syeh صياح
Tunisian Derja · noun
“syeh” (صياح) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning shouting, screaming.
Meanings
- shouting, screaming
- crowing (rooster)
Usage
Syeh refers to the act of shouting, of raising one's voice loudly, whether from anger, fear, pain or to call someone. It is an action noun, with no plural in common use. It is used with the preposition 3la to indicate the target of the shouting: syeh 3la wlédha (shouting at her children). The corresponding verb is sayya7 (to shout). For a baby crying loudly or a neighbours' quarrel, people readily speak of syeh. The word is also used for a rooster's crowing. Everyday register, neither colloquial nor formal.
Example
شنوة هالصياح الكل؟ الصغار راقدين!
Chnowa hal syeh el kol? Es-sghar rakdin!
“What's all this shouting? The little ones are sleeping!”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “syeh” but also “siyeh”, “sya7”, “siya7” and “syah”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.