gal ڨال
Tunisian Derja · verb
“gal” (ڨال) is a verb in Tunisian Derja meaning to say (he said).
Meanings
- to say (he said)
- to tell, to report
Usage
Gal is the pronunciation of qal, "he said", with a g. This pronunciation is typical of the dialects of inland and southern Tunisia, and more broadly of so-called Bedouin dialects. In Tunis and the Sahel, people rather say qal. Gal is conjugated like qal: gotlek, "I told you", galet, "she said", galou, "they said". In the imperfect, one says ygoul. It appears in very common questions like "ach gal?", "what did he say?". In writing, the letter ڨ marks the g sound. Spellings with ق are also found, pronounced g depending on the region.
Example
اش ڨالك بابا؟
ach galek baba?
“What did dad tell you?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “gal” but also “gall”, “9al” and “qal”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.