Judeo-Tunisian Arabic
Judeo-Tunisian Arabic, also known as Djerbian Arabic, is a variety of Tunisian Arabic mainly spoken by Jews living or formerly living in Tunisia.[6] Speakers are older adults, and the younger generation has only a passive knowledge of the language.[1]
Judeo-Tunisian Arabic | |
---|---|
Native to | Beit Shemesh, Jerusalem District, Israel[1] Houmt Souk, Djerba, Tunisia[2] Tunis, Tunisia[3] Gabes, Tunisia[4] |
Native speakers | (46,000 cited 1995)[5] |
Afro-Asiatic
| |
Arabic script[1] Hebrew alphabet[1][6] | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | ajt |
Glottolog | jude1263 [7] |
The vast majority of Tunisian Jews have relocated to Israel and have shifted to Hebrew as their home language.[3][8] Those in France typically use French as their primary language, while the few still left in Tunisia tend to use either French or Tunisian Arabic in their everyday lives.[3][8]
Judeo-Tunisian Arabic is one of the Judeo-Arabic languages, a collection of Arabic dialects spoken by Jews living or formerly living in the Arab world.[6]
History
Before 1901
A Jewish community existed in what is today Tunisia even prior to Roman rule in Africa.[9] After the Arabic conquest of North Africa, this community began to use Arabic for their daily communication.[3] They had adopted the pre-Hilalian dialect of Tunisian Arabic as their own dialect.[3] As Jewish communities tend to be close-knit and isolated from the other ethnic and religious communities of their countries,[6] their dialect spread to their coreligionists all over the country[2][10] and had not been in contact with the languages of the communities that invaded Tunisia in the middle age.[3][11] The primary language contact with regard to Judeo-Tunisian Arabic came from the languages of Jewish communities that fled to Tunisia as a result of persecution like Judeo-Spanish.[9] This explains why Judeo-Tunisian Arabic lacks influence from the dialects of the Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym, and has developed several phonological and lexical particularities that distinguish it from Tunisian Arabic.[11][12][13] This also explains why Judeo-Tunisian words are generally less removed from their etymological origin than Tunisian words.[14]
After 1901
In 1901, Judeo-Tunisian became one of the main spoken Arabic dialects of Tunisia, with thousands of speakers.[9] Linguists noted the unique character of this dialect, and subjected it to study.[9] Among the people studying Judeo-Tunisian Arabic, Daniel Hagege listed a significant amount of Judeo-Tunisian Arabic newspapers from the early 1900s in his essay The Circulation of Tunisian Judeo-Arabic Books.[15] Educated leaders within the Tunisian Jewish community like ceramic merchant Jacob Chemla translated several works into Judeo-Tunisian, including The Count of Monte Cristo.
However, its emergence has significantly declined since 1948 due to the creation of Israel.[9] In fact, the Jewish community of Tunisia has either chosen to leave or was forced to leave Tunisia and immigrate to France or Israel.[3][8] Nowadays, the language is largely extinct throughout most of Tunisia, even if it is still used by the small Jewish communities in Tunis, Gabes and Djerba,[2][3][4] and most of the Jewish communities that have left Tunisia have chosen to change their language of communication to the main language of their current country.[3]
Current situation
Language vitality: Judeo-Tunisian Arabic is believed to be vulnerable with only 500 speakers in Tunisia [16] and with about 45,000 speakers in Israel[17]
Language variations: In Tunisia, geography plays a huge role in how Judeo-Tunisian Arabic varies between speakers.[18] In fact, Tunisian Judeo-Arabic can vary depending on the region in which it is spoken.[18] Accordingly, the main dialects of Judeo-Tunisian Arabic are:[18]
- The dialect of the North of Tunisia (Mainly spoken in Tunis)
- The dialect of the South of Tunisia (Mainly Spoken in Gabes)
- The dialect of the islands off the coast of the country (Mainly spoken in Djerba)
In addition, Judeo-Tunisian can vary within the same region based on the town in which it is spoken.[18]
Distinctives from Tunisian Arabic
Like all other Judeo-Arabic languages, Judeo-Tunisian Arabic does not seem to be very different from the Arabic dialect from which it derives, Tunisian Arabic.[3][6][19][20][21]
- Phonology: There are three main differences between Tunisian Arabic phonology and Judeo-Tunisian Arabic phonology:
- Substitution of phonemes: Mostly unlike Tunisian Arabic dialects, Judeo-Tunisian Arabic has merged Tunisian Arabic's glottal [ʔ] and [h] into [∅],[3][9] Interdental [ð] and [θ] have respectively been merged with [d] and [t],[3][9] Ḍah and Ḍād have been merged as [dˤ] and not as [ðˤ],[3][9] Prehilalian /aw/ and /ay/ diphthongs have been kept[3][9] (except in Gabes[22]), and [χ] and [ʁ] have been respectively substituted by [x] and [ɣ].[3][9] This is mainly explained by the difference between the language contact submitted by Jewish communities in Tunisia and the one submitted by Tunisian people.[9]
- Sibilant conversion:
- [ʃ] and [ʒ] are realized as [sˤ] and [zˤ] if there is an emphatic consonant or [q] later in the word (however in Gabes this change takes effect if [ʃ] and [ʒ] are either before or after an emphatic consonant or [q]).[4] For example, راجل rājil (meaning man) is pronounced in Gabes dialect of Judeo-Tunisian Arabic as /rˤa:zˤel/ and حجرة ḥajra (meaning stone) is pronounced in all Judeo-Tunisian dialects as /ħazˤrˤa/.[4]
- [ʃ] and [ʒ] are realized as [s] and [z] if there is an [r] later in the word (Not applicable to the dialect of Gabes).[4] For example, جربة jirba (meaning Djerba) is pronounced in all Judeo-Tunisian dialects except the one of Gabes as /zerba/.[4]
- Chibilant conversion: Unlike in the other Judeo-Arabic languages of the Maghreb,[23] [sˤ], [s] and [z] are realized as [ʃ], [ʃ] and [ʒ] in several situations.[4]
- [sˤ] is realized as [ʃ] if there is not another emphatic consonant or a [q] within the word (only applicable to Gabes dialect) or if this [sˤ] is directly followed by a [d].[22] For example, صدر ṣdir (meaning chest) is pronounced as /ʃder/[22] and صف ṣaff (meaning queue) is pronounced in Gabes dialect of Judeo-Tunisian Arabic as /ʃaff/.
- [s] and [z] are respectively realized as [ʃ] and [ʒ] if there is no emphatic consonant, no [q] and no [r] later in the word (In Gabes, this change takes effect if there is no [q] and no emphatic consonant within the word). For example, زبدة zibda (meaning butter) is pronounced as /ʒebda/.[4]
- Emphasis of [s] and [z]: Further than the possible conversion of [s] and [z] by [sˤ] and [zˤ] due to the phenomenon of the assimilation of adjacent consonants (also existing in Tunisian Arabic),[19] [s] and [z] are also realized as [sˤ] and [zˤ] if there is an emphatic consonant or [q] later in the word (however in Gabes this change takes effect if [ʃ] and [ʒ] are either before or after an emphatic consonant or [q]).[4] For example, سوق sūq (meaning market) is pronounced in Judeo-Tunisian Arabic as /sˤu:q/.[4]
- [q] and [g] phonemes: Unlike the Northwestern, Southeastern and Southwestern dialects of Tunisian Arabic, Judeo-Tunisian Arabic does not systematically substitute Classical Arabic [q] by [g].[23] Also, the [g] phoneme existing in Tunis, Sahil and Sfax dialects of Tunisian Arabic is rarely maintained[24] and is mostly substituted by a [q] in Judeo-Tunisian.[3] For example, بقرة (cow) is pronounced as /bagra/ in Tunis, Sahil and Sfax dialects of Tunisian Arabic and as /baqra/ in Judeo-Tunisian.[3]
- Morphology: The morphology is quite the same as the one of Tunisian Arabic.[3][6][19] However:
- Judeo-Tunisian Arabic sometimes uses some particular morphological structures such as typical clitics like qa- that is used to denote the progressivity of a given action.[3][25] For example, qayākil means he is eating.
- Unlike Tunisian Arabic, Judeo-Tunisian Arabic is characterized by its overuse of the passive form.[3][11]
- The informal lack of subject-verb agreement found in Tunisian and in Modern Standard Arabic does not exist in Judeo-Tunisian Arabic. For example, we say ed-dyār tebnēu الديار تبناوا and not ed-dyār tebnēt الديار تبنات (The houses were built).[26]
- Vocabulary: There are some differences between the vocabulary of Tunisian Arabic and the one of Judeo-Tunisian Arabic. Effectively:
- Unlike Tunisian Arabic, Judeo-Tunisian Arabic has a Hebrew adstratum.[2][6][27] In fact, Cohen said that almost 5 percent of the Judeo-Tunisian words are from Hebrew origin.[23] Furthermore, Judeo-Tunisian has acquired several specific words that do not exist in Tunisian like Ladino from language contact with Judaeo-Romance languages.[23][28]
- Unlike most of the Tunisian Arabic dialect and as it is Pre-Hilalian, Judeo-Tunisian kept Pre-Hilalian vocabulary usage patterns.[29] For example rā را is used instead of šūf شوف (commonly used in Tunisian) to mean "to see".[29]
- Unlike the Tunis dialect of Tunisian Arabic,[12] Judeo-Tunisian Arabic is also known for the profusion of diminutives.[12] For example:
References
- Raymond G. Gordon Jr., ed. 2005. Ethnologue: Languages of the World. 15th edition. Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics.
- (in Hebrew) Henschke, J. (1991). Hebrew elements in the Spoken Arabic of Djerba. Massorot, 5-6, 77-118.
- (in French) Cohen, D. (1975). Le parler arabe des Juifs de Tunis: Étude linguistique. La Haye: Mouton.
- Sumikazu, Yoda. ""Sifflant" and "Chuintant" in the Arabic Dialect of the Jews of Gabes (south Tunisia)". Zeitschrift für Arabische Linguistik. 46: 21. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
- Judeo-Tunisian Arabic at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
- (in French) Bar-Asher, M. (1996). La recherche sur les parlers judéo-arabes modernes du Maghreb: état de la question. Histoire épistémologie langage, 18(1), 167-177.
- Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Judeo-Tunisian Arabic". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
- Bassiouney, R. (2009). Arabic sociolinguistics. Edinburgh University Press, pp. 104.
- Leddy-Cecere, T. A. (2010). Contact, Restructuring, and Decreolization: The Case of Tunisian Arabic. University of Pennsylvania, pp. 47-71.
- (in French) Saada, L. (1956). Introduction à l'étude du parler arabe des juifs de Sousse.
- (in French) Vanhove, M. (1998). De quelques traits préhilaliens en maltais. Peuplement et Arabisation au Maghreb Occidental (Dialectologie et Histoire), 97-108.
- (in French) Cohen, D. (1970). Les deux parlers arabes de Tunis. Notes de phonologie comparee. In his Etudes de linguistique semitique et arabe, 150(7).
- (in French) Caubet, D. (2000). Questionnaire de dialectologie du Maghreb (d'après les travaux de W. Marçais, M. Cohen, GS Colin, J. Cantineau, D. Cohen, Ph. Marçais, S. Lévy, etc.). Estudios de dialectología norteafricana y andalusí, EDNA, (5), 73-90.
- Aslanov, C. (2016). Remnants of Maghrebi Judeo-Arabic among French-born Jews of North-African Descent. Journal of Jewish Languages, 4(1), 69-84.
- Tobi, Joseph (2014). Judeo-Arabic Literature In Tunisia, 1850-1950. Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press. pp. 241–320. ISBN 978-0-8143-2871-2.
- "UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger". Unesco.org. UNESCO. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
- "Arabic, Judeo-Tunisian". Ethologue Languages of the World. Ethnologue. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
- Henshke, Yehudit (2010). "Different Hebrew Traditions: Mapping Regional Distinctions in the Hebrew Component of Spoken Tunisian Judeo-Arabic". Studies in the History and Culture of North African Jewry: 109. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
- Talmoudi, Fathi (1979) The Arabic Dialect of Sûsa (Tunisia). Göteborg: Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis.
- Hammet, Sandra (2014). "Irregular verbs in Maltese and Their Counterparts in The Tunisian and Moroccan Dialects" (PDF). Romano-Arabica. 14: 193–210. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
- Arevalo, Tania Marica Garcia (2014). "The General Linguistic Features of Modern Judeo-Arabic Dialects in the Maghreb". Zutot. 11: 54–56. doi:10.1163/18750214-12341266.
- Sumikazu, Yoda. ""Sifflant" and "Chuintant" in the Arabic Dialect of the Jews of Gabes (south Tunisia)". Zeitschrift für Arabische Linguistik. 46: 16. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
- Cohen, D. (1981). Remarques historiques et sociolinguistiques sur les parlers arabes des juifs maghrébins. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 1981(30), 91-106.
- Cohen, D. (1973). Variantes, variétés dialectales et contacts linguistiques en domaine arabe. Bulletin de la Société de Linguistique de Paris, 68(1), 233.
- Cuvalay, M. (1991). The expression of durativity in Arabic. The Arabist, Budapest studies in Arabic, 3-4, 146.
- (in French) Taieb, J., & Sayah, M. (2003). Remarques sur le parler judéo-arabe de Tunis. Diasporas Histoire et Sociétés, n° 2, Langues dépaysées. Presses Universitaires de Mirail, pp. 58.
- Chetrit, J. (2014). Judeo-Arabic Dialects in North Africa as Communal Languages: Lects, Polylects, and Sociolects. Journal of Jewish Languages, 2(2), 202-232.
- (in French) Dufour, Y. R. (1998). La langue parlée des Tunes. modia.org. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
- (in French) Cohen, D. (1962). Koinè, langues communes et dialectes arabes. Arabica, 9(2), 122.
Further reading
- Garcia Arévalo, T. M. (2014). The General Linguistic Features of Modern Judeo-Arabic Dialects in the Maghreb. Zutot, 11(1), 49-56. doi:10.1163/18750214-12341266.
- Bar-Asher, M., &. Fraade, S. D. (2010). Studies in the history and culture of North African Jewry. In Proceedings of the symposium at Yale. New Haven: Program in Judaic Studies, Yale.
- Sumikazu, Y., & Yoda, S. (2006). " Sifflant" and" chuintant" in the Arabic dialect of the Jews of Gabes (south Tunisia). Zeitschrift für arabische Linguistik, (46), 7-25.
- Tobi, Y., & Tobi, T. (2014). Judeo-Arabic Literature in Tunisia, 1850-1950. Detroit, MI: Wayne State UP. ISBN 978-0-8143-2871-2.
- Hammett, S. (2014). Irregular verbs in Maltese and their counterparts in the Tunisian and Morccan dialects. Romano-Arabica, 14, 193-210.
- (in French) Saada, L. (1969). Le parler arabe des Juifs de Sousse (Doctoral dissertation, PhD thesis, University of Paris).
- (in French) Cohen, D. (1975). Le parler arabe des Juifs de Tunis: Étude linguistique. La Haye: Mouton.
- (in French) Cohen, D. (1970). Les deux parlers arabes de Tunis. Études de linguistique sémitique et arabe, 150-171.
External links
- Judeo-Tunisian Arabic in Endangered Languages Project
- Judeo-Tunisian Arabic in Ethnologue
- Judeo-Tunisian Arabic in Glottolog
- Judeo-Tunisian Arabic in Joshua Project