lista ليستة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“lista” (ليستة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning list (of names, objects, choices).
Meanings
- list (of names, objects, choices)
- electoral or candidate list
Usage
Lista is an adapted loanword, very common in speech and in online writing. It is used for any enumeration: shopping list, list of admitted candidates, list of colors available in a shop, electoral list. It is often built with mta3: lista mta3 el ألوان becomes "the list of colors". The most frequent plural is listet. People also say 3mal lista ("to make a list") or ktib fi el lista ("to put on the list"). The word belongs to the neutral, everyday register. In an administrative or formal text, Standard Arabic qa'ima is preferred.
Example
عملت ليستة متاع الحاجات اللي لازمني نشريهم
3malt lista mta3 el 7ajet elli lezemni nechrihom
“I made a list of the things I need to buy.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “lista” but also “listet”, “liste”, “listta”, “lesta” and “listaa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find ليستة and لستة, all the same word.