(Dropcap) e (/dropcap) n arriving from France, or from another French -speaking country, we are amazed to see or hear in Tunisia unknown French words. To finally discover that these are Tunisian terms French, used in common language and relayed, very seriously, by the French -speaking Tunisian media. We have selected ten, from others. Beldi. The term today designates what is commonly called Tunisois of “strain”. In reality, the word “Beldi” designated feudal, religious and social elites. They are craftsmen or traders, religious and literate, members of the Turkish administration or rich landowners benefiting from the annuities of farms in the time of the Beys. The Destourians are those who belonged to the Socialist Party Destourien (PSD) of Habib Bourguiba, first president of the Tunisian Republic. The term refers to the Constitution, one of the first claims of the PSD, created in 1920, to restore the rights which the country enjoyed before the French protectorate.
Since the Revolution, the supporters of the RCD (Constitutional Democratic Rally), a part of the Ben Ali regime, in 2011, have started to claim “Destouriens” in order to avoid being associated with the RCD.
Example: Creation of the “Front Destourien” in April 2013, with Kamel Morjane, ex-minister of Ben Ali, Mohamed Jgham, ex-minister of defense, interior, etc.
Supervisor. We will not say a supervisor, as in France, but a supervisor. It is the one responsible for supervising students in higher education. For example, as part of a thesis, he is the referent that will accompany the student to his defense. However, according to the French National Center for Textual and Lexical Resources, a supervisor is “the one who supervises prints, paintings”. Harraga. Literally, in Tunisian Arabic, the word means “those who burn”. Nevertheless, in Tunisian, we use this term to designate the maghreb migrants illegal which leave on makeshift boats for Europe.
The reason for this appellation comes back to the fact that before leaving, migrants burn their papers so that we do not know and do not refer them to their countries of origin.
Seen in El Watan, in 2009, “nothing stops the harraga: a hundred intercepted in Oran, 30 disembark in Tunisia” or to learn piracy, Libyan militiamen hunt for “harragas”.
RENTAL. To move between cities in Tunisia, we use what is called “rental”. They are easily recognized by their red or blue band. These are collective taxis, minivans or white breaks that may contain eight people. Allow approximately 4 dinars for 1 hour of journey. Cheap!
Master. It is not used either in France or Belgium either, … On the other hand in Tunisia, a “master’s” is a student who obtained his master’s degree after four years of hard work when leaving the baccalaureate. Masterys have the right to their distinctive name. In the same way as the “Thésards”, those who have a thesis. In a French -speaking Tunisian newspaper, you can come across ads of the type “company recruits Master in …”.
Security. Because it is too long to specify “action common to the police, the national guard and the army”, the word “security” makes it possible to associate the three. Especially during actions against terrorists, the supervision of events, or to talk about the security provided in Tunisia in general.
Example: shots of shots at Jebel Bireno between security and terrorists.
Taghout. Two main meanings explain this term, rather in literal Arabic and not in Tunisian. The first refers to Satan while the second is attributed to “the unfair governor who does not follow the precepts of the God of Muslims”. He represents the tyrant as well as his “servants”. Religious extremists who say they are “defender of Islam” often designate the security of “taghout” because they are at the service of what they consider to be unjust leaders.
Since the Revolution, several terrorist attacks have taken place. The last date of January 3 when a police officer was slaughtered in El Fahs. Following this umpteenth murder, Sahbi Jouini, president of the Union of Security Unions in Tunisia, recalled that these extremists describe them as “taghout”.
Takfiristes. In the Tunisian media as well as the pages linked to the Ministry of the Interior or the Police, we often speak of the arrest of “Takfiristes”. These are Islamist extremists who accuse, wrongly and through, people, whether Muslim or not, “infidels”.
Example: 27 “Takfiristes” arrested following the attack on the National Guard post in Douar Hicher.
Zatla. Rather than “cannabis” or “Hachich”, the Tunisian speaks of “Zatla”. To the point where there are articles we are talking about the “Zatla law” in Tunisia, which refers to “law 52”. The Tunisian media have appropriated this term because of the frequent arrests of consumers, often sentenced to a prison sentence of one year and 1000 fine dinars, minimum. A rather severe sanction compared to the rest of the world.
Example: 52 kilos of cannabis (Zatla) were seized in Kasserine.
Caroline Malczuk
Lilia Weslaty
