User:Drmaik/maltese
Maltese is the national language of Malta, and an official language of the European Union. It is descended from Maghrebi Arabic (ref. Heine, Comrie,) but is not considered by Maltese or linguists to be a Arabic dialect. It is the only Semitic language written in the Latin alphabet in its standard form.
Apart from its phonology, Maltese bears considerable similarity to urban varieties of Tunisian Arabic and other North African Arabic dialects. In the course of history, the language has adopted numerous loanwords, phonetic and phonological features, and even morphological and syntactic patterns from Sicilian, Italian, and English.
Some Maltese people maintain that it descended Phoenician, but this view nowadays has no support from linguits, whether Maltese or not.
| Letter | Name | IPA | Arabic correspondence | Approximate English pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A a | a (for anġlu (angel)) | a | ـَ ، ـَا | similar to 'a' in father |
| B b | be (for ballun (ball)) | b | ب | bar, but at the end of a word it is pronounced as [p]. |
| Ċ ċ | ċe (for ċavetta (key)) | ʧ | (چ) | church (note: dotless C has been replaced by K.) |
| D d | de (for dar (home)) | d | د | day, but at the end of a word it is pronounced as [t]. |
| E e | e (for envelopp (envelope) | ɛ | (ـَ ، ـَي) | end |
| F f | effe (for fjura (flower)) | f | ف | far |
| Ġ ġ | ġe (for ġelat (ice-cream)) | ʤ | ج | jump, but at the end of a word it is pronounced as [tʃ]. |
| G g | ge (for gallettina (biscuit)) | ɡ | (ج ، گ) | game, but at the end of a word it is pronounced as [k]. |
| GĦ għ | ajn (for għasfur (bird)) | ˤ:, ħ: | ع ، ح | has the effect of lengthening and pharyngealizing associated vowels. When found at the end of a word or immediately before 'h' it has the sound of a double 'ħ' (see below). |
| H h | akka (for hu (he)) | ه ، ة | not pronounced unless it is at the end of a word, in which case it has the sound of 'ħ'. | |
| Ħ ħ | ħe (for ħanżir (pig)) | ħ | ح | no English equivalent; sounds like a whispered "ah" with the tongue pressed as far back as possible. |
| I i | i (for ikel (food)) | i | ـِ | seat |
| IE ie | ie (for ieqaf (stop)) | iɛ, iː | ـِي | yet, feet |
| J j | je (for jott (yacht)) | j | ي | yard |
| K k | ke (for kelb (dog)) | k | ك | cave |
| L l | elle (for libsa (dress)) | l | ل | line |
| M m | emme (for mara (woman)) | m | م | march |
| N n | enne (for nanna (granny)) | n | ن | next |
| O o | o (for ors (bear)) | o | (ـُ ، ـَو) | like 'aw' in law, but shorter. |
| P p | pe (for paġna (page)) | p | (پ) | part |
| Q q | qe (for qattus (cat)) | ʔ | ء ، ق | glottal stop, found in the Cockney English pronunciation of "bottle" or the phrase "(ʔ)uh-(ʔ)oh". |
| R r | erre (for reġina (queen)) | r | ر | road |
| S s | esse (for salib (cross)) | s | س | sand |
| T t | te (for tieqa (window)) | t | ت | tired |
| U u | u (for uviera (egg-cup)) | u | ـُ ، ـُو | food |
| V v | ve (for vjola (violet) | v | (ڤ) | vast, but at the end of a word it is pronounced as [f]. |
| W w | we (for widna (ear)) | w | و | west |
| X x | exxe (for xadina (monkey)) | ʃ / ʒ | ش | shade, sometimes as measure; when doubled the sound is elongated, as in "Cash shin" vs. "Cash in." |
| Ż ż | że (for żarbun (shoes)) | z | ز | maze, but at the end of a word it is pronounced as [s]. |
| Z z | ze (for zalza (sauce)) | ʦ / ʣ | (تْس) | pizza; when doubled may change to gods |
Alphabet
[edit]Below is the Maltese alphabet, with IPA symbols and approximate English pronunciation:
| Letter | IPA | Approximate English pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| A | a | similar to 'a' in father |
| B | b | bar, but at the end of a word it is pronounced as [p]. |
| Ċ | tʃ | church (note: dotless C has been replaced by K.) |
| D | d | day, but at the end of a word it is pronounced as [t]. |
| E | ɛ | end |
| F | f | far |
| Ġ | dʒ | jump |
| G | ɡ | game, but at the end of a word it is pronounced as [k]. |
| GĦ | has the effect of lengthening and pharyngealizing associated vowels, except when immediately followed by a 'h', in which case it has the sound of a double 'ħ'. (It is slightly akin to English silent 'gh' in words such as "fight", "though", "sigh"). However, if it is found at the end of a word, it has the sound of 'ħ' (qtigħ for example) | |
| H | not pronounced unless it is at the end of a word, in which case it has the sound of 'ħ'. | |
| Ħ | ħ | no English equivalent; sounds like a breathy "h", heavy or like the "ch" in German or Scottish 'loch'. |
| I | i | happy |
| IE | iɛ, iː | feet |
| J | j | yard |
| K | k | cave |
| L | l | line |
| M | m | march |
| N | n | next |
| O | o | like 'aw' in law, but shorter. |
| P | p | part |
| Q | ʔ | glottal stop, found in the Cockney English pronunciation of "bottle" or the phrase "uh-oh". |
| R | r | road |
| S | s | sand |
| T | t | tired |
| U | u | food |
| V | v | vast, but at the end of a word it is pronounced as [f]. |
| W | w | west |
| X | ʃ / ʒ | shade, sometimes as measure; when doubled the sound is elongated, similar to "Mensch" in German. |
| Ż | z | maze, but at the end of a word it is pronounced as [s]. |
| Z | ts / dz | pizza; when doubled may change to gods |