On the Standardisation of Tunisian

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ON THE STANDARDISATION OF TUNISIAN 1

On the Standardisation of Tunisian

The case for a formal recognition of a Tunisian language

Jihëd G. MEJRISSI

League of Tunisian Humanists

Table of ContentsAbstract.................................................................................................................................................11.Introduction.......................................................................................................................................12.The Tunisian Languages!.................................................................................................................2

2.1 "hat is Tunisian#......................................................................................................................2 2.2 "hat is a Language#.................................................................................................................$%.The &ase 'or Standardising Tunisian.................................................................................................(

%.1.1 Tunisian and Arabic..........................................................................................................( %.1.2 "h) standardise Tunisian#.............................................................................................1* %.1.% +reser,ing the -anguage o' the /reat Arab Nation0 o' Is-a and o' the 3uran..........12

$.Transcribing Tunisian......................................................................................................................1% $.1 "hich Tunisian#.....................................................................................................................1% $.2 The STUNdard 4ethod..........................................................................................................1% $.% The STUNdared Ar-ette and A-ternati,e 4ethods..................................................................21

(.&o5arison and +otentia-s..............................................................................................................2$

6.&onc-usion.......................................................................................................................................27

Abstract

This essa) discusses the -inguistic situation o' Tunisia and 5resents t8o standardisationethods 'or Tunisian nae-) the STUNdard and the STUNdard Ar-ette ethods.

This docuent 8as 'irst 5ub-ished in Februar) 1(th 2*1$ and its current re,ision is that o'Februar) 1(th 2*1$. This docuent 8as 5roduced 8ith 'ree and o5en9source so't8are. The author:sateria- is re-eased under both the && ;<9SA %.* and the /FDL 1.%.

=e)8ords> Tunisian -anguage standardisation STUNdard

1. Introduction

Sii-ar-) to its North A'rican neighbours the -inguistic situation in Tunisia o8es uch to

the 5o-itica- socia- and re-igious 'actors. Since the +hoenician sett-eents in North A'rica

-inguistic ,arieties in the regions ha,e been absorbing e?terna- in'-uences@ Tunisian is not an

e?ce5tion. O''icia- recognition o' Tunisian as a -anguage 8as 'eared as it 8as deeed that it 8ou-d

a''ect the ro-es o' Is-a and its -iturgica- -anguage &-assica- Arabic hereina'ter re'erred to as

mailto:[email protected]







Arabic. As discussed in 4ERISSI 2*1%!>

These sae arguents are a-so echoed 8hen discussing the status o' AaBigh as aregiona- nationa- or an o''icia- -anguage in Tunisia and in other North A'rican States.Ne,erthe-ess Tunisian has been undergoing standardisation atte5ts b) Tunisian &i,i-Societ) and other inde5endent co5onents and its use in o''icia- counicationgradua--) continues to re5-ace Arabic.

2. The Tunisian Language(s)

2.1 What is Tunisian?

In genera- Tunisian re'ers to the grou5 o' -inguistic ,arieties s5oCen 8ithin the state o'

Tunisia. Tunisian is a 5art o' the North A'rican dia-ect continuu o' 8hich the ain characteristics

are the AaBigh Substrata the substantia- Arabic ,ocabu-ar) and the 4editerranean in'-uences.

This docuent and 'uture sii-ar 5ub-ications ade and 8i-- aCe use o' the 8ord Tunisian to

denote the -anguage rather than Tunisian Arabic0 due to the 'act that the re5etition o' the 8ord

Arabic each tie sees rather unnecessar) and a) be e,en is-eading. This is sii-ar to the

denoination o' 4a-tese> One does not sa) 4a-tese Arabic0 a-though 4a-tese can be 'u--)

understood b) Tunisians to the sae e?tent that 4oroccan is but rather si5-) 4a-tese. There is

5erha5s a sii-arit) 8ith the situation o' Roance -anguages> It 8ou-d see rather

inco5rehensib-e to state that one s5eaCs a S5anish dia-ect o' Latin or s5eaCs Ita-ian Latin.

Languages are usua--) attributed to the 5o-itica- entit) or the state 8here the) are s5oCen and so

shou-d the Tunisian -anguage be.

4uch -iCe in an) other 5art in the 8or-d an iense di,ersit) o' Tunisian -inguistic

,arieties e?ist. It is 5ossib-e ho8e,er to grou5 the into the 'o--o8ing re-ati,e-) hoogeneous

grou5s> one co5roising North Eastern dia-ects and the other co5roising North "estern

dia-ects and Southern dia-ects. Soe o' the ain di''erences bet8een the t8o grou5s are> The usage

o' the or g that in turn is natura--) in'-uenced b) a ,ariet) o' 'actors and -inguistic strata and



ON THE STANDARDISATION OF TUNISIAN %

the di''erence in the used second95erson singu-ar 5ronoun i.e. 8hether the sae 5ronoun is used 'or

both 'ea-e and a-e. Hence'orth 'or 5ractica- reasons the 'irst grou5 is re'erred to as the 39

dia-ects and the second 8ou-d be re'erred to as the /9dia-ects1

.

The 39dia-ects co5rise the /rand Tunis dia-ects the Sahe- dia-ects and the S'a? dia-ects.

The -atter is ho8e,er signi'icant-) di''erent 'ro the 'irst t8o in u-ti5-e as5ects nae-) in the

t)5e and -ength o' the used ,o8e-s and the treatent o' borro8ed 8ords. The /9dia-ects though

sharing the usage o' g instead o' are in their turn ,er) distinguishab-e. Natura--) Tunisian

North "estern dia-ects are c-ose to A-gerian North Eastern dia-ects and Tunisian South Easterndia-ects are re-ati,e-) c-ose to Lib)an "estern dia-ects. Tunisian South "estern dia-ects 8hi-e

reaining c-ose to South Eastern ones retain their o8n characteristics as 8e--.

On the other hand u-ti5-e -oca- dia-ects 8ithin the regions o' the 39dia-ects use the g

instead such as the o-d ;ouhar dia-ect or the TouBa dia-ect in the Sahe- region. The o55osite cou-d

a-so be 5ossib-e 'or /9dia-ect regions. Furtherore 8ords 8ith 0 a) e?ist in /9dia-ects regions

and the o55osite is correct as 8e--. For instance the nae o' the cit) /ebes0 8ou-d not be

5ronounced 3ebes0 b) a 5erson using an) o' the 39dia-ects. Sii-ar-) the nae o' the is-and

3arna0 8ou-d not be 5ronounced /argna0 in /9dia-ect regions. Other 8ords such as be-gde0

or be-gda0 8hich cou-d ean 8e-- are not 5ronounced in a di''erent 8a) in 39dia-ect regions.

This a) suggest that the 5resence o' the consonant g0 is 5rior to that o' the 0.

One o' the ost 5roinent 5roects that sought to a5 this di,ersit) 8as L:At-as

Linguistiue de Tunisie or The Linguistic At-as o' Tunisia b) Sa-ah 4eri Ta))eb ;aCCouch and

other.

1 This a) a-so be re-e,ant on the socia- -e,e-> Tunisia is sti-- characterised 8ith a high degree o' regiona-'ractiona-isation and the usage o' a 5articu-ar dia-ect a) suggest a 5articu-ar socia- or econoic bacCground.



ON THE STANDARDISATION OF TUNISIAN $

2.2 What is a Language?

The second ha-' o' the uestion that reains to be ans8ered is> "hat is a -anguage# To

ans8er this uestion one needs to e?aine the di''erence bet8een a -anguage and a dia-ect and

8hat ade soe dia-ects becoe -anguages.

Linguistica--) there is so 'ar no uni,ersa--) acce5tab-e de'inition or di''erentiation bet8een

a -anguage and a dia-ect. "hat aCes a dia-ect becoe a -anguage is a u-titude o' 'actors ost

i5ortant-) +o-itics there'ore the distinction is indeed subecti,e. Se,era- dia-ects under8ent

codi'ication through nuerous notab-e 5ub-ications and becae the de 'acto o''icia- standard o' the

-anguage. Arabic is not an e?ce5tion as 8hat is no8ada)s ca--ed Arabic 8as in 5erha5s a dia-ect

aong an) other that under8ent standardisation through the 3uran.

4andarin and &antonese are not utua--) inte--igib-e ho8e,er the 5o-itica- 8i-- decided

that the) are considered as dia-ects o' &hinese. The sae case a-so a55-ies 'or Arabic> A-though

4oroccan and Oani are not utua--) understandab-e 5o-itica- interests and +an9Arabist e''orts

decided that the) are dia-ects o' Arabic0. It a) be incorrect to consider this as a dig-ossia in the

sense o' se,era- dia-ects that steed 'ro a coon Arabic -anguage but 5erha5s o' c-ose

dia-ects in the anthro5o-inguistic sense that used Arabic as a standard -ingua 'ranca due to its

-iturgica- and again 5o-itica- status.

To su u5 an) -inguists 5articu-ar-) anthro5o-ogica- -inguists do not di''erentiate

bet8een a dia-ect and a -anguage. +erha5s one ru-e o' thub huorous ne,erthe-ess is the idio

5o5u-arised b) 4a? "einreich 8ho attributes to one o' his auditors> A -anguage is a dia-ect 8ith

an ar)0. Linguistic ,arieties are soeties regarded as dia-ects i' aong other the) do not ha,e

a standardised 'or and i' the) are not used in 5ub-ications.



ON THE STANDARDISATION OF TUNISIAN (

3. The Case for Standardising Tunisian

Ha,ing c-ari'ied both terino-ogies that o' Tunisian and that o' -anguage one 8ou-d e?5ect

that 8riting Tunisian 8ou-d be a rather 5-ain tasC. Ho8e,er an) 5articu-ar-) 5ersons 8ith +an9

Arab or +an9Is-aic a''inities ight cha--enge this 8ith a ,ariet) o' oti,ations and obections 'or

instance> "h)# Isn:t Tunisian a'ter a-- ust a dia-ect o' Arabic#0 8h) 8rite do8n a dia-ect 8hen

one can -earn Arabic#0 Isn:t it better to 5reser,e Arabic the -anguage o' the /reat Arab Nation0

o' Is-a and o' the 3uran#0 etc. The 'o--o8ing section 8ou-d seeC to coent these uestions.

3.1.1 Tunisian and Arabic

4an) 8ou-d o'ten tend to thinC that e,er)one in the o'ten9re'erred9to9as Arab countries02

s5eaCs Arabic id est &-assica- Arabic or 5erha5s a dia-ect o' Arabic0. This is 'urther co5-icated

b) the 'act that an) citiBens o' North A'rican and "est Asian states re'er to the ,ariet) o'

-anguages the) uses as Arabic0 uch -iCe 8hat the indigenous AaBigh 5o5u-ations o' North

A'rica o'ten re'er to their -inguistic ,arieties as TaaBight0 or AaBigh0 and rare-) use other

e?on)s such as Tari'it0 or Tashe-hit0. LEDD<9&E&ERE 2*1*! notes that c-aiing other8ise

8ou-d be tantaount to den)ing an Arab identit)0 a-together. Another reason 'or this a) be that

the adecti,e Arabic0 is current-) used in North A'rica to ean eithero-d0 or -oca-0 in contrast

to odern0 or not 'u--) ado5ted0 a di''erentiation that a) ha,e been accentuated b) the

Euro5ean co-onia- e''orts in the region. It ight ha,e a-so been initia--) used to ean 'oreign0> For

instance TurCish co''ee0 and Neo9+unic bathes0 are re'erred to res5ecti,e-) as Arabic co''ee0

and Arabic bathes0. These a) be re9borro8ed e?5ressions 'ro Euro5ean -anguages that ha,e

2 The ter Arab countries0 is 5erha5s one o' the ost coon )et abiguous terino-ogies in the region.+o-itica--) it re'ers to countries that are ebers o' the League o' Arab States0 8hich in turn is se-ecti,e about8hat a) ua-i') as Arab0 as not a-- countries 8here Arabic is an o''icia- -anguage are ebers 'or e?a5-e&had or Israe-. It a) a-so re'er to countries 8here a aorit) o' citiBens identi') these-,es as Arabs 8hetherethnica--) or -inguistica--) a-though this aorit) is assued not accounted. The ter Arabic9s5eaCing countries0a) soeties 5resent abiguities and a) e,en be incorrect in certain conte?ts> No countr) in the 8or-d usesArabic i.e. &-assica- Arabic or 4odern Standard Arabic as a -anguage 'or its dai-) usage. On the other hand i'8hat is eant b) Arabic9s5eaCing countries0 is 5erha5s countries 8here an a--eged Arabic dia-ect0 is s5oCen

then this de'inition -ea,es out u-ti5-e regions 'or instance the state o' 4a-ta. There is there'ore a need to re'rain'ro ethnic or -inguistic c-assi'ications and use geogra5hic or other ore neutra- terino-ogies.





ON THE STANDARDISATION OF TUNISIAN

8ou-d ost -iCe-) not read Dhahaba Ain i-a:-adrasati.0 a 5hrase in Arabic eaning Ain

8ent to schoo-0 )et Dhehebe Ein i-e:-adreseti0 8ith the a0 reaining on-) in soe 5ro5er

naes and a 'e8 structures. In Tunisian the 5hrase becoes En che -e-adrsa0 8ith the a-e'

co5-ete-) disa55earing in the beginning o' the 8ords again reaining on-) in soe 5ro5er

naes%. As it can a-so be seen 'ro the 5re,ious e?a5-e the Jerb9Subect9Obect structure 'ound

in Arabic does not e?ist in Tunisian but is instead or5hed into a Subect9Jerb9Obect

construction. These di''erences and u-ti5-e other are ost-) due to the AaBigh substrata aCing

Tunisian 5erha5s the ,er) )oung descendant o' a se,era-9hundred9)ear o-d 5idgin -anguage that has

since been arabised due to the substantia- usage o' Arabic as the -iturgica- -anguage o' Is-a. These

'ors o' +roto9Tunisian dia-ects a) ha,e eerged as 5idgin -anguages bet8een the indigenous

AaBigh 5o5u-ations and the ne8 Arab co-onisers and sett-ers@ -ater undergoing creo-isation or

Coineisation and gradua--) under a hea,) Arabisation 5rocess soeties carried out b) the

AaBigh these-,es as eans 'or 5o-itica- ru-e oti,ated b) the Is-a $ and 8ith the constant

contact 8ith other Roance -anguages it ga,e rise to current dia-ects o' Tunisia. This ,ie8 is a-so

suggested in JERSTEE/H 17K$! 8here the author 'o--o8s a -anguage restructuring 5ers5ecti,e

to ,ie8 cases o' creo-isation in ,arious North A'rican and "est Asian -anguages and su55orts his

,ie8 8ith nuerous e?a5-es o' 'eatures that can be retraced to 5re9Arabic -anguages 5resent in

the area. For 'urther re-ated readings on the AaBigh substrata in Tunisian 4ERISSI 2*1%! and

,arious other 5ub-ications addressing the 5articu-arities o' North A'rican -anguages a) be o'

re-e,ance. Tunisian a-so incor5orates ,arious TurCish in'-uences 'or instance the 9i0 su''i? to

denote the 5ro'ession -ater becoing a-so the 'ai-) nae o' an) Tunisians. Jarious other

TurCish 8ords 8ere borro8ed such as babour0 'ro the TurCish ,a5ur0 eaning shi50. The

% Ne,erthe-ess 8hen 5ro5er naes are 'u--) ado5ted into Tunisian the) -ose the A-e'0 sound co5-ete-). Ane?a5-e is Aad0 8hich becoes in Tunisian Med0.

$ The indigenous AaBigh and other 5o5u-ations o' Tunisia ade use o' Arabic and Is-a in 5o-itics 5erha5s in the

sae 'ashion that the Se-us ade use o' Abbasid d)nasties and o' Arabic tit-es a'ter the 'a-- o' ;aghdad in thee-e,enth centur).



ON THE STANDARDISATION OF TUNISIAN K

use o' 8ords o' TurCish origin has ho8e,er been dec-ining as the) ha,e been gradua--) substituted

8ith French or Eng-ish 8ords.

Furtherore LEDD<9&E&ERE 2*1*! e,a-uates the socio-inguistic and sociohistorica-

situations o' Tunisia and argues that Tunisian through the e?a5-e o' the North Eastern dia-ect o'

Sousse ha,e gone under a creo-isation 5rocess. Jarious c-ues 5oint out in this direction inc-uding

aong other the dia-ect:s -e?icoseantics and the 'act that the uestion 8ords are near-) a--

bior5heic. Sii-ar-) 8hi-e c-assi')ing 4a-tese as the ost creo-e9-iCe -anguage and to a -esser

e?tent udeo9Tunisian he ,ie8s the as a-- steing 'ro a 'or o' creo-e +roto9Tunisian 8ith,arious degrees o' decreo-isation. This decreo-isation re5resents the 5rocess b) 8hich a creo-e

through 5ro-onged e?5osure to the su5erstrate -anguage 'ro 8hich it deri,es gradua--) sheds its

creo-e 'eatures in 'a,our o' those o' the ore 5restigious su5erstrate -anguage0. This has 5ossib-)

been the case 'o--o8ing the signi'icant contact bet8een the AaBigh substrata and the Arabic

su5erstratu or su5erstrata in Tunisia. It a) be co5ared to an ongoing 5rocess in Tunisian

8here ,arious French structures are being incor5orated and used as nati,e ones though 5erha5s not

to the e?tent o' decreo-isation. This ho8e,er reains a de-icate 5oint and is ,er) debatab-e aong

creo-ists and -inguists 5articu-ar-) the tie s5an 8ithin 8hich creo-isation or decreo-isation taCes

5-ace. This creo-isation 5rocess is a-so a 5oint rather ruth-ess-) re'used to adit as an) 8ith each

their oti,ations tend to iniise the di''erences bet8een Tunisian and Arabic in a rather 5uritan

anner> "hi-e the contribution o' other -anguages aside 'ro Arabic is ignored the ro-e o' the

constant Arabisation through the osues that ha,e been re5resenting Is-aisation and Arabisation

stations near-) 'or the -ast i--ennia o' the region:s histor) is o'ten o,er-ooCed. For soe 8ho re-)

a-ost uni-atera--) on Arabic and Arabocentric sources it sees as i' the 5o5u-ations o' the region

8ere ute be'ore the Arri,a- o' the Arabs and on-) began to s5eaC in Arabic o' course around the

eighth centur). Such 5oints do not stand 8hen e,a-uating the histor) o' Tunisia and indeed ser,e




on-) 'or na,e 5o-itica- 5ur5oses.

Arabic one the other hand has anaged to Cee5 its status so 'ar because o' Is-a and this

has been the case 'or centuries o' Arab e?5ansion and co-onisation. A situation sii-ar to ho8 Latin

o8ed its status in the 4idd-e Ages to &hristianit) or to ho8 French anaged to gras5 a strong

-inguistic 'ootho-d in Sub9Saharan A'rica using the sae re-igion as 8e--. On the other hand there

is eua--) a reason to be-ie,e that the Hi-a-ite and the other tribes that contributed to the -anguage

Arabisation 5rocess did not necessari-) s5eaC the sae Arabic as 4uhaad or the dia-ect or

dia-ects o' Arabic that Uthan chose to use in transcribing the 3uran. This -eads us to the'o--o8ing 5oint> &-aiing that Tunisian is a dia-ect deri,ed 'ro Arabic 8ou-d i5-) 'or soe that

Arabic in one o' its &-assica- 'ors 8as 8ide-) s5oCen in Tunisia and then ga,e rise to a ,ernacu-ar

,ariant that e,o-,ed into no8ada)s: Tunisian 8hich is historica--) inaccurate. There'ore ,ie8ing

Tunisian as a a -anguage that is deri,ed 'ro Arabic in the sense o' 5erha5s O-d Norse and S8edish

a) be incorrect. The re-ationshi5 bet8een Tunisian and Arabic is 5erha5s c-oser to the re-ationshi5

bet8een A'riCaans and Dutch. Tunisian is as uch Arabic as <iddish is /eran. In 4ERISSI

2*1%! the e?a5-e o' the Eng-ish -anguage is 5ro,ided 'or i--ustration. The origina- te?t:s 'ootnotes

8ere ebedded into the uotation>

Arabic a) be to Tunisian 8hat French 5articu-ar-) Noran is to Eng-ish 8ithAaBigh being Eng-ish:s Ang-o9Sa?on> In the 5eriod 'o--o8ing the Noran &onuest o'Eng-and Eng-ish retained ost o' its /eranic substrata and borro8ed e?tensi,e-)'ro the ne8 -inguistic ,arieties 8hich 8ere those o' the ne8 conuering E-ite. This5rocess resu-ted a'ter an) centuries in 4idd-e Eng-ish0 in turn resu-ting a'teru-ti5-e other centuries in Ear-) 4odern Eng-ish0 o' 8hich the current standardised'or that this docuent uses is a descendant a'ter u-ti5-e other eras. Sii-ar-) theArab Is-aic in,asion o' Tunisia and the subseuent Hi-a-ite sett-eents acco5aniedb) the status o' Arabic as the -anguage ado5ted b) the ne8 ru-ers since it is that o' thene8 re-igion 5ushed 'or an Arabisation o' the region resu-ting a'ter around t8e-,ehundred )ears in Tunisian in its current 'ors. A 5ro5er eta5hor to describe it cou-d5erha5s be that o' an AaBigh indset tr)ing to iitate Arabic in an en,ironent 'i--ed8ith 4editerranean ne8 8ords 'or in,entions and disco,eries. It is ho8e,er need-ess tosa) that a Tunisian and a Saudi 'or instance 8ou-d no8ada)s be unab-e to understand

each other i' each s5eaCs on-) their o8n -oca- -inguistic ,ariet) and the) 8ou-d need to



ON THE STANDARDISATION OF TUNISIAN 1*

resort to a third -anguage 8hich 8ou-d no8ada)s ost -iCe-) be Eg)5tian due5erha5s aong other to the substantia- 'i- industr) 5roducts o' the countr) that 8erehea,i-) e?5orted to a-- o' North A'rica and "est Asia or Eng-ish due 5erha5s aongother to the internationa- -ingua 'ranca status that Eng-ish anaged to obtain.

Tunisian reains a d)naic -anguage carr)ing thousands o' )ears o' AaBigh and Neo9

+unic substrata enco5assing ,ocabu-ar) or5ho-og) echaniss treatent o' borro8ed 8ords

graar and 5-ent) o' other 'eatures 8ith an e?tensi,e Arabic ,ocabu-ar) substantia- Latin

Ita-ian and TurCish i5acts and a gro8ing French and no8ada)s Eng-ish in'-uence. Tunisian

8ithout its signi'icant AaBigh substrata 8ou-d be inco5-ete and 8ithout its Arabic and other

,ocabu-ar) 8ou-d be 5-ain un9Tunisian.

3.1.2 Wh standardise Tunisian!

The ans8er to this uestion a) see ,er) ob,ious to soe@ 'or the rest 'e8 5oints 8ou-d

be e?ained. O55onents are in,ited to ans8er the uestion 8h) not standarise Tunisian#0.

Aside 'ro the 'act that the ere acadeic bene'its are attracti,e the 8ide-)9ado5ted

transcri5tion o' Tunisian o''ers a ,er) interesting access to one o' the ain as5ects o' the Tunisian

cu-ture. Fe8 e?a5-es o' 5ub-ications in Tunisian ight inc-ude an) o' ;echir =hra)e':s 8orCs a

booC b) Ta8'i ;en ;riC entit-ed =a-b ben Ca-b0 or Dog son o' a dog0 in re'erence to a

coon Tunisian insu-t and a re5orted trans-ation o' Saint9E?u5r):s the Litt-e +rince into

Tunisian b) Hdi ;a-egh 4ERI 2***! 8ho a-so authored a co--ection o' 5ub-ications on

Tunisian Sa)ings. Other 5ub-ications inc-ude the FarBaBBou0 and the Dhedd Esso-ta0 ne8s5a5ers

and ,arious co-uns on other ourna-s 8here authors 8rote in a 'or o' -anguage in bet8een

Tunisian and Arabic. The 'irst e-ectronic agaBine in Tunisian is 5erha5s the Tach-iC agaBine.

Other ,arious ateria- is 8ide-) 5resent on ,arious on-ine sources e,en essa)s about Sartre:s 8orCs

in Tunisian ho8e,er in no 5articu-ar standardised 'or@ and to access it Cno8-edge o' both

Tunisian Arabic and French is usua--) needed. A-- o' the 5ast atte5ts to 8rite Tunisian 8ere not




8ithin an) standardisation schees the) 8ere ost-) 'o--o8ing the Arabic graar ru-es or a

si5-i'ied ,ersion o' it. Tunisian has been e,en 8ritten since be'ore the countr):s inde5endence

'ro France and the Tunisian -eader Habib ;ourguiba used Tunisian in his s5eeches as 5erha5s

5art o' his ,ision o' 'orging a Tunisian identit). An e?a5-e using Tunisian can be 'ound in the

i--ustration be-o8> A 5icture o' a 5re9inde5endence 5oster ad,ertising a theatre 5-a) entit-ed

8oen are not in danger0 in Tunisian ennsG ouch 'i Chtar0 8ritten in Arabic scri5t. Aside 'ro

the tit-e e,er)thing e-se is in Arabic. The used nubers seen on the u55er right corner o' the

i--ustration 'o--o8 the Indian nuera-s con,ention@ such nuera-s are not in use an) ore in

Tunisia as their usage 8as ,er) connected to the TurCish in'-uence.

Illustration 1: An Example of Texts in Tunisian

Source> Author:s archi,e

The transcri5tion and recognition o' Tunisian is a recognition o' a-- the heritage and the

-anguages and that contributed to its sha5ing. It is a-so a reconci-iation o' the -inguistic

contradictions in the countr) 8here one s5eaCs a -anguage but needs to resort to either o' t8o

di''erent ones i.e. Arabic or French 'or o''icia- uses as not a-- o' the Tunisian 5o5u-ation 'u--)

asters these t8o -anguages. It ser,es -itt-e 5ur5ose to use t8o 'oreign -anguages and to -ooC do8n




on one:s o8n -inguistic ,ariet). This itse-' is a rather unnatura- state> It does not aCe sense to s5eaC

a -anguage 8rite a di''erent one and ca-- the both the sae. "orse it is rather inconcei,ab-e to

s5eaC a -anguage and not be ab-e to 5ro5er-) 8rite it.

On the other rather 5o-itica- hand acCno8-edging Tunisian as a -anguage 8ou-d strengthen

the sense o' a Tunisian nationa- identit). The 5o-itica- ado5tion o' the standardisation o' Tunisian

8ou-d set a 5recedent in North A'rica as no other North9A'rican9re-ated -anguage is standardised

aside o' course 'ro Tunisian:s cousin the 4a-tese -anguage. Standardisation 8ou-d de'inite-)

contribute to the 5reser,ation o' the Tunisian coon eor) and to ore intense acadeicinteraction 8ithin Tunisia:s sii-ar -inguistic en,ironent 5articu-ar-) the 8ho-e o' North A'rica

and 4a-ta.

3.1.3 "reser#ing the language of the $%reat Arab &ation' of Islaand of the *uran

The standardisation o' Tunisian shou-d not be seen as an o55osition to Arabic. It is a'ter a--

the Tunisians: right to be ab-e to s5eaC and read their -anguage and 5ass do8n their heritage. Such

na,e re'usa- ost-) b) +an9Arabists and 5uritans is un'ounded and it is on-) their choice and

res5onsibi-it) i' the) 8ish to o55ose Tunisian to Arabic. The standardisation o' Tunisian a) not go

a-ong 8ith the 5o-itica- obecti,es o' a 5articu-ar 'action but it ser,es ,er) 8e-- the interest o' a--

Tunisians as e?5-ained abo,e. Furtherore the ca-- to the return to use Arabic is rather absurd as

ne,er in their histor) did Tunisians s5eaC the sae -anguage as the 3uran. It a) ha,e been used as

an e-ite -anguage or 'or o''icia- use but such 8as the use o' Latin 8hen O-d French 8as being

s5oCen in France. 4ost i5ortant-) no authorit) has the right to den) the usage o' one -anguage

8hi-e c-aiing that another is better0 regard-ess o' 8hat an) booC or doctrine a) suggest.

The standard Tunisian -anguage 8ou-d ost de'inite-) acCno8-edge the iense

contribution o' Arabic ho8e,er the nature o' -anguages is e,o-ution in ,arious 8a)s and a



ON THE STANDARDISATION OF TUNISIAN 1%

standardised Tunisian is but a ste5 'urther. In that sense Arabic 8ou-d sti-- be Tunisia:s 'irst 'oreign

-anguage at -east 'or the near 'uture as it has been since the Arab co-onisation and the subseuent

Hi-a-ite in,asions.

+. Transcribing Tunisian

4.1 Which Tunisian?

One 'urther cha--enge that o55onents o'ten set is 8hich Tunisian to transcribe#0. "hi-e this

ho8e,er adits i5-icit-) the 5ossibi-it) o' standardising Tunisian it ignores one o' the ost

historica--) i5ortant i-estones in the histor) o' -anguages> As it has been the case 'or ,arious

other -inguistic ,arieties it 8ou-d indeed be the 5o-itica- 8i-- acco5anied b) the edia e''orts

that 8ou-d choose one 5articu-ar ,ariant o' Tunisian as the standard 'or. One e?a5-e is 8hen the

Inde5endent Higher Authorit) 'or E-ections in Tunisia chose a s-ogan in North9Eastern Tunisian

reading 8a))et bech ta))ed0 transcribed o''icia--) in Arabic -etters 8ith ق ت ش ب و 0 and

rough-) eaning tie to register0. This seeed distaste'u- to Tunisia:s then9candidate and -ater its

5ost9October92*11 interi 5resident 4onse' 4arBoui 8ho -ater 8rote and 5ub-ished an artic-e

contesting the easure and ca--ing &reo-e -anguages a cancer0 and deanding the criina-isation

o' the usage o' Tunisian in edia and the e?c-usi,e usage o' Arabic يوزرملا 2*11!.

In this 5a5er and in the 'o--o8ing 5ub-ication b) the author and ho5e'u--) b) the League o'

Tunisian Huanists and other 5arties the used dia-ect as5ires to be as neutra- as 5ossib-e and as

co5rehensib-e as 5ossib-e. It cou-d ne,erthe-ess be hea,i-) in'-uenced b) the characteristics o' the

39dia-ects grou5 and natura--) b) the tie 'rae o' the transcri5tion.

4.2 The STUNdard Method

The STUNdard ethod taCes its nae 'ro a 5ortanteau o' the 8ords Standard and

Tunisian. It 5ro,ides the transcri5tion in a odi'ied Latin a-5habet. The ethod is -arge-) based on



ON THE STANDARDISATION OF TUNISIAN 1$

the 4a-tese AaBigh Latin and French a-5habets. Its ain ai is to cobine 'ide-it) in s5eech

transcri5tion and 5rocessing and to 5ro,ide an accessib-e ethod to read Tunisian. The ethod

uses basic Latin a-5habet and adds t8o characters> The -etter 0 5resent in the AaBigh Latinɛ

a-5habet aong other is used transcribe a ,oiced 5har)ngea- 'ricati,e P a55ro?iate o' 8hich the

I+A s)bo- is P P or P P. The -etter 0 5resent in the 4a-tese A-5habet aong other is used toʢ ʢ̝

transcribe a ,oice-ess 5har)ngea- 'ricati,e o' 8hich the I+A s)bo- is the sae i.e. PP. The

Unicode 5osition 'or the -o8er case 0 is UQ*2(; and the Unicode 5osition 'or the u55er caseɛ

0 is UQ*17*. The Unicode 5osition 'or the -o8er case 0 is UQ*12 and the Unicode 5ositionƐ

'or the u55er case M0 is UQ*126. "hen using the STUNdard ethod a-- the Tunisian 8ords are

8ritten e?act-) as the) are 5ronounced.

The tab-es be-o8 5ro,ide 'urther detai-s about the a-5habet. Soe o' their contents has been

a-so 5ub-ished on the STUNdard 8eb-og a,ai-ab-e through the -inC> 888.stundard.8ord5ress.co.

The 8eb-og a-so 'eatures ,arious resources that a) be o' use.

Table 1: The STUNdard Method

UpperCase

Letter

LowerCase

Letter

Example inTunisian

Examplein

English

Notes

A a Ar)ena Aerica

; b ;enBart ;ee

& c &ontratou &at

D d DouB Dear

E e E-CG' Dead Sound usua--) as5irated in the beginning o' a 8ord

Ɛ ɛ in DraheƐ NPA Joiced 5har)ngea- 'ricati,e P a55ro?iate

F ' Fer)ene Free

/ g /a'sa /i,e

H h Herg-a Ha,e

M Moua NPA Joice-ess +har)ngea- 'ricati,e

I i Sidi ;ouBid 4eet



ON THE STANDARDISATION OF TUNISIAN 1(

Table 1: The STUNdard Method

UpperCase

Letter

LowerCase

Letter

Example inTunisian

Examplein

English

Notes

andouba /enre

= C =bir =ing

L - Lata Lo,e

4 4oCnin 4oon

N n Nebe- Near

O o O La ra)essɛ Odd

+ 5 +ortabe- +-ease

3 3arna NPA Joice-ess u,u-ar sto5

R r Rda))e' NPA An a-,eo-ar tri--

S s Sousa S-ee5

T t Tounis P Tata8in TaCe

U u Err,o-usion NPA &-ose 'ront rounded ,o8e-

J , Ji--a Jio-in

" 8 T8ensa "e--

? Etta?i Ta?i< ) <esin <e--

B agh8Gn ero

Addition--) other sound can be transcribed 8ith a doub-e9consonant cobination through

adding an h0 to one o' the other consonants such as>

Table 2: STUNdard Two-etter !ombinations

Upper caseCombination

Lower CaseCombination

Examplein

Tunisian

Examplein

English

Notes

&h ch &hbiCa Shore

Dh dh Dh:habb The Arabic D:dhad i.e. ض0 d ! does not e?istˤin Tunisian and is indistinguishab-e 'ro 0 ظ !. Furtherore ˤ 0 ظ ! and ˤ !0 ذha,e 5ractica--) erged in Tunisian.




Table 2: STUNdard Two-etter !ombinations

Upper caseCombination

Lower CaseCombination

Examplein

Tunisian

Examplein

English

Notes

/h gh /horasen NPA Joiced ,e-ar 'ricati,e

=h Cg =hnis NPA Joice-ess ,e-ar 'ricati,e

Ou ou TouBer /ood

Th th Theni Three

In -oan8ords other doub-e9-etter sounds a) be a-so used as 5resent in their origina-

-anguage or a) a-so be changed into their Tunisian eui,a-ents. For e?a5-e the usage o' 5h0

cou-d 'o--o8 the French 5ronunciation i.e. 5ronounced '0 or cou-d a-so be substituted 8ith an '0.

The sound 5h0 itse-' is 'ro the /reeC -etter 0 and has been borro8ed b) French and other

-anguages. Other -oan8ords that ha,e not been co5-ete-) ado5ted cou-d be either 8ritten in the

8a) the) are 8ritten in the origina- -anguage or a-so be standardised. For e?a5-e the French 8ord

adinistration0 cou-d reain as such or be transcribed adinistrasion0 de5ending on the 8riter:s

o8n choice and a-so on the genera- and the 5articu-ar conte?t. An e?a5-e o' a 8ord that has been

ado5ted and 8ou-d be standardised is the French t-5hone 5ortab-e0 becoing te-i'oun

5ortabe-0. Additionna--) the -etter 0 a) be used to indicate a short e0 'or e?a5-e in an0.

Other ,ariations o' -etters such as G0 0 V0 or W0 a) be used to indicate a -ong ,o8e-. For

instance Corraset S-i0 eans the co5) booC o' S-i and CorrasGt S-i0 eans the co5) booCs

o' S-i0. Sii-ar-) tabbe 0 8ou-d ean ordering soeone to 'o--o8 8hi-e tabbG 0 8ou-d eanɛ ɛ

a 5erson 8ho 'o--o8s.

The 5unctuation cou-d 'o--o8 the Eng-ish ode> 'or e?a5-e un-iCe French there sees to

be no need to -ea,e a s5ace bet8een the -ast 8ord o' a sentence and a subseuent e?c-aation or an

interrogation arC. In addition the usage o' the a5ostro5he :0 is sii-ar to the usage o' the dash




90 in the 4a-tese -anguage but 8ith s-ight-) ore 'unctions. Aong its uses is the se5aration o'

-etters in case a con'usion due to t8o9-etter cobinations ight occur@ 'or e?a5-e in t:hanna0

eaning be sure0 and theni0 eaning second. The a5ostro5he is a-so used bet8een t8o

consecuti,e t8o9-etter consonants@ 'or e?a5-e> Ch:dhit0. It a) a-so be used to indicate stress on

the a-e'0 sound> A-though it is ost-) as5irated or si-ent 5articu-ar-) in the beginning o' the 8ords

the a5ostro5he can be used soeties in 8ords o' Arabic origin to indicate a needed 5ronunciation

5articu-ar-) in the case o' a diaeresis. For instance the Arabic 8ord ضا0 transcribed as a-:ardh0

and eaning the -and0 aong other 8ou-d be -ardh0 in Tunisian 8ithout an) a-e'0 sounds at

a--. I' ho8e,er the conte?t reuires a ore Arabised 5ronunciation it cou-d be then transcribed as

e-:ardh0. Furtherore the a5ostro5he cou-d a-so be used to indicate an acron) or an initia-is

'or instance> e-:+&0 or es:STE/0.

The conunction 80 eaning and0 is 8ritten se5arate-). A-though in &-assica- Arabic and

Hebre8 it is 8ritten attached to the subseuent 8ord. Jarious in'-uences ha,e contributed to a

coon 5ractice o' se5arating the conunction 'ro the 8ord. The se5arated orthogra5h) is used

'or si5-i'ication reasons. The 80 reains the on-) conunction 5resent in Tunisian as the Arabic

'a0 ف! and thoa0 ث! do not e?ist.

The de'inite artic-es are 8ritten attached to the 8ord to a,oid con'usion in the case o' the

'irst -etter o' the 8ord being a so-ar -etter. For e?a5-e the 8ord chas0 eaning sun 8ou-d

becoe ech:chas0. The 8ord gara0 eaning oon 8ou-d becoe e-gara0. I' it 8ere the

o55osite i.e. ech chas0 and e- gara0 it ight becoe con'using and a) be i5ractica-.

"hi-e 4a-tese so-,ed this b) adding a dash bet8een the artic-e and the 8ord e.g. ?e?0

becoing i?9?e?0 and aar0 becoing i-9aar0 the STUNdard ethods si5-i'ies this b)

oitting the s)bo-s or the s5aces bet8een the artic-e and the 8ord 'o--o8ing. "riting the artic-es

se5arate-) reains a ,a-id a-beit 5rob-eatic 5ossibi-it) ne,erthe-ess. E?a5-es are 'ound in the



ON THE STANDARDISATION OF TUNISIAN 1K

'o--o8ing tab-e.

Table ": Trans#ription of $efinite Arti#les

Solarletter

exampleDar Eddar Feddar " 'eddar

" 'eddarte ouɛ

Fi dar Fi darou" 'idarou

Translation in

EnglishHouse

Thehouse

In thehouse

And inthe house

And inthe houseo'! his

In ahouse

In hishouse

And inhis house

LunarLetter

example;it E-bit Fe-bit " 'e-bit

" 'e-bitte ouɛ

Fi bit Fi bitou" 'ibitou

Translation in

EnglishRoo The roo

In theroo

And inthe roo

And inthe rooo'! his

In a rooIn hisroo

And inhis roo

It a) be 5ossib-e to usti') the need 'or the character 0 0 as an) cou-d see itsɛ

transcri5tion 5ossib-e through the usage o' other ,o8e-s such as X0 Y0 Z0 [0 de5ending on

the 'o--o8ing ,o8e-. This ho8e,er a) be is-eading in the cases 8here the 0 is 5receded b) aɛ

,o8e- or 8hen it is 'o--o8ed b) another consonant in the sae onset. It is a-so the case 8hen the

0 is the -ast sound in a 8ord and is not 'o--o8ed b) an) other character and -iCe8ise 8hen theɛ

consonant is doub-ed. Detai-s cou-d be 'urther e,a-uated in the 'o--o8ing tab-e through the usage o'

,arious Tunisian e?a5-es. The co-un Other Transcri5tions!0 uses the 'o--o8ing consonant to

the 0 and in case o' its absence the 5receding one as an indicator 'or the character to be used.ɛ

Table %: Issues of Trans#ription &elated to the 'oi#ed (har)n*eal +ri#ati,e Approximate Sound

STUNdardTranscription

OtherTranscription(s)

Meaning in English

T-a tɛ T-aXt I P <ou singu-ar! c-ibed

T-aɛ T-aX He c-ibed

Ta- etɛ Ta-Zet She c-ibed

T-a naɛ T-aXna "e c-ibed

T-a touɛ T-aXtou <ou 5-ura-! c-ibed




Table %: Issues of Trans#ription &elated to the 'oi#ed (har)n*eal +ri#ati,e Approximate Sound

STUNdardTranscription

OtherTranscription(s)

Meaning in English

Ta- ouɛ Ta-You The) c-ibed

Ta- Vtɛ Ta-XVt +-ura- noun o' one c-ibing tie0 cou-d a-so ean tri5s0the -atter eaning ight ha,e occurred through seanticchange 'o--o8ing the usage o' u50 and do8n0 as directions.

Ta--aɛ Ta--aX An i5erati,e 'or o' guess0 or -i't0

To--i aɛ To--iXa Ridd-e

T ebtouɛ TZebtou <ou 5-ura-! are tired

;a edɛɛ ;aZZedAn i5erati,e 'or o' o,e0. The 8ord cou-d a-so ean

a'ter0.

As e?hibited b) the tab-e a-though the transcri5tion o' the 0 is 'easib-e through the usageɛ

o' ru-e o' the 'o--o8ing ,o8e- it a) be con'using and i5ractica- (. This ho5e'u--) e?5-ains its

addition. Furtherore the usage o' this character is 5re'erred due to its 5ossib-e ,isua-

identi'ication 8ith the Arabic -etter 0 that is used to transcribe the sae sound as 8e-- as the

nuber %0 de 'acto used to transcribe the sae sound on ,arious on-ine and other sources using

the Latin scri5t. The -etter 0 is 5re'erred o,er the 4a-tese a-ternati,e g0 'or si5-icit) andɛ

e''icienc) 5ur5oses. Furtherore the 0 is a consonant and not a ,o8e- and its transcri5tionɛ

through the characters coon-) ,ie8ed as ,o8e-s a) be 'urther con'using on other -e,e-s.

The 5aragra5h be-o8 is an e?a5-e o' te?ts using the STUNdard ethod>

;archa )naou )asa-ou -ech hedha e-Co--# 4a8 neCtbou )ea be-'ransa8i )eaɛ be- arbi 8ana artein. E-ochC-a atta Cen tet a--e E- arbi 8e-a E-'ransa8iɛ ɛ ɛ ouch bech tnae te'he Ettounsi 8 ouch bech tnae taCi bettounsi. Nebbou8e-a naCrhou ana T8ensa ba- 8 ba d Co-- cha) 8 Ci' nous-ou neCtbou -oughetnaɛ bettounsi 8 nara8ha Ci' Ci' bettounsi anna aa en coun t-ena ennGss e-Co--.ɛ Hedhe)a e--i nebbou na -ouh 8 n8ass-ouh 8 )a tiC essaa Ci' sbart 8 ritɛ ɛ e-5aragra' e-Co-- bettounsi. =en 'aa a)) aa ennaou n a8nou beha contactina.ɛ 4arbe biC.

As a suar) 'or this section a co5arison 8ith the AaBigh Latin Arabic 4a-tese and

( It reains ho8e,er an o5tion in case o' needed Eng-ish9-etter9on-) transcri5tion. Through using the abo,e9entioned ru-e and then the reo,a- o' the circu'-e? diacritic.



ON THE STANDARDISATION OF TUNISIAN 2*

Ti'inagh a-5habets is suggested.

Table .: Ama/i*h atin0 Arabi#0 Maltese0 Tifina*h0 and Tunisian Alphabets

Tunisian ma!igh Latin Maltese Ti"inagh rabic

A A A ⴰ ا

; ; ; ⴱ

&Used ain-) in -oan8ordsother8ise re5-aced b) C0

&h & ⵛ ش

D D D ⴷ د

Dh Ḍ ⴹ P Pض ذ

E E E ⴻ

Ɛ Ɛ / ⵄ

F F F ⴼ ف

/ / / ⴳ

/h Ɣ ⵖ غ

H H H ⵀ ه

M Ḥ M ⵃ

I I I ⵉ ⵊ !

= = = ⴽ "

=h ⵅ #

L L L ⵍ $

4 4 4 ⵎ %

N N N ⵏ &

O O

Ou U U ⵓ

+ + ⵒ

3 3 3 ⵇ '

R R R ⵔ

S S S ⵙ (

T T T ⵜ P) *

Th T ⵝ +

U Used ain-) in -oan8ords




Table .: Ama/i*h atin0 Arabi#0 Maltese0 Tifina*h0 and Tunisian Alphabets

Tunisian ma!igh Latin Maltese Ti"inagh rabic

J J ⵠ" " " ⵡ و

Used ain-) in -oan8ords

< < ⵢ ,

\ ⵣ ز

4.3 The STUNdared Arlette and Alternative Methods

For ,arious reasons an) a) 5re'er using Arabic and sii-ar -etters to transcribe Tunisian.

Fo--o8ing this rationa-e the STUNdard Ar-ette ethod is another sii-ar 5ro5osa- using an Arabic9

based a-5habet 8ith Ar-ette0 being a 5ortanteau o' Arabic0 and -etters0. The a-5habet

co5rises a-- the 2K -etters and adds the +ersian three9dotted -0 o' 8hich the Unicode 5osition is

UQ*6E as 8e-- as the =urdish three9to59dotted . 0 and its three9botto9dotted ,ariant / 0 o'

8hich the res5ecti,e Unicode 5ositions are UQ*6AK and UQ*6A(.

The ethod 5ro5oses to disregard the di''erences bet8een 0ض0 and ظ0 and bet8een

*0 and )0 as their sounds ha,e 5ractica--) erged in Tunisian. "ords borro8ed 'ro Arabic that

sti-- retain their characteristics 8ou-d eua--) either be 8ritten as the) are origina--) 'ound or

transcribed 8ith their Tunisian counter5arts. It a-so suggests to disregard an) historica-

inconsistencies re-ated to the transcri5tion o' the Arabic g-otta- sto5 haBa0 i.e. 00 and si5-)

use the a-e'0 i.e. ا0 8hen reuired. Other 5oints a) be the conser,ation o' the shadda0 to

signa- a doub-ed consonant and the 5ossib-e re5-aceent o' the si-ent 'ina- 10 in the ending b) an

0 e?ce5t 5erha5s 'or e?isting Arabic 8ords that ha,e a coon transcri5tion. Furtherore theا

conunction و0 cou-d be 8ritten se5arate-) 'ro the 8ord and the si-ent ا0 5resent in Arabic at the

end o' the ,erbs conugated 8ith 5-ura- 5ronouns cou-d be dro55ed.




Table : The STUNdard Arlette Method

STUNdardrletteLetter

STUNdard

E#ui$alent

Example in

Tunisian

Example

in rabic

Notes

ا A P23 4ا 3 4ا ابر1

; *56 ب ب

- + 89تب 7 Does not e?ist in Arabic

* T ت 38: ت ; 2

+ Th ث 3ي ث 3ي

! P2 بو 6< بو 6< 4 <

M P2=8> =8> < ي

# =h : 6? ? ر

د D دوز دل 7

ذ Dh @Aذ @Aذ

R B4Cد B D

ز ز8Dا & ا ز

( S P2E8E E8E 8E

ش &h P2F GH F GH : م H

I Ss P2J K J K @ ع Jض Dh L L In Tunisian it is 5ronounced dh0

un-iCe the Arabic d:dh0.

) T P Tt M4و N ت Kول 2

ظ Dh 7O B4ر O &ou-d a-so be transcribed as 7L0

Ɛ Aاد M P M P

غ /h MEارم D Dلي

ف F P23 4ر Q 3 4ر Q 8NQ

/ J R C / Does not e?ist in Arabic' 3 P26 ر 6 ر 4

. / P2STU STU Does not e?ist in Arabic

" = GVر GVر

$ L P2N مل N مل لع @

% 4 M 6F= @WF=

& N 3ب 7 X3ر

ه H P2RUر A YUر A C Aر

و " P2Z3ا8 ت Z3ا8 ت @Aو



ON THE STANDARDISATION OF TUNISIAN 2%

Table : The STUNdard Arlette Method

STUNdardrletteLetter

STUNdard

E#ui$alent

Example in

Tunisian

Example

in rabic

Notes

, < M م E 4 @ ع R4

The 5aragra5h be-o8 is an e?a5-e o' te?ts using the STUNdard Ar-ette ethod>

.& V [W> 2RFXملا M >تر = 6>و بي ر ع R ب = 4 ,و Z3ر TR ب = 4 8GWF3 و = \7 C F ل ^ Cم Z4 8ل YP 8ش ]Aا 64 Hرب .8Aر F3 _و 8G C ;3 ي Z38W ل ب ي F; ت ^ C ت 6 ب ` و =8ش ال Z38 Wي aT ت ^ C ت 6 ب ` 8ش = b ال Tر Z3و, و_ بي ر ع ل ا R Cع W ت 2< > 6P ي Z38W لب B V B V Aوارق 3 و ل Z38Wي ب 6WD8 ل 8 G W F 3 8 R J 8 3 B V و bي H 7V بع و 7G Z3ا8 ت 6>ا

ال Gا Uرا. 4ر و GJ B V 2; Cر* S لا c N ع 4 و bه8RJC و 83 اCلي 3 8G;3عم 8Rه 4ا]A 7 C F لا ( C 6 C ال 6 مC R ت & مC V &d. . .c ب G>ر = 6 WV W38V a ب ا ^3Cم 3 8عو83 2< > ,C ا مC Q & V ي Z38W لب 7F لا

Jarious 5rob-es arise 8hen using this scri5t though. First o' a-- as the a-5habet abo,e is an

Abad there are no ,o8e-s hence the 5rob-e o' diacritics that is a-so 'ound in Arabic. A 5erson

8ith no 5rior Cno8-edge o' ho8 a Tunisian 8ord shou-d be 5ronounced 8ou-d not Cno8 ho8 to

5ro5er-) read it. Furtherore e,en 8hen using the sae diacritics 'ound in Arabic there is no 8a)

to transcribe the di''erences o' a0 and e0 'or e?a5-e un-ess 5erha5s through a s)ste using

another consonant as a ,o8e- sii-ar to the the =urdish Sorani a-5habet. This is 'urther

co5-icated b) the constant recourse to scri5t9s8itching 5articu-ar-) 8hen 8riting an) te?t 8ith

borro8ed ters 'ro other -anguages that cannot be 'u--) transcribed 8ith Arabic -etters@ and as

French 8ords or 8ords o' French origin aCe u5 an i5ortant ass in the Tunisian -e?icon the

atter is 'urther co5-icated. One 5ossibi-it) is to use the c-osest0 ,o8e- in transcri5tion 'ore?a5-e transcribe err,o-usion0 as &8 Z ل8/4رCلا or an0 the /ebes 'irst95erson singu-ar

5ronoun as ي 3ا. This ho8e,er is not recoended as it is not a truth'u- transcri5tion o' ho8 the

sounds is and 8i-- ost certain-) cause con'usion on the 5ro5er anner o' 5ronunciation. The

5re,ious e?a5-e o' ي 3ا0 is su''icient to see this 5uBB-e> "ithout 5ro5er Cno8-edge o' the conte?t

it 8ou-d not be 5ossib-e to Cno8 ho8 to 5ronounce it> Gni0 eni0 an0 or ani0@ those 'our



ON THE STANDARDISATION OF TUNISIAN 2$

o5tions being actua- ,arieties o' the 'irst95erson singu-ar 5ronoun in Tunisia. Arabic as is si5-)

-acCs the 5ro5er ,o8e-s 'or Tunisian. And this ethod sti-- needs to be either 'urther de,e-o5ed or

abandoned a-together i' 5ers5ecti,es are not ,er) 5roising.

,. Co-arison and "otentials

It a) be arguab-e that since Tunisian shares 5-ent) o' its ,ocabu-ar) or to be e?act o' the

origin o' the 8ords in its ,ocabu-ar) 8ith Arabic then the Arabic scri5t sees ore suitab-e 'or

transcri5tion. "hi-e this a) see a de'ensib-e 5osition it cou-d ho8e,er be re'uted on u-ti5-e

-e,e-s.

First o' a-- a scri5t and a -anguage a-though ,er) interre-ated are not the sae. 4u-ti5-e

-anguages o' di''erent -inguistic 'ai-ies cou-d be 8ritten in the sae scri5t. For e?a5-e

Jietnaese and S5anish a-though ,er) distant both use the Latin Scri5t. Sii-ar-) a-so +ersian

and Arabic use a re-ati,e-) sii-ar scri5t a-though being 'ro di''erent -inguistic 'ai-ies.

Additiona--) the choice o' the A-5habet is ,er) uch de5endent on 5o-itica- reasons and a

-anguage can a-so change the scri5t it is 8ritten 8ith i' 5o-itica- 8i-- aong other is 5resent.

Jietnaese s8itched to Latin scri5t 'ro the &on'ucian scri5t a'ter French co-onisation and

sii-ar-) the +ersian -anguage ado5ted an Arabic9deri,ed a-5habet a'ter the 5o-itica- in'-uence o'

the Arab9Is-aic e?5ansions and co-onisations. Another notab-e e?a5-e is that o' the TurCish

-anguage that has s8itched 'ro an Arabic9deri,ed scri5t to a Latin9deri,ed scri5t.

Furtherore -anguages cou-d a-so be 8ritten 8ith u-ti5-e scri5ts at the sae tie. =urdish

'or e?a5-e is 8ritten in both the Latin9based Ha8ar a-5habet and a-so the Arabic9based Sorani

a-5habet@ it 8as a-so 8ritten using a &)ri--ic9based a-5habet. Ho8e,er this 5rocess is usua--)

-iited in tie unti- a de 'acto or a de ure ado5tion o' a coon scri5t. It is a-so 8orth

entioning that in other cases -anguages cou-d be 8ritten 8ith di''erent s)stes using the sae



ON THE STANDARDISATION OF TUNISIAN 2(

scri5t. An e?a5-e is the Nor8egian -anguage 8hich cou-d be 8ritten in both the N)norsC and the

;oC]- standards both using Latin9based scri5ts.

The 'o--o8ing tab-e ais to 5ro,ide a co5arison o' the trade9o''s bet8een the t8o ethods

'ro the 5ers5ecti,e o' 5ersons 8ho ha,e access to one scri5t but not the other i.e. Cno8-edge o'

the Latin a-5habet but not the Arabic one and in,erse-).




Table : !omparison of the Alphabets

%eature &etails STUNdard STUNdard rlette

'owels Un-iCe ArabicTunisian has ,arious-ong and short,o8e-s nae-) a Ve G i o ou ...

+ossib-e Not 5ossib-e un-ess using a=urdish9-iCe or U)ghur9-iCetrue a-5habet. This cou-dho8e,er co5-icatetranscri5tion e,en 'urther anda) render readabi-it)con'using 'or the uninitiated.Using an enhanced Arabicdiacritics i.e. TashCi- s)ste isa-so another a-ternati,e but auch ore co5-icated one.

E,en 8hen transcribing Arabicthe usage o' these diacritics is,er) o'ten sCi55ed and reains5erha5s the e?c-usi,it) o' the3uranic or other re-ated te?ts.

dditionalconsonants

Soe sounds -acC ineither o' thea-5habets or are notintuiti,e-)recognisab-e

+ossib-e 8ith theaddition o' t8ocharacters> 0 and 0ɛ aside 'ro theintuiti,e-)9recognisab-e

t8o9-etter cobinations

+ossib-e 8ith the addition o'three characters> 0- / 0 andf 0 as 8e-- as their conditiona-initia- edia- and 'ina- 'ors

Comprehension Readabi-it) +ossib-e +ossib-e though noticeab-)ore co5-icated 5articu-ar-)due to the cursi,e 8riting andthe conditiona- 'ors aongother

ccessibilit +rereuisites in orderto be ab-e to 5ro5er-)read.

An)one 8ho has accessto the Latin a-5habet

An)one 8ho has access to theArabic a-5habet and to 5riorCno8-edge o' Tunisian

Consonant

consonant$owel

occurrence

Un-iCe Arabic

Tunisian can ha,eu-ti5-e consonantsin one onset 8hichcou-d be co5-icatedto read 'or those 8hoare rather 'ai-iar8ith Arabic.

+ossib-e +ossib-e 8ith the usage o' the

Arabic suCun 0h diacritic

Scriptswitching

+articu-ar-) 8hen8riting a te?t 8ith aborro8ed 8ord an

initia-is or other

+ossib-e Scri5t9s8itching occurs5ersistent-)




Table : !omparison of the Alphabets

%eature &etails STUNdard STUNdard rlette

Limitations Transcri5tion o' soesounds cou-d be so-,edb) adding orecharacters orcobinations

Fide-it) i.e. does not transcribeTunisian as it is@ access toTunisian 8ou-d be conditionedto 5rior Cno8-edge o' bothArabic and Tunisian in order to5ro5er-) identi') the 8ords.

To reiterate> There is no 5rob-e 'or the t8o s)stes to co9e?ist 'or the sae -anguage

sii-ar-) to the e?a5-es o' the Nor8egian ;oC]- and the Nor8egian N)norsC and the =urdish

Ha8ar and the =urdish Sorani a-5habets aong an) other. STUNdard cou-d be used to transcribe

ateria- in a Latin9based a-5habet and soe o' its ,arious uses a) 'or e?a5-e be the eas)

5ossibi-it) o' -earning Tunisian b) the chi-dren o' Tunisian iigrants in countries using a Latin

scri5t. Its usage 8i-- certain-) 5ro,ide 5ub-ications in Tunisian 8ith a 8ider accession and i5act.

Sii-ar-) The STUNdard Ar-ette cou-d eua--) ha,e its niche o' users 5re'erring an Arabic9based

scri5t@ the di''erences reain technica-. +ro,iding ateria- in both Latin9deri,ed Arabic9deri,ed

and 5erha5s a-so Ti'inagh a-5habets is a rather interesting though co5-icated 5ros5ect. The -atter

o5tion i.e. the North9A'rica9nati,e Ti'inagh sees current-) a rather 'ar9'etched 5ossibi-it) 'or

,arious reasons it is ho8e,er interesting-) the scri5t that so-,es ost o' the -iitations and 8here

no additiona- -etters 8ou-d ha,e to be added un-iCe the Latin9deri,ed and the Arabic9deri,ed

5ro5osa-s.

The usage o' the Latin9based A-5habet a) be usti'ied b) ,arious reasons ost

5roinent-) its accessibi-it) as it has been a-ost estab-ished as a uni,ersa--)9recognisab-e scri5t.

This 8ou-d treendous-) 'aci-itate the access to Tunisian es5ecia--) 8ithin the current conte?ts o'

g-oba-isation and 4editerranean integration and 8ou-d eua--) a--o8 Tunisian to easi-) ado5t

ne8-)9borro8ed 8ords that use the sae scri5t as 8e-- as other 8ords that ha,e been a-read)



ON THE STANDARDISATION OF TUNISIAN 2K

borro8ed b) -anguages using the sae scri5t. Its ado5tion is a-so re-ati,e-) eas) considering the

5resence o' the 4a-tese e?5erience> 4a-tese is a ,er) c-ose and 'air-) inte--igib-e -anguage 8ith

Tunisian that a-read) uses a Latin9based a-5habet 'or its transcri5tion. It is indeed an e?5erienta-

5roo' o' such 5ro,ed success'u- ado5tion. A Latin9based a-5habet 8ou-d aong other 5ro,ide 'or

the issing consonants and ,o8e-s in Arabic so-,e scri5t9s8itching 5rob-es 5resent 8hen an

Arabic9based scri5t is used and 8ou-d sti-- 5ro,ide a high -e,e- o' 'ide-it) o' transcri5tion that the

diacritic9-ess as near-)9a-8a)s 8ritten Arabic9based scri5t -acCs. In 5ractice ho8e,er its usage

8ou-d be un'ortunate-) ,er) -iited due to ,arious re-igious and cu-tura- i5edients un-ess

5ro5er 5o-itica- 8i-- is a,ai-ab-e.

To suarise the e?a5-e o' a Tunisian trans-ation o' the "iCi5edia artic-e re-ated to the

So-ar S)ste is 5ro,ided. The source o' the te?t in Eng-ish can be 'ound in So-ar S)ste 2*1$!.

Table 3: !omparison Throu*h the Example of an Arti#le &elated to the Solar S)stem

English Text Tunisian TranslationsThe So-ar S)ste is the Sunand the obects that orbit theSun. These are a 5-anetar)s)ste o' eight 5-anets and,arious secondar) bodiesd8ar' 5-anets and sa-- So-arS)ste obects that orbit theSun direct-) as 8e-- assate--ites oons! that orbitan) 5-anets and sa--erobects. The So-ar S)ste'ored $.6 bi--ion )ears ago'ro the gra,itationa- co--a5seo' a giant o-ecu-ar c-oud. The,ast aorit) o' the s)ste:sass is in the Sun 8ith ost o'the reaining ass containedin u5iter. The 'our sa--erinner 5-anets 4ercur) JenusEarth and 4ars a-so ca--ed the

terrestria- 5-anets are 5riari-)

Ess)stG So-Gr hou8aEch:chas 8 -obeGt e--i eddour

-a Ech:chas. LobeGtɛhedhoua houa s)stG5-anetGr 'ih than)a 5-anetGt 8asG secondGr eChta-'in5-anGtet d8ar' 8 obeGt sgharta S)stG So-Gr )dourouɛdirect -a Ech:chas 8 Bedeɛsate-itGt garVt! )dourou -aɛbarcha 5-anetGt 8 obeGt asghar.Ess)stG So-Gr t'ora $.6e-)ar a -te-i ettiaɛgra,itationG- ta sabaɛo-ecu-Gr e-ea. E-aoritɛe-Cbira ta e-ass taɛ ɛess)stG hi)a Ech:chas. "-aCthari)a ta e-ass -oChraɛa8ouda 'i ou5itGr. Larb aɛ5-anetGt essghar eddaCh-enin

4ercur Jenus Lardh 8 4ars

* ^ ب8 ل و ال Xم : 8A _ 8 E % WZ Z لا

=و]A * ^ ب8 ل ال Xم : [RP ودCا اCلي

*ت 3Y9 6 مث i Q W3Y9 % WZ E =8A

*ت 3Y9 bM TRWj= ا 38FE % Z<ا و

% WZ E kW= lJ * ^ ب و ا و اف و د

اد ز و b: م Xلا [RP Vار 4د و و 4 _8E

! " Hرب [RP وو 4 *ارم U * W R ت E

% WZ Z لا ا lJر * ^ ب و ا و *ت 3Y9 =8T ت _8E#$ ل W ل % P R=

= ل U ; Nرا / ;E kW= $ 38 E Wب 2

1ر GF لا الم <ر W4ي 2 Y م P Y F ل8=

: م Xلا ال A % WZ Zي k W = ( ملا kW=

Q اد8<8= ل jرا ( ملا kW= 4ر mF ل و

lS لا *ت 3Y9 ع ب ر ل W 98<

لرض b: 6 / bر Vر = bM 3Y? لا

*ت 3Y9 اداز اCلي C ZW4مو b( =




Table 3: !omparison Throu*h the Example of an Arti#le &elated to the Solar S)stem

English Text Tunisian Translations

co5osed o' rocC and eta-. e--i )etsae8 Bede 5-anetGtterrestriG- etCa88nin-aCthari)a en ar 8 eta-.

ل mFر ^> M= 4ر M 38FW= b$ 4ر WEرCت$ W =

The 'our outer 5-anets ca--edthe gas giants are substantia--)ore assi,e than theterrestria-s. The t8o -argestu5iter and Saturn areco5osed ain-) o' h)drogenand he-iu@ the t8o outerost5-anets Uranus and Ne5tuneare co5osed -arge-) o'substances 8ith re-ati,e-) highe-ting 5oints co5ared 8ithh)drogen and he-iu! ca--edices such as 8ater aoniaand ethane and are o'tenre'erred to se5arate-) as icegiants. A-- 5-anets ha,e a-ostcircu-ar orbits that -ie 8ithin anear-) '-at disc ca--ed the

ec-i5tic 5-ane.

اد ز اCلي C ZW4مو bM 3ارC G لا *ت 3Y9 عبرل

% %*ت 3Yn ل = Hرب ا GVر b : W 6 4 <د Uز

W 98< b7 C FR ب GF ل ال5 Cوز $ 4ر WEرCت

M= &8 Eت ر & 9 M 38FW= bر n Z3لم

*ت 3Y9 5 Cوز ال o%8 RA و & <و A

bM WG3 و ا 4را3 : b7 C

V8 ب M 3ارC

G لا

* Z38WZG E M= 4Cر mF ل M 38 C FW=

و_ت /م 8& : W6 48 9 p 6 WR= A 6P

"& <و a لا k= وا n=8FW4 B V M ل P

!bم ل ا م V b <8R ث و م C ZW4 b %8 R a لا و

مC ZW4 *ع E ا د ا ز و b& m= و 6=Cا

% %*ت 3Yn لا :W64 < :4ا A >C و

&Y Vر E cEر ب ب و ا A 6P 7 C F لا

&qN C Z= ,ز V cZ4د rEو Qي %8<8=د %M 4 Y 9 c Wn RVا مC ZW4

Larb a 5-anetGt e-barranin e--iɛ)etsae8 Bede gas giants0aCber barcha e-5-anetGtterrestriG-. EBBouB -eCbVrbe-Co-- ou5itGr 8 SaturnetCa88nin 5rinci5a-eenten hidroGn 8 he-)o@ eBBouB5-anetGt e-barranin bouCo--Uranus 8 Ne5tun etCa88nin-aCthari)a en substancGt

and:ho e-ting 5ointsɛre-ati,eent a-in Ci'ɛ)etco5arG8 a e-hidrogGn 8ɛ e-he-)o! )etsae8 th-ouaCia e-G aonia 8 ethan8 Beda sa Vt )etsae8ɛ8aad:ho bice giants0.E-5-anetGt e-Co-- and:ho orbitɛ

5resue9circu-Gr a8oud 'i8ost disC uasi9satta)etsaa ec-i5tic 5-ane0.

4ateria- 'or both ethods as 8e-- as odi'ied Ce)board a55-ications and tutoria-s 'or the

three ain o5erating s)stes DAJIS n.d.! i.e. "indo8s Linu? and 4ac ha,e been co5i-ed and

ade a,ai-ab-e at the STUNdard 8eb-og.

. Conclusion

This essa) sought to argue 'or an iinent standardisation o' the Tunisian Language. To

'urther add to the discussion it 5ro5oses t8o 5ossib-e transcri5tion ethods. In the u5coing

'uture i' the 5ro5er resource needs 8ou-d be adressed a dictionar) in Tunisian and ,arious other

too-s to 5roote the o''icia- use o' the nati,e -anguage cou-d ho5e'u--) be ade 5ub-ic-) a,ai-ab-e

b) the League o' Tunisian Huanists or other organisations. These estab-ishents through a



ON THE STANDARDISATION OF TUNISIAN %*

Tunisian Acade) 5roect 8ou-d 5ro,ide the needed institutiona- su55ort 'or a natura--)

'orthcoing standardisation o' Tunisian.

E5hasis on 5ub-ications dictionaries and other -iterature in Tunisian is a 5riorit) 'or

u-ti5-e reasons an) o' the a-read) cited. The 5o-itica- e''orts o' e5t)ing a Tunisian identit)

and 'i--ing it 8ith another 'oreign one are ,i-e and ust coe to an end. The attainent o' the

honourab-e status0 o' a -anguage 8ou-d bring an end to the identit) crisis in the countr) and 8ou-d

indeed c-ear-) re'-ect the 5-ura- co5onents o' this identit) through its tongue 8hich has been

carr)ing Tunisian heritage histor) and identit) 'or as -ong as Tunisia has been a -and. Tunisian is,er) interre-ated 8ith Arabic but it is not the sae and it is 5erha5s tie to e?aine c-ose-) a-- the

as5ects o' the Tunisian cu-ture 8ith the 5ro5er too-s> the ost i5ortant o' a-- a coon

standardised Tunisian -anguage. Indeed an) e''orts in such direction 8ou-d be et 8ith uch

conser,ati,e o55osition accusing such a55roaches o' being nationa-ist or other )et 8ho is it b-ae

here> Those 8ho c-ai their right to 8rite their -anguage and trans'er their heritage to 'uture

generations or those 8ho -ooC do8n u5on their -anguage and identit) and seeC to absurd-) dei')

an) other one# There is 5erha5s an as5iration that 8ith the ho5e'u--) increasing 'reedo o'

in'oration a8areness 8ou-d be raised and Tunisians 8ou-d ho5e'u--) 8orC on 8hat a) see

ore e''icient in that direction 8hi-e considering the 5ro5er obecti,es and conte?ts.

This a) indeed see as a de'iance o' the status uo 8here Tunisian reains un8ritten and

o''icia- use is the e?c-usi,it) o' Arabic and French@ it is instead suggested to ,ie8 the

standardisation o' Tunisian as a natura- ste5 in the course o' the -inguistic rea-it) o' Tunisia and the

region.

Illustration Inde/I--ustration 1> An E?a5-e o' Te?ts in Tunisian.................................................................................11



ON THE STANDARDISATION OF TUNISIAN %1

Inde/ of TablesTab-e 1> The STUNdard 4ethod........................................................................................................1$Tab-e 2> STUNdard T8o9Letter &obinations..................................................................................1(Tab-e %> Transcri5tion o' De'inite Artic-es.........................................................................................1K

Tab-e $> Issues o' Transcri5tion Re-ated to the Joiced +har)ngea- Fricati,e P A55ro?iate Sound. 1KTab-e (> AaBigh Latin Arabic 4a-tese Ti'inagh and Tunisian A-5habets....................................2*Tab-e 6> The STUNdard Ar-ette 4ethod............................................................................................22Tab-e > &o5arison o' the A-5habets...............................................................................................26Tab-e K> &o5arison Through the E?a5-e o' an Artic-e Re-ated to the So-ar S)ste....................2K

0ibliogra-hDAJIS i''. n.d.!. O5erating S)ste ^ /eeC.co. Retrie,ed 'ro

htt5>PP888.geeC.coPdesCto59co5uter9bu)ers9guidePo5erating9s)steP in Februar) 7th

2*1$LEDD<9&E&ERE 2*1*!> LEDD<9&E&ERE Thoas A. &ontact Restructuring and

Decreo-iBation> The &ase o' Tunisian Arabic. Dartouth &o--ege.4ERI Sa-ah. 2***!. Le 5etit 5rince en arabe dia-ecta- tunisien. 4eta > ourna- des traducteurs P

4eta> Trans-ators: ourna-. Retrie,ed 'ro htt5>PPid.erudit.orgPideruditP**%61(ar in Februar)7th 2*1$

4ERISSI ih_d /.. 2*1%!. Tunisian "ords o' AaBigh Origin. Se-ected"orCs o' ih_d 4erissi.Retrie,ed 'ro htt5>PP8orCs.be5ress.coPerissiP6 in Februar) 7th 2*1$

Nesi TouBi. 2*12!. 8ب < = iب P "8ر = 4 ر4 '' G > sد a لا. Retrie,ed 'rohtt5s>PP888.)outube.coP8atch#,`'HdF4d(4 in Februar) 7th 2*1$

JERSTEE/H =ees. !. +idginiBation and &reo-iBation. ohn ;enains +ub-ishing &o5an).Asterdan NETHERLANDSSo-ar S)ste. 2*1$!. Retrie,ed 'ro htt5s>PPen.8iCi5edia.orgP8iCiPSo-arS)ste in Februar) 7th

2*1$! . ل 2**(. .2 Gالقع t S Retrie,ed 'ro htt5>PP888.starties.coP#t`1*(2%7 in Februar) 7th

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htt5>PPa-aBeera.netPo5inionsP5agesP%'*(bc29212$9$e'd9Ke$69*$c%%2%72a2 in Februar) 7th 2*1$

On the Standardisation of Tunisian

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