For the first chapter of this project, The Daily Derja was all about Tunisian Arabic.
That made sense: I was heading toward Djerba, had Tunisian tutors, and “Derja” felt like the right flag to plant.
Since that trip, my reality is back in Israel. Most of the Arabic I hear around me is Levantine / Shami, not Tunisian.
If I want my daily Arabic writing to connect to the people I actually meet on buses and in cafés, Shami has to move to the front of the stage.
So here’s the new deal:
- New diary posts will be in Shami (with the usual mix of complaining, reflections, and random musings).
- The Tunisian posts stay online as an archive, not a mistake.
- I’ll probably still borrow Tunisian words or habits sometimes. Languages don’t respect clean borders and neither do I.
If you’ve been following along for the Tunisian phase: thank you, that chapter is still part of the story.
From here on out, though, we’re shifting the camera northeast.
Photo by Alex Vasey on Unsplash