imam امام
Tunisian Derja · noun
“imam” (امام) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning imam, prayer leader.
Meanings
- imam, prayer leader
- in front of (standard Arabic)
Usage
Imam refers to the man who leads the prayer at the mosque; for example, el imam mta3 el jem3a means the imam of the Friday prayer. This sense is common in Tunisia. The same word also means "in front of" in standard Arabic, but that sense stays written or formal: in derja, people say 9oddem (9oddem eddar, "in front of the house"). Also beware of the family name of the Egyptian actor Adel Imam, frequent in online comments. In speech, the first vowel is often reduced, giving a pronunciation close to "mam".
Example
الإمام طوّل في الصلاة اليوم
el imam tawwel fi salat lyoum
“The imam made the prayer long today.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “imam” but also “emam” and “imem”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.