volan ڥولان
Tunisian Derja · noun
“volan” (ڥولان) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning car steering wheel.
Meanings
- car steering wheel
- ruffle or flounce on a garment
Usage
Volan is a French loanword fully integrated into Tunisian Arabic. It refers above all to a car's steering wheel. It appears in common expressions like "chedd el volan" (to hold the steering wheel) or "9a3ed 3al volan" (to be at the wheel, to drive). It is often used to talk about someone's way of driving, e.g. "yechri el volan" in a figurative sense. The word is masculine and used with the article el. The plural volanét is rare. More rarely, seamstresses and shopkeepers use it for the ruffle of a dress or skirt.
Example
شدّ الڥولان بيديك الزوز
chedd el volan b-ydik ezzouz
“Hold the steering wheel with both hands.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “volan” but also “volant”, “voulan” and “folan”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.