tayyar طيار
Tunisian Derja · noun
“tayyar” (طيار) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning pilot (of an airplane).
Meanings
- pilot (of an airplane)
- current (political, ideological)
Usage
Tayyar primarily refers to an airplane pilot. The word is formed on the same root as tayyara, "airplane", and ter, "to fly". The feminine is tayyara, which can be confused with the word for "airplane"; only context distinguishes them. In the media and political debate, the word is also used in the sense of "current, trend" (tayyar islami, tayyar yassari). This usage comes from standard Arabic and is often pronounced tiyyar. For electric current, Tunisians rather say el courant or edhaou.
Example
خويا ولّى طيّار
khouya walla tayyar
“My brother became a pilot.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “tayyar” but also “tayar”, “tiyar” and “tayyer”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.