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m This page was made by some dirty berberist... Arabization of Tunisia is way more older than that
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| keyboard image = [[File:KB France.svg|200px]]<br>[[File:KB Arabic.svg|200px]]
| keyboard image = [[File:KB France.svg|200px]]<br>[[File:KB Arabic.svg|200px]]
| sign = [[Tunisian Sign Language]]
| sign = [[Tunisian Sign Language]]
}}Of the languages of Tunisia, [[Arabic]] is the sole [[official language]] according to the [[Constitution of Tunisia|Tunisian Constitution]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=WIPO Lex |url=https://wipolex.wipo.int/en/legislation/details/7201 |access-date=2022-10-17 |website=wipolex.wipo.int}}</ref>.
}}
[[File:WikiArabia-2526.JPG|thumb|Sign at a mosque in English, Italian, German, French and Arabic]]
[[File:Fmso front.jpg|thumb|Sign in Arabic and French at the Sousse Faculty of Medicine.]]
[[Tunisia]] is a multilingual country.<ref name="Laval">{{in lang|fr}} [http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/AXL/AFRIQUE/tunisie.htm Aménagement linguistique en Tunisie (Université de Laval)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090602221152/http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/tunisie.htm |date=2009-06-02 }}</ref> The original language of Tunisia since ancient times is the [[Berber language]], but most Tunisians slowly switched to a variety of Arabic after the Islamic conquest and contributed to its spread.


The vast majority of the population today speaks [[Tunisian Arabic]] (also called [[Derja]]) as their native language, which is mutually intelligible to a limited degree with other [[Maghrebi Arabic]] dialects. Most inhabitants are also literate in [[Modern Standard Arabic]] (literary Arabic), which is taught at the primary and secondary education levels. A significant portion of the population can speak [[French language|French]] to varying degrees, as French was the common language of business and administration during [[French Tunisia|French rule in the region]].
The vast majority of the population today speaks [[Tunisian Arabic]] (also called [[Derja]]) as their native language, which is mutually intelligible to a limited degree with other [[Maghrebi Arabic]] dialects. Most inhabitants are also literate in [[Modern Standard Arabic]] (literary Arabic), which is taught at the primary and secondary education levels. A significant portion of the population can speak [[French language|French]] to varying degrees, as French was the common language of business and administration during [[French Tunisia|French rule in the region]].


The [[Berber language]] is still spoken by some Tunisians, but they also speak Arabic as a second language.
The [[Berber language]] is still spoken by some Tunisian minorities, but they also speak Arabic as a second language.


==Tunisian Arabic==
==Tunisian Arabic==
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The Tunisian Derja ({{lang|aeb|تونسي}}) is considered a [[Varieties of Arabic|variety of Arabic]] – or more accurately a [[Dialect continuum|set of dialects]].<ref>« Travaux de phonologie. Parlers de Djemmal, Gabès, Mahdia (Tunisie) et Tréviso (Italie) », ''Cahiers du CERES'', Tunis, 1969</ref>
The Tunisian Derja ({{lang|aeb|تونسي}}) is considered a [[Varieties of Arabic|variety of Arabic]] – or more accurately a [[Dialect continuum|set of dialects]].<ref>« Travaux de phonologie. Parlers de Djemmal, Gabès, Mahdia (Tunisie) et Tréviso (Italie) », ''Cahiers du CERES'', Tunis, 1969</ref>


Tunisian is built upon a significant [[Berber languages|Berber]], [[African Romance]]<ref name="mohand">{{in lang|fr}} Tilmatine Mohand, ''Substrat et convergences: Le berbére et l'arabe nord-africain'' (1999), in ''Estudios de dialectologia norteafricana y andalusi 4'', pp 99–119</ref><ref name="corrient">{{in lang|es}} Corriente, F. (1992). Árabe andalusí y lenguas romances. Fundación MAPFRE.</ref> and [[Punic language|Neo-Punic]]<ref name="maghribi">{{Cite book|title =Le maghribi, langue trois fois millénaire |publisher = ANEP |location=Algiers |year=1997 |pages=129–130|first = Abdou|last = Elimam}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title = Contact, Restructuring, and Decreolization:The Case of Tunisian Arabic|url = https://www.ldc.upenn.edu/sites/www.ldc.upenn.edu/files/leddy-cecere-thesis.pdf|publisher = Linguistic Data Consortium, Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Languages and Literatures|date=2010|pages=10–12–50–77|first = Thomas|last = A. Leddy-Cecere}}</ref> [[Stratum (linguistics)#Substratum|substratum]], while its vocabulary is mostly derived from a morphological corruption of [[Arabic]], [[French language|French]], [[Italian language|Italian]] and [[English language|English]].<ref name="cota">[https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ines_Zribi2/publication/270568583_A_Conventional_Orthography_for_Tunisian_Arabic/links/54ad65b90cf2828b29fc7aea.pdf Zribi, I., Boujelbane, R., Masmoudi, A., Ellouze, M., Belguith, L., & Habash, N. (2014). A Conventional Orthography for Tunisian Arabic. In Proceedings of the Language Resources and Evaluation Conference (LREC), Reykjavik, Iceland.]</ref> [[Multilingualism]] within Tunisia and in the [[Tunisian diaspora]] makes it common for Tunisians to [[code-switching|code-switch]], mixing Tunisian with French, Italian and English or other languages in daily speech.<ref name="dig">{{cite journal|doi=10.1080/14664200108668018 | volume=2 | title=The Language Situation in Tunisia | year=2001 | journal=Current Issues in Language Planning | pages=1–52 | last1 = Daoud | first1 = Mohamed| s2cid=144429547 }}</ref>
Tunisian is built upon a significant [[Berber languages|Berber]], [[African Romance]]<ref name="mohand">{{in lang|fr}} Tilmatine Mohand, ''Substrat et convergences: Le berbére et l'arabe nord-africain'' (1999), in ''Estudios de dialectologia norteafricana y andalusi 4'', pp 99–119</ref><ref name="corrient">{{in lang|es}} Corriente, F. (1992). Árabe andalusí y lenguas romances. Fundación MAPFRE.</ref> and [[Punic language|Neo-Punic]]<ref name="maghribi">{{Cite book|title =Le maghribi, langue trois fois millénaire |publisher = ANEP |location=Algiers |year=1997 |pages=129–130|first = Abdou|last = Elimam}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title = Contact, Restructuring, and Decreolization:The Case of Tunisian Arabic|url = https://www.ldc.upenn.edu/sites/www.ldc.upenn.edu/files/leddy-cecere-thesis.pdf|publisher = Linguistic Data Consortium, Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Languages and Literatures|date=2010|pages=10–12–50–77|first = Thomas|last = A. Leddy-Cecere}}</ref> [[Stratum (linguistics)#Substratum|substratum]], while its vocabulary is mostly derived from [[Arabic]] and a morphological corruption of [[French language|French]], [[Italian language|Italian]] and [[English language|English]].<ref name="cota">[https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ines_Zribi2/publication/270568583_A_Conventional_Orthography_for_Tunisian_Arabic/links/54ad65b90cf2828b29fc7aea.pdf Zribi, I., Boujelbane, R., Masmoudi, A., Ellouze, M., Belguith, L., & Habash, N. (2014). A Conventional Orthography for Tunisian Arabic. In Proceedings of the Language Resources and Evaluation Conference (LREC), Reykjavik, Iceland.]</ref> [[Multilingualism]] within Tunisia and in the [[Tunisian diaspora]] makes it common for Tunisians to [[code-switching|code-switch]], mixing Tunisian with French, Italian and English or other languages in daily speech.<ref name="dig">{{cite journal|doi=10.1080/14664200108668018 | volume=2 | title=The Language Situation in Tunisia | year=2001 | journal=Current Issues in Language Planning | pages=1–52 | last1 = Daoud | first1 = Mohamed| s2cid=144429547 }}</ref>


Moreover, Tunisian is closely related to the [[Maltese language]],<ref>Borg and Azzopardi-Alexander ''Maltese'' (1997:xiii) "The immediate source for the Arabic vernacular spoken in Malta was Muslim Sicily, but its ultimate origin appears to have been Tunisia. In fact, Maltese displays some areal traits typical of Maghrebi Arabic although during the past 800 years of independent evolution it has drifted apart from Tunisian Arabic".</ref> that descended from Tunisian and [[Siculo-Arabic]].<ref name="maltese">Borg, Albert J.; Azzopardi-Alexander, Marie (1997). Maltese. Routledge. {{ISBN|0-415-02243-6}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tourismtunisia.com/the-language-in-tunisia/|title=The Language in Tunisia, Tunisia {{!}} TourismTunisia.com|website=www.tourismtunisia.com|language=en-US|access-date=2017-07-31}}</ref>
Moreover, Tunisian is closely related to the [[Maltese language]],<ref>Borg and Azzopardi-Alexander ''Maltese'' (1997:xiii) "The immediate source for the Arabic vernacular spoken in Malta was Muslim Sicily, but its ultimate origin appears to have been Tunisia. In fact, Maltese displays some areal traits typical of Maghrebi Arabic although during the past 800 years of independent evolution it has drifted apart from Tunisian Arabic".</ref> that descended from Tunisian and [[Siculo-Arabic]].<ref name="maltese">Borg, Albert J.; Azzopardi-Alexander, Marie (1997). Maltese. Routledge. {{ISBN|0-415-02243-6}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tourismtunisia.com/the-language-in-tunisia/|title=The Language in Tunisia, Tunisia {{!}} TourismTunisia.com|website=www.tourismtunisia.com|language=en-US|access-date=2017-07-31}}</ref>


==Berber languages==
==Berber languages==
[[Berber languages]] (called "shelha" by Arabic-speakers) are mainly spoken in the villages of the south, including [[Chenini]], [[Douiret]], [[Matmata, Tunisia|Matmata]] and [[Tamezret language|Tamezrett]]. They are also spoken in some hamlets on the island of [[Djerba]], mainly Guellala ,Sedouikech, Azdyuch and Ouirsighen.
[[Berber languages]] (called "shelha" by Arabs) are mainly spoken in the villages of the south, including [[Chenini]], [[Douiret]], [[Matmata, Tunisia|Matmata]] and [[Tamezret language|Tamezrett]]. They are also spoken in some hamlets on the island of [[Djerba]], mainly Guellala ,Sedouikech, Azdyuch and Ouirsighen.


==French==
==French==
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* [[Demographics of Tunisia]]
* [[Demographics of Tunisia]]
* [[Arab world]]
* [[Arab world]]
* [[Arabized Berber]]
* [[French language in the Maghreb]]
* [[French language in the Maghreb]]
* [[Languages of Algeria]]
* [[Languages of Algeria]]

Revision as of 17:06, 17 October 2022

Languages of Tunisia
Plaque in French and Arabic, Tunis
OfficialModern Standard Arabic
RecognisedFrench
VernacularTunisian Arabic
MinorityJudeo-Tunisian Arabic, Jerba Berber, Matmata Berber
ForeignItalian, English
SignedTunisian Sign Language
Keyboard layout

Of the languages of Tunisia, Arabic is the sole official language according to the Tunisian Constitution[1].

The vast majority of the population today speaks Tunisian Arabic (also called Derja) as their native language, which is mutually intelligible to a limited degree with other Maghrebi Arabic dialects. Most inhabitants are also literate in Modern Standard Arabic (literary Arabic), which is taught at the primary and secondary education levels. A significant portion of the population can speak French to varying degrees, as French was the common language of business and administration during French rule in the region.

The Berber language is still spoken by some Tunisian minorities, but they also speak Arabic as a second language.

Tunisian Arabic

Main article: Tunisian Arabic
A person speaking Tunisian Arabic.

The Tunisian Derja (تونسي) is considered a variety of Arabic – or more accurately a set of dialects.[2]

Tunisian is built upon a significant Berber, African Romance[3][4] and Neo-Punic[5][6] substratum, while its vocabulary is mostly derived from Arabic and a morphological corruption of French, Italian and English.[7] Multilingualism within Tunisia and in the Tunisian diaspora makes it common for Tunisians to code-switch, mixing Tunisian with French, Italian and English or other languages in daily speech.[8]

Moreover, Tunisian is closely related to the Maltese language,[9] that descended from Tunisian and Siculo-Arabic.[10][11]

Berber languages

Berber languages (called "shelha" by Arabs) are mainly spoken in the villages of the south, including Chenini, Douiret, Matmata and Tamezrett. They are also spoken in some hamlets on the island of Djerba, mainly Guellala ,Sedouikech, Azdyuch and Ouirsighen.

French

During the French colonization of Tunisia, French was introduced in public institutions, most notably the education system, which became a strong vehicle for dissemination of the language. From independence, the country gradually became arabized even though the public administration and education remained bilingual.[12] Meanwhile, knowledge of French and other European languages (such as English) is enhanced by Tunisia's proximity to Europe and by media and tourism.

The 1990s marked a turning point for the Arabization process. Science classes up to the end of middle school were Arabized in order to facilitate access to higher education and promote the Arabic language in society.[12] Since October 1999, private establishments have been obliged to give Arabic characters twice the size of Latin characters.[12] This rule is not always followed, however. At the same time, the public administration is required to communicate in Arabic only. In this context, the use of French seems to be in decline despite the increased number of graduates in the educational system, which leads to the fact that a good knowledge of French remains an important social marker.[12] This is because French is widely used in the business community, intellectual domains and the spheres of natural science and medicine. Because of this, one can consider the language to have become gentrified.[12] Thus, French in Tunisia is a prestige language.[13]

According to recent estimates provided by the Tunisian government to the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, the number of French speakers in the country is estimated at 6.36 million people, or 63.6% of the population.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ "WIPO Lex". wipolex.wipo.int. Retrieved 2022-10-17.
  2. ^ « Travaux de phonologie. Parlers de Djemmal, Gabès, Mahdia (Tunisie) et Tréviso (Italie) », Cahiers du CERES, Tunis, 1969
  3. ^ (in French) Tilmatine Mohand, Substrat et convergences: Le berbére et l'arabe nord-africain (1999), in Estudios de dialectologia norteafricana y andalusi 4, pp 99–119
  4. ^ (in Spanish) Corriente, F. (1992). Árabe andalusí y lenguas romances. Fundación MAPFRE.
  5. ^ Elimam, Abdou (1997). Le maghribi, langue trois fois millénaire. Algiers: ANEP. pp. 129–130.
  6. ^ A. Leddy-Cecere, Thomas (2010). Contact, Restructuring, and Decreolization:The Case of Tunisian Arabic (PDF). Linguistic Data Consortium, Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Languages and Literatures. pp. 10–12–50–77.
  7. ^ Zribi, I., Boujelbane, R., Masmoudi, A., Ellouze, M., Belguith, L., & Habash, N. (2014). A Conventional Orthography for Tunisian Arabic. In Proceedings of the Language Resources and Evaluation Conference (LREC), Reykjavik, Iceland.
  8. ^ Daoud, Mohamed (2001). "The Language Situation in Tunisia". Current Issues in Language Planning. 2: 1–52. doi:10.1080/14664200108668018. S2CID 144429547.
  9. ^ Borg and Azzopardi-Alexander Maltese (1997:xiii) "The immediate source for the Arabic vernacular spoken in Malta was Muslim Sicily, but its ultimate origin appears to have been Tunisia. In fact, Maltese displays some areal traits typical of Maghrebi Arabic although during the past 800 years of independent evolution it has drifted apart from Tunisian Arabic".
  10. ^ Borg, Albert J.; Azzopardi-Alexander, Marie (1997). Maltese. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-02243-6.
  11. ^ "The Language in Tunisia, Tunisia | TourismTunisia.com". www.tourismtunisia.com. Retrieved 2017-07-31.
  12. ^ a b c d e Samy Ghorbal, «Le français a-t-il encore un avenir ? », Jeune Afrique, 27 avril 2008, pp. 77-78
  13. ^ Stevens, Paul (1980). "Modernism and Authenticity as Reflected in Language Attitudes : The Case of Tunisia". Vol. 30, no. 1/2. Civilisations. pp. 37–59. JSTOR 41802986.
  14. ^ "Christian Valantin (sous la dir. de), La Francophonie dans le monde. 2006-2007, éd. Nathan, Paris, 2007, p. 16" (PDF) (in French). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-12-24. Retrieved 2011-03-05. (5.58 MB)

Further reading

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