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There are several differences in pronunciation between Standard Arabic and Tunisian Arabic . Nunation does not exist in Tunisian Arabic, and short vowels are frequently omitted, especially if they would occur as the final element of an open syllable , which was probably encouraged by the Berber substratum . ^{[1] [2]}

However, there are some more specific characteristics related to Tunisian Arabic like the phenomenon of metathesis . ^[2]

Metathesis [ edit ]

Metathesis is the shift of the position of the first vowel of the word. ^{[2] [3]} It occurs when the unconjugated verb or unsuffixed noun begins with CCVC, where C is an ungeminated consonant and V is a short vowel. ^{[2] [3] [4]} When a suffix is added to this kind of noun or when the verb is conjugated, the first vowel changes of position and the verb or noun begins with CVCC. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

For example:

• (he) wrote in Tunisian Arabic becomes ??? kt i b and (she) wrote in Tunisian Arabic becomes ???? k i tbit . ^[2]
• some stuff in Tunisian Arabic becomes ??? db a ? and my stuff in Tunisian Arabic becomes ???? d a b?? . ^[2]

Stress [ edit ]

Stress is not phonologically distinctive ^[3] and is determined by the word's syllable structure. Hence,

• it falls on the ultimate syllable if it is doubly closed: ^[3] ????? sir w?l (trousers).
• Stress falls on all the word if there is only one syllable within it: ^[3] ??? m?a (woman).
• Affixes are treated as part of the word: ^[3] ???????? nikt b? lkum (we write to you).

For example:

• ???? j? bit (She brought). ^[3]
• ?? ????? m? j? bit? (She did not bring). ^[3]

Assimilation [ edit ]

Assimilation is a phonological process in Tunisian Arabic. ^[3] The possible assimilations are:

Phonemes [ edit ]

Consonants [ edit ]

Tunisian Arabic q?f has [ q ] and [ ? ] as reflexes in respectively sedentary and nomadic varieties: he said is [q?ːl] instead of [??ːl] ). However, some words have the same form [ ? ] whatever the dialect: cow is always [ba?ra] ^[5] (the /g/ deriving from an originally Arabic [q]), and a specific species of date is always [digla] ^[6] (the /g/ deriving from an originally Semitic [q] - e.g. Aramaic : /diqla/: date tree).

Interdental fricatives are also maintained for several situations, except in the Sahil dialect. ^[7]

Furthermore, Tunisian Arabic merged / d? / ⟨ ? ⟩ with / ð? / ⟨ ? ⟩ . ^[8]

Phonetic notes:

• /p/ and /v/ are found in borrowed words and are usually replaced by /b/, like in ????r and ??la . However, they are preserved in some words, like p?s?n and talvza . ^[3]
• /t??/ and /d?z/ are rarely used, for example t???a , dz??a and dz?yir . ^[9]
• Like in Standard Arabic , shadda " gemination " is very likely to occur in Tunisian. For example, ha dd ad ??? meaning to threaten. ^[3]

Vowels [ edit ]

• Unlike other Maghrebi dialects, ^{[ citation needed ]} short u and i are reduced to [o] and [e] when written between two consonants unless when they are in stressed syllables. ^{[10] [11]}

Syllables and pronunciation simplification [ edit ]

As well as those characteristics, Tunisian Arabic is also known for differently pronouncing words according to their orthography and position within a text. ^{[12] [13]} This phenomenon is known as pronunciation simplification ^[14] and has four rules:

• [iː] and [?], at the end of a word, are pronounced [i] and [uː]. Also, [u] is pronounced [u] and [aː]. [?ː], [a] and [æ] are pronounced [æ]. ^{[15] [16]} For example, y?bd? is practically pronounced as [jiːbdæ] ^{[17] [18]}
• If a word finishes with a vowel and the next word begins with a short vowel, the short vowel and the space between the two words are not pronounced ( Elision ). ^{[2] [19]}
• If a word begins with two successive consonants, an epenthetic [?] is added at the beginning. ^[17]

References [ edit ]