iche3a اشاعة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“iche3a” (اشاعة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning rumor, hearsay.
Meanings
- rumor, hearsay
- false news
Usage
Iche3a means a rumor, a piece of information circulating without being confirmed. It is often used to deny a piece of news: "hedhi iche3a" (it's a rumor), "tla3et iche3a" (it turned out to be a rumor). The word is very common in discussions on social media, politics or celebrity life. The plural is icha3at. The associated verb phrase, "nachar iche3a", means "to spread a rumor". The register is common, close to standard Arabic, but fully integrated into Tunisian speech.
Example
الخبر هذا طلع إشاعة، ما تصدّقش كل شي تقراه في الفيسبوك.
el khbar hedha tla3 iche3a, ma tsadda9ch kol chay te9rah fel facebook.
“This news turned out to be a rumor, don't believe everything you read on Facebook.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “iche3a” but also “ichea”, “icha3a”, “ishe3a” and “ich3a”. 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.