The letter “B” in Tunisian Arabic

Tunisian Arabic speakers use the letter B in both the Latin (as written in this sentence) and Arabic scripts. In the Arabic script the name of this letter is باء, and at a basic level (without connecting it to another letter or adding a diacritic) it appears as:

ب

In this article we will study the use of the letter B in Tunisian Arabic. And if you wish to study the letters “A” & “C” access the IBL articles, The letter “A” in Tunisian Arabic & The letter “C” in Tunisian Arabic.

Different diacritics & pronunciations of B

When writing in Standard Arabic (Fos7a / فصحى) it’s customary to assign one of three diacritics to the letter B (ب)—Doing so gives the letter a distinguished pronunciation. (see recording below of all three pronunciations)

• بَ (Ba) — Fat7a / فتحة
• بُ (Bou) — Dhamma / ضمة
• بِ (Bi) — Kasrah / كسره

Although the given diacritic (one of the three above) is considered correct in the Arabic language, the vast majority of Tunisian Arabic speakers don’t include the diacritic when writing using the Arabic script. (They have knowledge of its pronunciation through early education and experience over time) And as may be imagined, when a word is written in the Latin script the vowels -a, -ou, or i follows which communicates the pronunciation. So in a real way, the vowels -a, -ou, and -i represent the diacritic.

IBL Contributor, Nada A., speaks Ba / بُ, Bou / بَ & Bi / بِ:

The letter B in words

Like the letter B in English, B / باء is common in Tunisian Arabic. Here are examples of its use:

B as the first letter in nouns

• Onion — Bsal / بصل 
• Rooms — Byout / بيوت
• Banya / بنية

Nada pronounces Bsal, Byout & Banya:

B as the first letter in verbs

• Sold — Be3 / باع
• Cried — Bka / بكى
• Kissed — Bes / باس

(A note that like all dialects of Arabic, the spellings of verbs vastly vary based on the tense (past, future & present) and also the subject (I, You, You plural, etc.) To learn more about how verbs conjugate in Tunisian Arabic access the IBL guide: How verbs function in Tunisian Arabic)

Nada pronounces Be3, Bka & Bes:

B in the middle of words

• Before — 9bal / قبل
• Big — Kbir / كبير
• Bread — Khobz / خبز

Nada pronounces 9bal, Kbir, & Khobz:

B as the first letter in names

• Badr / بدر (masculine)
• Basma / بسمة (feminine)
• Baya / بية (feminine)

Nada pronounces Badr, Basma & Baya:

Words that have B as the last letter

When B is at the end of a word, if writing in Fos7a, it uses the diacritic Soukoun / سُكُون which appears like a little circle above the letter — بْ. But in Tunisian Arabic, when writing using the Arabic script, like most diacritics, the Soukoun is usually not written. (But it’s still acknowledged in pronunciation)

Here are three examples of Tunisian Arabic words that end in ب that use the Soukoun in pronounciation:

• Door – Beb / باب
• Book – Kteb / كتاب
• Soil – Trab / تراب

Nada pronounces Beb, Kteb & Trab:

• Bicycle (Bike) — Beskla / بسكلة (In French, Bicyclette)
• Boutique (Shop or Store) — Boutique / بوتيك (In French, it’s the same spelling)
• Good job! (Well done) — Bravo! / !برافو (In French, it’s the same spelling)

Nada pronounces Beskla, Boutique & Bravo!:

 

In closing

Bravo alik on studying the alphabet that Tunisian Arabic speakers use to communicate—This will assist you in building a stronger and more practical knowledge of Tunisian Arabic. Remember that there are IBL articles written on the letters A & C: The letter “A” in Tunisian Arabic & The letter “C” in Tunisian Arabic. And if you wish to study and learn common phrases in Tunisian Arabic there is the extensive IBL article: 100 two- and three- word statements in Tunisian Arabic. (which includes recordings)

As always, we wish you a marvellous journey!