diouan ديوان
Tunisian Derja · noun
“diouan” (ديوان) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning public office (state agency).
Meanings
- public office (state agency)
- poetry collection
Usage
In Tunisia, diwan mainly means a public office, a state body. It appears in many names: diwan el khadamet ej-jem3iya (university services), diwan et-tounsiyin bel kharej (Office of Tunisians Abroad). In this sense it corresponds to French "office", which many people use as is. In literature, diwan also means a collection of an author's poems. The plural is dwewin. The meaning of "sofa" or "sitting room", familiar from French, is not common here.
Example
مشيت للديوان باش نقيّد في المبيت.
mchit lel diwan bech n9ayed fel mabit.
“I went to the office to register for the university residence.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, it is written “diouan”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.