The grammar, conjugation, and the morphology of Tunisian Arabic is very similar to that of other Maghrebi Arabic varieties. It is based on Classical Arabic and influenced by Berber languages and Latin, with some morphological inventions. The Berber influence is more noticeable in Pre-Hilalian dialects.
Pronouns
Personal pronouns Tunisian Arabic has 7 personal pronouns since gender differentiation of the 2nd person in the singular form is absent.Gibson, M. (2009). Tunis Arabic. Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics, 4, 563–71. Singer, Hans-Rudolf (1984) Grammatik der arabischen Mundart der Medina von Tunis. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.Ben Abdelkader, R., & Naouar, A. (1979). Peace Corps/Tunisia Course in Tunisian Arabic.Chekili, F. (1982). The morphology of the Arabic dialect of Tunis (Doctoral dissertation, University of London). Person Singular Plural 1st ani آني aḥnā أحنا 2nd intī إنتِي intom انتوم 3rd (m) hūwa هوة hūma هومة 3rd (f) hīya هية hūma هومة
Example : آني زادة « Ani zēda. » — "Me too."
Possessive pronouns The possessive pronouns are used as possessive articles when put as a suffix to a preposition or a noun. When it is used after a verb, their functions are rather direct object pronouns. The ones between parenthesis are the ones used after a structure finishing by a vowel. Person Singular Plural 1st -ī (-yā) ي- -nā نا- 2nd -ik (-k) ك- -kum كم- 3rd (m) -ū (-h) ه- -hum هم- 3rd (f) -hā ها- -hum هم-
Note, that with feminine words which are generally finished with an ة a, a ت t is added before the suffixes which become tī, tik, tū, thā, tnā, tkum and thum
Indirect object pronouns Indirect Object Pronouns are used as a suffix after the verb and before the ش- -š of the negation. When there is a combination of direct and indirect object pronouns, indirect object pronouns are always written in the end.Talmoudi, Fathi (1979) The Arabic Dialect of Sûsa (Tunisia). Göteborg: Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis. Furthermore, the first short i for the indirect Object pronoun is always dropped when it is written after a vowel.Ben Abdelkader, R. (1977). Peace Corps English-Tunisian Arabic Dictionary. Person Singular Plural 1st -lī لي- -ilnā لنا- 2nd -lik لك- -ilkum لكم- 3rd (m) -lū له- -ilhum لهم- 3rd (f) -ilhā لها- -ilhum لهم-
Indefinite pronouns Indefinite pronouns are used as a subject to explain general ideas or to report the facts which were done by an unknown person: واحد wāḥid (m.), واحدة waḥda (f.), وحود wḥūd (pl.) "Someone" الواحد il-wāḥid "The individual" أيّ eyy "Any" كل واحد kull wāḥid "Everyone" حاجة ḥāja "Something" حتّى ḥattā "Any" (Negative Polarity Item) حتّى واحد ḥattā wāḥid "Anyone" آخر āxir (m.), أخرة uxra (f.), أخرين uxrīn (pl.) "Other" الكل il-kull "All"
Interrogative pronouns The next interrogative pronouns are used when asking a question in Tunisian Arabic. Tunisian Arabic English Notes شنوة šnūwa (m.), شنية šnīya (f.), شنومة šnūma (pl.) What šnīya is used with feminine words. šnūma is used with plural words. آش āš or ش- š- What Used with verbs and some nouns. شكون škūn Who آما āmā Which وقتاش waqtāš When علاش ɛlāš Why لواش lwāš What for وين wīn or فين fīn Where منين mnīn Where ... from لوين lwīn Where ... to كيفاش kīfāš How قدّاش qaddāš How many بقدّاش bqaddāš How much فاش fāš What ... in مناش mnāš What ... of آناهو ānāhū (m.), آناهي ānāhī (f.), آناهم ānāhum (pl.) Which one(s)
Articles
Definite articles Translated in English as "The" Article, "il-" (ال) is used as an added prefix to denote nouns as definite. If the defined nouns begins with a Sun Consonant (n, ṇ, t, ṭ, d, dz, s, ṣ, š, z, ẓ, j, ŧ, đ, ḑ, l, r and ṛ), "il-" would be pronounced as i + the Sun Consonant with which the noun begins. For example:
الجريدة il-jarīda [ɪʒ:æri:dæ] meaning the Newspaper الكرسي il-kursī [ɪlkʊrsi] meaning the chair
Demonstrative articles Like in Standard Arabic, Demonstrative Articles can be used as demonstrative pronouns when they are put alone as subjects. When they are articles, they can be written before or after the considered noun which should be definite by "il-". Demonstrative Articles Tunisian Arabic Pronunciation This (near the speaker) هاذا or هاذاية (m), هاذي or هاذية (f) hāđa or hāđāya (m), hāđī or hāđīya (f) This (far from the speaker) هاكا or هاكاية (m), هاكي or هاكية (f) hāka or hākāya (m), hākī or hākīya (f) That هاذاكة (m), هاذيكة (f) hāđāka, hāđīka These هاذومة hāđūma Those هاذوكم hāđūkum For example: "This book" could be written in Tunisian as هٰاذا الكتاب hāđā il-ktāb or even as الكتاب هٰاذا il-ktāb hāđā.
When the demonstrative article is before the noun, it can be substituted by an abbreviated form which is ها hā for this and these, هاذْ hāđ for this and هٰاكْ hāk for that and those.Khalfaoui, A. (2007). A cognitive approach to analyzing demonstratives in Tunisian Arabic. Amesterdam Studies in the Theory and History of Linguistic Science Series 4, 290, 169.
For example, "This book" could be written in Tunisian as ها الكتاب hā il-ktāb.
Possessive articles Possessive articleScholes, R. J., & Abida, T. (1966). Spoken Tunisian Arabic (Vol. 2). Indiana University Tunisian Arabic Pronunciation my متاعي mtāɛī your (in Singular) متاعك mtāɛik his متاعه mtāɛū her متاعها mtāɛhā our متاعنا mtāɛnā your (in Plural) متاعكم mtāɛkum their متاعهم mtāɛhum
Although they do exist, possessive articles in Tunisian Arabic are not used the same way as in English. They mainly show possession valorization in a sentence. Furthermore, they are only used after a definite noun.
For example: الكورة متاعك "il-kūra mtāɛik"- "Your ball"
Indeed, as in Arabic and other languages, possessive pronouns replaces them when there is not a valorization and a stress of the fact of possessing the item. These suffixes are the same as the ones used for conjugation of some verbs, and represent the ending sound of the possessive articles.
For example: كورتك "kūrtik"- "Your ball"
Modal verbs Unlike English, where modal verbs are followed by the bare infinitive, Tunisian Arabic requires the **imperfect (present) form** of the verb.Mion, G. (2013). Quelques remarques sur les verbes modaux et les pseudo-verbes de l'arabe parlé à Tunis. Folia orientalia. Vol. 50, 51–65
In some cases, the second verb may instead appear in the **perfect (past) form**, particularly with **راه rāh**, **حقّه ḥaqqū**, and **ماذابيه māḏābīh**, which do not have an independent past tense. In these contexts, the particle **لوكان lūkān** ("if it were that…") is generally used before the verb.
The verb **قاعد qāʕid** can precede an active participle to indicate **progressive aspect** ("to be currently doing").
All modal verbs can be negated, similar to English modals, with the exception of **راه rāh** and **ماذابيه māḏābīh**. For example: - *ماذابينا نمشيوا* (*māḏābīnā nimšīū*, "we had better go") → negative: *ماذابينا ما نمشيوش* (*māḏābīnā mā nimšīūš*). - *راه تكلّم* (*rāh tkallim*, "obviously he spoke") → negative: *راه ما تكلّمش* (*rāh mā tkallimš*).
Hāhū (existential copula, pointing to presence) Some scholars analyze **hāhū** as a **deictic particle** built from the demonstrative *hā-* ("here is…") plus a pronominal suffix.Magidow, A. (2013). Towards a sociohistorical reconstruction of pre-Islamic Arabic dialect diversity (University of Texas, Doctoral Dissertation). Others have proposed Punic influence (*hā-* used as an attention marker).
Person Tunisian Arabic Pronunciation I am هاني hānī You are (sg.) هاك hāk He is هاو hāw She is هاهي hāhī We are هانا hānā You are (pl.) هاكم hākum They are هاهم hāhum
Example: *هاني هوني* (*hānī hūnī*, "I'm here").
Rāhū (copula, emphasizing immediacy) Rāhū** emphasizes immediacy or certainty, often glossed as "look, indeed." It is built on *rā* ("see, behold") plus a pronoun suffix.
Person Tunisian Arabic Pronunciation I am راني rānī You are (sg.) راك rāk He is راهو rāhū She is راها rāhā We are رانا rānā You are (pl.) راكم rākuṃ They are راهم rāhum
Example: *راني هوني* (*rānī hūnī*, "I'm right here").
Māhū (evidential / tag marker) Māhū** functions as an evidential particle or tag-question marker ("isn't it?"). It combines the negator *ma-* with the pronominal copula.Bach Baoueb, L. (2009). Social factors for code-switching in Tunisian business companies: A case study. Multilingua 28, 425–458.
Person Tunisian Arabic Pronunciation Am I not ماني mānī Are you not ماك māk Is he not ماهو māhū Is she not ماها māhā Are we not مانا mānā Are you not (pl.) ماكم mākum Are they not ماهم māhum
Examples: - *ماني هوني* (*mānī hūnī*, "I'm here, am I not?"). - *ماشيين، ماهو؟* (*māshīn, māhū?*, "We're going, aren't we?").
Qāʕid (progressive aspect) Qāʕid** + participle expresses ongoing action ("to be doing at the moment").
Person Tunisian Arabic Pronunciation I am قاعد qāʕid You are (sg.) قاعد qāʕid He is قاعد qāʕid She is قاعدة qāʕda We are قاعدين qāʕdīn You are (pl.) قاعدين qāʕdīn They are قاعدين qāʕdīn
Example: *قاعدين ناكلوا* (*qāʕdīn nāklū*, "we are eating").
Najjam (could, past ability) Person Tunisian Arabic Pronunciation I could نجّمت najjamt You could (sg.) نجّمت najjamt He could نجّم najjam She could نجّمت najjmit We could نجّمنا najjamnā You could (pl.) نجّمتوا najjamtū They could نجّمو najjmū
Example: *نجّمو ياكلوا* (*najjmū yākulū*, "they could eat").
Ynajjam (can, present ability) Person Tunisian Arabic Pronunciation I can ننجّم nnajjam You can (sg.) تنجّم tnajjam He can ينجّم ynajjam She can تنجّم tnajjam We can ننجّمو nnajjmu You can (pl.) تنجّمو tnajjmu They can ينجّمو ynajjmu
Example: *ينجّمو ياكلوا* (*ynajjmu yākulū*, "they can eat").
Ḥaqqū (should) Literally "it is his right / it is fitting," this form is grammaticalized into a modal meaning "should."
Person Tunisian Arabic Pronunciation I should حقني ḥaqnī You should (sg.) حقك ḥaqik He should حقه ḥaqū She should حقها ḥaqhā We should حقنا ḥaqnā You should (pl.) حقكم ḥaqkum They should حقهم ḥaqhum
Example: *حقه يتكلّم* (*ḥaqū yitkallim*, "he should speak").
Lāzim / Yilzem (must / have to) Both forms derive from the root *l-z-m* "to be necessary": - *lāzim* = "must" (internal obligation). - *yilzem* = "have to" (external necessity).
Examples: - *لازمنا نمشيوا* (*lāzimnā nimšīū*, "we must go"). - *يلزمنا نمشيوا* (*yilzimnā nimšīū*, "we have to go").
Māḏābīh (had better) Māḏābīh** expresses preference or advisability, often glossed as "had better / would like." It inflects with pronominal suffixes.
Person Tunisian Arabic Pronunciation I had better ماذابيا māḏābīyā You had better (sg.) ماذابيك māḏābīk He had better ماذابيه māḏābīh She had better ماذابيها māḏābīhā We had better ماذابينا māḏābīnā You had better (pl.) ماذابيكم māḏābīkum They had better ماذابيهم māḏābīhum
Example: *ماذابينا نمشيوا* (*māḏābīnā nimšīū*, "we had better go").
Discourse markers Tunisian Arabic involve Discourse markers that are used to emphasize some facts in discussions.Adams, C. (2012). Six Discourse Markers in Tunisian Arabic: A Syntactic and Pragmatic Analysis (Doctoral dissertation, University of North Dakota). These facts could be even evidences and conclusions.
Evidence markers Evidence markers are mainly modal verbs. ṛāhū راهه is used to mark a fact as evident in the affirmative form. It is substituted by ṃāhū ماهه when asking about a supposed evident fact.
Conclusion markers Conclusion markers are mainly conjunctions. yāxī ياخي is used to mark a fact as a conclusion in the affirmative form. It is substituted by mālā مالا when asking to approve supposed conclusion.
Preverbal markers