zammer زمر
Tunisian Derja · verb
“zammer” (زمر) is a verb in Tunisian Derja meaning to honk, sound the horn.
Meanings
- to honk, sound the horn
- to play the zokra (reed pipe)
Usage
Zammer is the ordinary verb for honking a car horn. You honk at someone with the preposition "3la" (zammar 3lih) or with a suffixed pronoun (zammarlou). The verb is often used in traffic, to get a pedestrian out of the way or to hurry a driver, but also for wedding processions, where cars honk in a line. The original sense, playing a wind instrument such as the zokra, is still known. The horn itself is called zammara. Context is enough to tell the two senses apart.
Example
زمّرلو باش يتنحّى من الكياس
zammarlou bech yetna77a mel kayes
“He honked at him so that he would move out of the road.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “zammer” but also “zamer”, “zammar” and “zzmor”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.