cho3ba شعبة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“cho3ba” (شعبة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning local cell of the ruling party.
Meanings
- local cell of the ruling party
- section, branch of an organization
Usage
Chô3ba refers mainly to the local cell of the ruling party under the former regime. These neighborhood offices organized and monitored the population. The word has taken on a pejorative connotation. An expression like "3assas chô3ba" targets an informer or a regime man. Saying someone was "circumcised at the chô3ba" accuses them of a past as a partisan, often to mock a recent activist. In neutral usage, the word can also mean an administrative section or branch.
Example
بوه كان يخدم في الشعبة متاع الحومة
bouh ken yekhdem fel chô3ba mta3 el 7ouma
“His father worked at the neighborhood party cell.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “cho3ba” but also “chou3ba”, “chô3ba”, “chaaba” and “cha3ba”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.