Bible
Assimilation is optionally ignored when the article precedes a consonant cluster where the initial consonant would normally trigger assimilation, as the epenthetic vowel separates them if it appears:
الولاد الصغار ― lə-wlād lə-ṣḡār ― the small children
Etymology 2
Reduction of the definite relative pronoun اللي(lli) or its alternative form لي(li).
Although this contraction is superficially identical to the definite article, some speakers do not assimilate it to a following coronal, allowing the two to be told apart in this context. Other speakers do, such as Said Akl in the reading linked from the quote above.
Phonemically, the article consists solely of the consonant /l/, which is assimilated to the same onsets as in Standard Arabic (see above), with some speakers extending the assimilation to the now-coronal ج(j/ʒ/). While the epenthetic vowel may be added before or after in order to avoid problematic consonant clusters, different speakers may be more or less tolerant of these clusters; those who tolerate an initial two-consonant cluster may not insert the vowel before /l/, meaning the article may be virtually inaudible in cases that the /l/ is assimilated.
الميّالباردة ― (i)l-mayy (i)l-bārde ― the cold water
Assimilation is optionally ignored when the article precedes a consonant cluster where the initial consonant would normally trigger assimilation, as the epenthetic vowel separates them if it appears:
الزلمةالزغير ― (i)z-zalame li-zḡīr ― the small man
