| Description | This system, adapted from the Board on Geographic Names, is
the Intelligence Community (IC) standard for the
transliteration of Arabic names that will be applied to all
final written reports and products for IC consumers. It is
not intended to eliminate variations of a name that can
contribute forensic information. Rather, it is to provide
an IC standard Romanized (English) transliteration from
modern standard Arabic that can then be linked to forensic
information in ways that will help identify the referent of
the name. Ambiguities can result from the Romanization of
Arabic names because the Arabic source generally omits
short vowel markings, double consonant marks, and other
diacritics that would clearly distinguish the name.
Linguists use their experience with the language and aids
such as on-line tools and name dictionaries to determine
the exact Arabic and the appropriate transliteration into
the Roman alphabet. In cases where an individual's name has
already been transliterated, that is to be indicated -- as
found -- in parentheses immediately following its rendition
in the transliteration standard (e.g., Muhammad Khulud (
Mohamed Khulood)). In addition, if the original Arabic-
script spelling is known, that spelling should also appear
in parentheses following the name, if possible, following
best practices of the issuing organization and taking into
consideration information system capabilities. This
convention is designed to ensure that vital forensic
information is not lost. For names of persons who are known
to not be part of the Arabic-speaking community, use the
relevant IC transliteration standard for names from that
language (e.g., Mikhail, Yitzhak). A translator’s note may
be used to clarify the known origin of the person. Spell
names of individuals from languages that are written in
Roman letters as they are spelled in those languages (e.g.,
George Clooney, Jorge Garcia, Georges Pompidou). In the
case of active senior government officials in the on-line
CIA World Factbook and the online directory of Chiefs of
State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments, the
spellings given in these on-line reference works should be
used in place of the IC Standard. For any individual who
has at one time been listed in the Factbook or Chiefs of
State directory but who no longer appears in those
resources (i.e. is no longer a government official), the IC
Standard spelling should appear first, with the spelling,
if known, as it previously appeared in those resources
listed within parentheses at the first usage. The primary
goal of this system is to produce a consistent Romanized
transcription of the name that is readable to the non-
specialist. The system uses the 26 letters of the standard (
English) Roman alphabet plus the apostrophe. Some
ambiguities in the Romanized form will occur without the
use of diacritics. However, within the context of a report,
where additional information about the individual is
provided, the referent will be clearly identified. This
system will be used in conjunction with on-line tools, name
dictionaries, and lists containing conventional spellings
of names of well-known individuals.
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