Preliminary observations on various Arabic dialects of the Cape Bon peninsula (north-eastern Tunisia)

International audience This paper provides first-hand data on several Arabic varieties spoken in the eastern part of the Cape Bon peninsula (north-eastern Tunisia). Data were gathered through audio recordings, dialectological questionnaires and participant observation during fieldwork conducted in June 2023. Survey points included a total of seven localities: Beni Khiar, Bouficha, El Haouaria, El Handaria, Kelibia, Manzil Tamim and Selloum. The first three are located within the Cape Bon peninsula, whereas the other three lie on its south-eastern fringe. A preliminary analysis of the collected corpus yielded interesting results regarding the nature of the dialects under study. On the one hand, the findings question the validity of the category of Tunisian village dialects. On the other hand, they hint at the presence of mixed dialects in the coastal plain south of Hammamet.