Editing Apostrophe (section)

===Use in transliteration===
In [[transliteration|transliterated]] foreign words, an apostrophe may be used to separate letters or syllables that otherwise would likely be interpreted incorrectly. For example:
*in the [[Arabic (language)|Arabic]] word {{transliteration|ar|[[mus'haf]]}}, a transliteration of {{lang|ar|rtl=yes|مصحف}}, the syllables are as in ''mus·haf'', not ''mu·shaf''
*in the Japanese name ''[[Shin'ichi]]'', the apostrophe shows that the pronunciation is ''shi·n·i·chi'' ([[hiragana]] {{nihongo2|しんいち}}), where the letters ''n'' ({{nihongo2|ん}}) and ''i'' ({{nihongo2|い}}) are separate [[mora (linguistics)|morae]], rather than ''shi·ni·chi'' ({{nihongo2|しにち}}).
*in the Chinese [[Pinyin]] romanization, the apostrophe ({{char|'}}, {{linktext|隔音符號}}, géyīn fúhào, 'syllable-dividing mark') is used before a syllable starting with a vowel (''a'', ''o'', or ''e'') in a multiple-syllable word when the syllable does not start the word (which is most commonly realized as {{IPA|[ɰ]}}), unless the syllable immediately follows a [[hyphen]] or other dash.<ref name="apostrophes">{{cite web |url=http://www.pinyin.info/romanization/hanyu/apostrophes.html |title=Apostrophes in Hanyu Pinyin: When and where to use them|access-date=20 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100731010900/http://www.pinyin.info/romanization/hanyu/apostrophes.html |archive-date=31 July 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> This is done to remove ambiguity that could arise, as in ''[[Xi'an]]'', which consists of the two syllables ''{{lang|zh-latn-pinyin|xi}}'' ("{{zh|c=西|labels=no}}") ''{{lang|zh-latn-pinyin|an}}'' ("{{zh|c=安|labels=no}}"), compared to such words as ''{{lang|zh-latn-pinyin|xian}}'' ("{{zh|c=先|labels=no}}"). (This ambiguity does not occur when tone marks are used: The two tone marks in ''{{lang|zh-latn-pinyin|Xīān}}'' unambiguously show that the word consists of two syllables. However, even with tone marks, the city is usually spelled with an apostrophe as ''{{lang|zh-latn-pinyin|Xī'ān}}''.)
Furthermore, an apostrophe may be used to indicate a [[glottal stop]] in transliterations. For example:
*in the Arabic word {{transliteration|ar|[[Qur'an]]}}, a common transliteration of (part of) {{lang|ar|rtl=yes|القرآن}} ''al-qur'ān'', the apostrophe corresponds to the diacritic [[Arabic diacritics#Maddah|maddah]] over the {{transliteration|ar|italic=no|[['alif]]}}, one of the letters in the [[Arabic alphabet]].  An {{transliteration|ar|italic=no|[['alif]]}} by itself would indicate the long vowel {{transliteration|ar|italic=no|[[ā]]}}, and the {{transliteration|ar|italic=no|maddah}} adds a glottal stop.
Rather than {{char|ʿ}} ([[modifier letter left half ring]]), the apostrophe is sometimes used to indicate a [[voiced pharyngeal fricative]] as it sounds and looks like the glottal stop to most English speakers. For example:
*in the Arabic word {{transliteration|ar|[[Ka'aba]]}} for {{lang|ar|rtl=yes|الكعبة}} {{transliteration|ar|al-kaʿbah}}, the apostrophe corresponds to the Arabic letter {{transliteration|ar|italic=no|[[Ayin#Arabic ʿayn|ʿayn]]}}.
Finally, in "scientific" transliteration of Cyrillic script, the apostrophe usually represents the [[soft sign]] {{char|ь}}, though in "ordinary" transliteration it is usually omitted. For example,  
* "The [[Ob River]] (Russian: Обь), also Ob', is a major river in western Siberia."