5alfiya خلفية
Tunisian Derja · noun
“5alfiya” (خلفية) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning background, backdrop.
Meanings
- background, backdrop
- background, (political) leaning
- grounds, context ("against the backdrop of")
Usage
5alfiya comes from Standard Arabic. It is widely used in Tunisia in media or serious registers. The expression 3la 5alfiyet… means "because of, following". 5alfiya siyesiya is said for a "political background", meaning an affiliation or hidden motives. The word also refers to the background of an image or a screen (5alfiyet ettelifoun, "the phone wallpaper"). In everyday conversation it keeps a somewhat formal flavour, but it is perfectly understood. In political discussions it is often used to suspect hidden intentions.
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “5alfiya” but also “khalfiya”, “5alfia”, “5alfiyya” and “khalfia”. 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.
Type “5alfiya” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “background (image, music)”; “wallpaper”: khalfia in Moroccan.