The letter “A” in Tunisian Arabic
The letter “A” is a regularly used letter in Tunisian Arabic, both when used in the Latin script and in the Arabic script.
Using the Arabic script the letter appears as:
- Alef = أ
- Alef ma9soura = ى
A & Alef
In Tunisian Arabic, the Arabic letter Alef is the regular Alef (ا) with a Hamza (ء) above it.
IBL Contributor, Nada A., pronounces the Alef (أ):
In Tunisian Arabic the Latin letter A and the Alef are common:
- with adjectives in the comparative & superlative forms
- with verbs in the imperative form
- with names of countries
Adjectives in the comparative & superlative forms
The Latin letter A and the Arabic letter Alef (أ) appear in many comparative and superlative adjectives in Tounsi. Here are some examples:
- Closer : A9rab / أقرب (El a9rab / الأقرب is “Closest”)
- Stronger : A9wa / أقوى (El a9wa / أقوى is “Strongest”)
- Younger : Asghar / أصغر (El asghar / أصغر is “Youngest”)
Nada pronounces A9rab, A9wa & Asghar:
Here is a sample sentence:
“Which restaurant is closer?” is translated as Ama restaurant a9rab? / أما رستوران أقرب؟
Nada A. pronounces Ama restaurant a9rab?:
Adjectives in the imperative form
In grammar, imperative verbs are command-like. (Statements like, “Run faster!”, “Hold this.”, “Stop your exams.”, all use imperative form verbs.)
The Latin letter A and the Arabic letter Alef show up in many imperative form verbs in Tunisian Arabic. Here are three examples:
- Throw – Armi / أرمي
- Read – A9ra / أقرى
- Give – A3ti / أعطي
Nada A. speaks Armi, A9ra & A3ti:
A note that when moving away from an imperative form verb and beginning to conjugate it based on the subject (who is doing the action—I, You, You, plural, etc.), the A and Alef are no longer the first letters of the words. For more information on how verbs work in Tunisian Arabic see the IBL guide, How verbs function in Tunisian Arabic.
As a statement example, “Give me the phone.” is translated as A3tini el telifoun. / .أعطيني التليفون
Nada A. pronounces A3tini el telifoun:
With countries
And the Latin letter A and the Arabic letter Alef show up in names of many countries. Here are three examples:
- United States – America / أمريكا
- Armenia – Armenia / أرمينيا
- Germany – Almanya – ألمانيا
Nada pronounces America, Armenia & Almanya:
As an example, “That family is from the United States.” is translated as El 3ayla heki men america. / .العايلة هاكي من أمريكا
Nada A. pronounces El 3ayla heki men america:
A & Alef ma9soura
In Arabic the Alef ma9soura is this letter ى. Using the Latin script it’s represented with the “A” too. It most commonly appears:
- with verbs in the past tense in the He form
- with people’s names
Nada speaks Alef ma9soura:
Past tense verbs in the He form
The Latin letter A and the Arabic letter Alef ma9soura (ى) commonly appear as the last letter with many verbs that in the past participle in the He form. (Again, to understand more about how verbs function in Tunisian Arabic reference this IBL guide)
Here are three examples:
- Went – Mcha / مشى
- Read – 9ra / قرى
- Built – Bna / بنى
Nada A. pronounces Mcha, 9ra, & Bna:
As a sample statement, “He went to the store.” is translated as Mcha lel 7anout. / .مشى للحانوت
Nada A. says Mcha lel 7anout:
With people’s names
And the Latin letter A and the Arabic letter Alef ma9soura (ى) show up in several Arabic first names. Here are three examples:
- Aroua / أروى (Note that in the name Aroua both the Alef (the first letter) and Alef ma9soura (the last letter) are used)
- Mouna /منى
- Nada /ندى
(Coincidentally, all three names above are the names of Tunisian contributors on the IBL project)
Nada A. pronounces Aroua, Mouna, & Nada:
As a sample statement, “Mouna will call them.” is translated as Taw tkallamhom Mouna. / .تو تكلمهم منى
Nada A. pronounces Taw tkallamhom Mouna:
Other uses of the Latin A in Tunisian Arabic
The Latin letter “a” shows up in many other Tunisian Arabic words where the Arabic Alef (أ) or Alef ma9soura isn’t used in its place when the word is written using the Arabic script.
Here are three examples:
Nada A. pronounces Karhaba, Ellila, & Ghodwa:
The Arabic letter Ta marbouta (ة) appears at the end of all three of these words (and many others in Tunisian Arabic) and so when learning this topic for the first time it’s easy to presume that the suffix -a is ة- when written using the Arabic script, however, that’s actually not what’s going on. The Arabic letter Ta marbouta (ة) comes from Standard Arabic (Fos7a / فصحى) and is actually silent when it’s used as a suffix. (i.e., ة-)
So then the question becomes: Where does that “ah” type sound come from? What is happening is that, again, based on Fos7a, there is a diactric on the last letter before the Ta marbouta (ة) in all cases called a Fat7a / فتحة that is gives the speakers the information to actually produce that “ah” sound. But, (and this is an important point in understanding this element of Tunisian Arabic) that diacrtic (the Fat7a) can be, but conventionally is not, written amongst Tunisian Arabic speakers.
So the Fat7a / فتحة diacritic is hidden:
- بَ in كرهبة
- لَ in اللّيلة
- وَ in غدوة
So if the above three words: Karhaba / كرهبة, Ellila / اللّيلة & Ghodwa / غدوة were written out using the Fat7a / فتحة, they would be written as:
- Karhaba = كرهبَة
- Ellila = اللّيلَة
- Ghodwa = غدوَة
As a sample statement, “We want to red that red car.” is translated as N7ebou nekriw el karhba el 7amra heki. / .نحبو نكريو الكرهبة الحمرة هاكي
Nada A. speaks N7ebou nekriw el karhba el 7amra heki:
In closing
Congratulations! / Mabrouk! By studying and learning the material in this article you’ve learned quite a bit about one of the common elements of Tunisian Arabic: The Latin letter A and its associated Arabic letters: Alef & Alef ma9soura. (And the diacritic Fat7a) If you’re finding it constructive to learn each letter that Tunisian Arabic speakers use, step-by-step, here is the next article in the series: A study: The letter “B” in Tunisian Arabic. You may also find it useful to read the IBL article: How to greet someone in Tunisian Arabic. (which includes recordings)
As always, we wish you a marvellous journey!
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