The Maltese Tongue

(Wikimedia Commons)

A survey of major languages throughout the world leaves little doubt about the grand and always growing overlap between vocabularies. English words are entering the lexicon of nearly every nation, with words like computer, internet, and mobile. The word coffee is found in variations, from cafe in Spanish to qahua in Arabic (the q is silent if you're in Lebanon). Likewise, the word chai, meaning tea, is used in Indian languages, in Arabic, and now is assigned to a certain variety of spiced tea enjoyed in the West. Indeed, English itself is a mash-up of a language, with a massive vocabulary taken from French, a strikingly similar syntax to Nordic languages, and many of the harsh sounds of German.

However, as these major tongues endure through history and find usage among great population, many lesser-known tongues find themselves caught in the middle, borrowing in the past from other languages in a far more ambitious manner. Many of these are creole languages, pidgin languages, and others that are a result of simple or complex  syntheses.

One of the most unique in all of Europe, however, is the Maltese language. It is the only Semitic language recognized as an official language of the European Union--other Semetic languages, such as Arabic, Hebrew, Syriac, and Aramaic, are only in official use in the Middle East, whether in governments or churches. Maltese therefore has the same structure of sentences as Arabic, although it is written in Latin script. The original language itself is a result of historic ties with North Africa, where Arabic has been the dominant language for over a millennium. The changes in the language, including the Latin script and new vocabulary words, are from a cultural shift towards Europe, as well as being under the rule of medieval Christian Europe and the British Empire.

Maltese words use a sort of template system, where three letters such as k, t, and b, when put together in that order, have a general area of meaning, while variations of use of those three letters, still in that order, have related meanings. For example, ktb in both Maltese and in Arabic (written کتب‎) have to do with writing, whereas kteib in Maltese and kitab in Arabic mean book, and kittieb in Maltese and kaatib in Arabic mean writer.

A Maltese sign--read it aloud and notice the Italian sorts of sounds, and the Arabic ones.
(ep-webeditors.eu)

This is where the divide begins, however. In Arabic, the word for library, being related to books, is maktaba. In Maltese, it is librerija--probably from English as a result of British rule from 1814 to 1964. While the Arabic word for peace is salam, the Maltese borrow from Italian, saying paċi (the dot above the c indicating a ch sound).

The Maltese word for blossom is zahar, from Arabic meaning flower, which was carried into Sicilian language. It becomes easily evident that Malta was a transit point for languages, as Arabic words came from the south, Sicilian and Italian words came from the north, and both entered Maltese language before moving on.

Italian was the dominant language during the medieval reign of the Knights of Malta, and Sicilian carried over, like Arabic, from simply proximity. All four languages--Arabic, Italian, Sicilian, and  English--were also likely very heavily used in Maltese ports as Mediterranean maritime trade thrived in the 1600s and onward. The result is, metaphorically speaking, something like taking a house of Arabic design, and filling it with English furniture, Italian paintings, and Sicilian  food--then calling it Maltese.

You should also take note that Malta is a prime place for a summer vacation--beaches, sunshine, ports, and palm trees!
(royalcaribbean.com)

Malta is a recognizable name, whether because of the historical and religious significance of the Knights of Malta--now the Sovereign Military Order of Malta--or because of the famous Humphrey Bogart film The Maltese Falcon, or perhaps you have heard of a town named after it, like Malta, Montana. Now, however, you may know a little more about Malta, what cultures have influenced it and where to find it on a map--right between Tunisia and Sicily, in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea.

Look forward to more language-oriented posts, especially on creole and pidgin languages, and others of unique origin.