Question

Assalamu alaykum and thank you for your help. The reading sign shows that the word for "I" in the Qur'an,  should be read "ana." One grammar book of mine also reinforces this point. However, several other books—including dictionaries--transliterate the word as "anaa." Meanwhile, virtually all native speakers I met say "anaa." I would highly appreciate your input on that matter.

Answer

Wa alaikum assalaam wa rahmatu Allahi wa barakatuhu, and you are most welcome.  The word  is read without the alif on the end of the word when continuing on and not stopping on this word.  This means what is read is the hamzah
( ) with a fat-h and the  with a fat-h.  This would correspond to the transliteration of ‘ana’. When stopping on the word  however, the alif is established and read after the and its fat-h, corresponding to the transliteration, ‘anaa’.