5alal خلل
Tunisian Derja · noun
“5alal” (خلل) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning failure, malfunction.
Meanings
- failure, malfunction
- breakdown, technical fault
Usage
5alal comes from Standard Arabic. It is common in Tunisia for pointing out that a system, a service or a machine is not working as it should. Usual expressions are famma 5alal ("there's a problem, a fault") and 5alal fil manzouma ("a flaw in the system"). The register is neutral to formal: it is heard in the media, in government offices and among technicians. In a more informal register, people say mouchkla or 7aja mech mriguel. The plural 5alalet is rare; i5lalet is also found, meaning "failings".
Example
فما خلل في السيستام، استنى شوية
famma 5alal fi sistem, estanna chwaya
“There's a malfunction in the system, wait a bit.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “5alal” but also “khalal”, “5lal” and “5alel”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 5 is kha (خ), like the ch in Scottish loch.