The letter “E” in Tunisian Arabic
In Tunisian Arabic the letter “E” is a regular letter used amongst Tunisian Arabic speakers when writing using the Latin script. When writing using the Arabic script this letter appears as the Alef (أ or إِ) at the start of words, or if in the middle of a word, to assist with pronunciation.
In this article we’ll explore more about how the E is used in Tunisian Arabic. For more information on what Tunisian Arabic is, access the IBL article: What is Tunisian Arabic? And this article is part of an IBL series on the letters that Tunisian Arabic speakers use to write. Here is: The letter “D” in Tunisian Arabic.
E at the start of words
When the letter E is at the start of a word it’s represented by one of these two Alef:
- أَ = Alef with Fat7a / فتحة diacritic (Known as a Chakel / شكل)
- إِ = Alef with Kasra / كسره diacritic (Also known as a Chakel / شكل)
Although the E at the start of a word can be represented with either Alef with Fat7a (أَ) or Alef with Kasra (إِ), the Alef with Fat7a could also be represented by A (E.g., Ar9am / أرقام “Numbers”) or 2 and the Alef with Kasra could also be represented by an I (E.g., Ija / ايجا “Come”, in the imperative form).
Some additional notes:
- The Alef can appear in the middle of a word at times but would not be represented in the Latin script with the letter E—Most commonly it’s represented with “2”. (E.g., Mas2la / مسألة (“Math problem”))
- When Tunisian Arabic writers write the above (أَ and إِ) the actual diacritic (i.e., Fat7a or Kasra) is almost never written. But their effect is still present—It’s as if the diacritic is hidden. What is usually written instead is أ or إ. (If you look closely there is a diacritic above and below the Hamza in the two foregoing Alefs, respectively) This is in contrast to Standard Arabic (Fos7a / فصحى) which is known for all letters in a word to have a diacritic. More broadly, what is happening is that Tunisians are educated in Fos7a so are familiar with the use of Arabic diacritics, but most, when writing to each other in Tounsi using the Arabic script, omit most or all of the conventional Arabic diacritics. (Likely to communicate a given message faster)
IBL contributor, Aroua F., pronounces أَ and إِ:
In the rest of this section we’ll explore different uses of E / أ at the start of words.
Three words that start with E / أ:
- Ey / إي (“Yes“) (With the Kasra — إِي)
- Ena / أنا (“I“) (With the Fat7a — أَنا)
- Enehou / أناهو (“Which one?”, in the masculine-form) (With the Fat7a — أَناهو)
Aroua F. pronounces Ey, Ena & Enehou:
Three verb, imperatives that start with E / أ:
The only Alef that appears at the start of imperative-form words is the Alef with the Kasra (إِ).
- Ekteb / اكتب (“Write”)
- Elbes / البس (“Dress”)
- Ezreb / ازرب (“Faster”)
A note that E / أ does have a tendency to show up a lot in imperative-form verbs.
Aroua F. pronounces Ekteb, Elbes & Ezreb:
Three adjectives that start with E / أ:
Like imperative words, the only Alef that appears at the start of adjective-based words is the one with the Kasra (إِ).
- Entiwe2i / انطوائي (“Introverted”) (With the Kasra — اِنطوائي)
- Esteghleli / استغلالي (“Exploitive”) (With the Kasra — اِستغلالي)
- Estiwe2i / استوائي (“Tropical”) (With the Fat7a — أَستوائي)
Aroua F. pronounces Entiwe2i, Esteghleli & Estiwe2i:
Three names that start with E / أ:
Unlike imperatives and adjectives, the only Alef that appears at the start of names is the Alef with the Kasra (إِ) (The same letter that appears in words like Ey / إي.
- Emin (Amine) / أمين (masculine) (With the Fat7a — أَمين)
- Emna / أمنة (feminine) (With the Fat7a — أَمنة)
- Eya / اية (feminine)
Aroua F. pronounces Emin, Emna & Eya:
French derived words
Many words in Tunisian Arabic are derivatives of French: Whether identically spelled using the Latin script or with slight modifications to have their spellings fit conventional Arabic.
Here are three Tounsi words that start with E / أ and are derived from French:
- Etage / ايتاج (“Floor”)
- Espace / اسباس (“Space“)
- Etape / ايتاب (“Step”, in the context of a process)
Aroua F. pronounces Etage, Espace & Etape:
The letter E in the middle of words
As mentioned in the introduction notes of this article the letter “e” also shows up in words to assist in the pronunciation of syllables. Note that when this occurs, the Alef / أ, nor any Arabic letter, is used. What is actually occurring is that conventionally there is one of the three Chakel / شكل (Again, the Dhamma / ضمة, Fat7a / فتحة or Kasra / كسرة) that is accompanying a particular letter and when the word is written using the Latin script, Tunisian Arabic speakers represent this diacritic with the letter “e”. But again, often when Tunisian Arabic speakers write using the Arabic script they omit the diacritics (they are treated as hidden—They still have effect but aren’t written / seen).
Let’s use the example of the Tunisian Arabic word Nokhrej / نخرج. (the verb, “Leave“, in the I form) As you can see Nokhrej uses the letter “e”. In the Arabic script this Latin script 7 letter word has four letters:
- ن = N
- خ = Kh
- ر = R
- ج = J
So it’s reasonable to ask: Where is the “e”? The word نخرج is actually conventionally written as نخرُج. Note the diacritic (In Arabic this is called a Chakel / شكل) Dhamma / ضمة above the ر. And it’s this diacritic that gives the “e” (and contributes to the pronunciation) in Nokhrej. But as noted above, usually (but not necessarily always) if you see a Tunisian Arabic speaker write this word in the Arabic script they will omit the diacritic (it becomes hidden, as mentioned), so that the word simply becomes نخرج.
In addition to Nokhrej / نخرج which conventionally uses the diacritic Dhamma / ضمة, here are two additional words that use the Fat7a / فتحة and Kasra / كسرة:
- Fat7a example = Beb / باب (With the diacritic, بَاب) (“Door“)
- Kasra example = Zarbeya / زربِية (With the diacritic, زربيّة) (“Carpet“)
Note that in the word Beb / باب the ا is called the Alef mad / ألف مدّ (see the next section below) and is used in words to make a pronunciation longer.
Aroua F. pronounces Nokhrej, Beb & Zarbeya:
The Alef mad / ألف مدّ
The Alef mad is an Arabic letter that is used to prolong a pronunciation. In a word like Beb / باب, the Alef mad (ا) is actually creating a longer e / ا sound when spoken.
Three words that use the Alef mad:
Aroua F. pronounces Biben, Telifoun & Kes:
In closing
Studying the letters that Tunisian Arabic speakers use to construct and pronounce words will assist you greatly in understanding the Arabic dialect. If you want to start from the beginning of this IBL series here is the article: The letter “A” in Tunisian Arabic. If you’re interested in studying a different Tunisian Arabic topic here is an IBL article on how time functions: Time in Tunisian Arabic. And there is also the IBL catalog list—Tunisian Arabic: Constructing Phrases (Level 1) which provides approximately 100 principal translations (with recordings) and over 400 examples of the principal words used in sentences and statements.
We wish you continued enjoyment in learning Tunisian Arabic.
And as always, we wish you a marvellous journey!
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