<div dir="ltr">------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>Arabic-L: Mon 15 Apr 2013<br>Moderator: Dilworth Parkinson <<a href="mailto:dilworth_parkinson@byu.edu" target="_blank">dilworth_parkinson@byu.edu</a>><br>
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unsubscribe arabic-l ]<br><br>-------------------------Directory------------------------------------<br><br>1) Subject:Tunisian dialect question words<br><br>-------------------------Messages-----------------------------------<br>
1)<br>Date: 15 Apr 2013<br>From:<span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Taoufiq Ben Amor <<a href="mailto:tb46@columbia.edu" target="_blank">tb46@columbia.edu</a>></span><br>Subject:Tunisian dialect question words<br>
<br><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Dear Jonathan,</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Thank you for the reply and please forgive me for the back and forth. For the sake of accuracy, please allow me to comment on your answers:</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
<br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">What you are hearing is not a glide but a frontal alif, which is very common in the dialect of Tunis. The 'a' in 'ash' is so quick and the general rule in Tunisian pronunciation, despite the fact that you can start certain words with a sukun, is that you cannot have two consecutive vowel-less consonants in the beginning of a word; that is both carrying a sukun. So your example of 'shthibb' made of 'sh' and 'thibb' (not 'tahibb' as you spell it) cannot be pronounced by any Tunisian even if they think they can. Besides, the same 'ash' is clearly present in other question words such as lwash/'lash, kifash, waqtash, etc. So the fact that you are just hearing 'sh' does not mean it is just that. (by the way, there are other versions of these, such as 'lwah', '3lah', etc.).</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
<br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">If your Tunisian informant told you that 'fin' is egyptian, though it is used in Tunisia, that is her linguistic attitude not a linguistic fact.</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
<br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Where in the south do they use 'hal' as I never heard it? The south has many dialects and so does the north depending on whether you are closer to the west or the east and some towns have their own specific dialect. 'Yakhi' (literally 'ya akhi') in your example of the northern dialects does not equate 'hal'. It just means 'so' and is used not only in questions.</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
<br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">If you have a recording of the use of 'hal' in any Tunisian dialect, I would be very grateful if you share it with me.</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
<br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">Best,</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">
<span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px">taoufik ben amor</span><br style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px"><br><div>--------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>
End of Arabic-L: 15 Apr 2013<br></div></div>