/ˈɡrat.t ͡si ˈħaf.na/

Part Arabic, part Romance, part love… The story of how the Maltese language developed to describe a people at a crossroads between two juggernaut civilisations.

WORDS BY Edward Bonello

Malta and the Maltese can be quite the conundrum to crack. It’s the tiniest state of the EU, sits at the continent’s southernmost tip, but shares a great deal with its fellow European neighbours, albeit retaining a distinct Mediterranean, and in some cases North African influence. It truly is a melting pot of cultures, where major civilisations meet and thousands of years of history unfold in a tiny 37km by 15. Yet there is perhaps a key to understanding this most particular of people, and it is their language, Maltese or Malti, which has a fascinating history that mirrors Malta’s own. Maltese developed from late medieval Siculo-Arabic or Sicilian Arabic, a Maghrebi Arabic dialect that was spoken in the Emirate of Sicily in the 9th to 11th century. Its arrival in Malta in the 11th century marked the birth of the language on the island, but the Norman conquest of 1091 and the eventual expulsion of Muslims by 1249 isolated it from its Arabic source, creating the perfect conditions for its evolution into a distinct language. In contrast to Sicily, where Siculo-Arabic became extinct and was replaced by Sicilian, the vernacular in Malta continued to develop independently, becoming a language in its own right, which is classified separately from Arabic and its dialects.

The oldest written document in Maltese that survives to this day is a 15th-century lament by one Pietru Caxaro called Il-Kantilena. Providentially preserved in the notarial archive of the author’s nephew Brandano, the poem predates the arrival of the Knights of St John and describes an unrequited love that is likened to a house built on unstable foundations and is unceremoniously destroyed. The language of the poem is so archaic that it is barely recognisable, but within those lines are the very conspicuous seedlings that would develop into the Maltese language over the next centuries. Along the years, Maltese absorbed a great deal of vocabulary from Romance sources such as Italian and French, as well as English, reflecting the island’s colourful and sometimes tumultuous history. In fact, for most of its history, Maltese was considered the language of the kitchen as the ruling class would speak Italian and later English. It was only in the 20th century that the native language started to be recognised for its beauty and importance, with contributions by some of Malta’s most celebrated authors, who started to write in Maltese, creating a body of literary work in the language. Today, Maltese is recognised as an official language of the EU; in fact, it is the only Semitic language to hold this title, and being written in Latin script, it is also the only Semitic language with this characteristic!

Curiously, Maltese retains its distinctive duality to this day, even functioning on two separate grammars in several aspects of the language. For example, Maltese uses two types of plurals: sħiħ or complete, where the noun retains its original structure and it is only the ending that is changed or a suffix added at the end; or miksur, meaning broken, where the word is pluralised through internal vowel changes. Knowing which plural to use sheds light on the origin of the word; whether it arrived to us from Arabic or from a  Romance source. However, just to keep things interesting, there are also some exceptions, where Romance words blended into the language so well that they assimilated Arabic sounds, as well as its plural. Just to keep you on your toes! Not unlike the English language, which also has a fascinating multiple-language origin story, in some cases, Maltese retains double vocabularies for the same, or similar concepts, each derived from its two source mothers… so to speak. For example, in Maltese, an answer can be both tweġiba (Arabic) and risposta (Italian), while question can be both mistoqsija (Arabic) as well as domanda (Italian). This has led to the words developing slight nuances in meaning, reflecting a certain exquisite efficiency. So, the Italian domanda, still means question, but it also refers to demand in economic terms. Travelling around the island, you may also perhaps notice some intriguing letters in Maltese script; letters with odd dots and curious strikethroughs. You’re not imagining things, and we are pretty proud of them! There are four of them, and they differentiate a specific sound from a similar letter.

Ġ or ġ has a soft j sound like James or jam, while the Ż or ż also has a soft z sound like zink or zebra. The Ħ or ħ is the normal h sound like house, differentiating itself from the tricky silent h. While Ċ or ċ provides the ch sound like in church. Then, to the torment and indignation of all Maltese language students, there’s the notorious għ, which is also silent and follows some very strict rules about where it can sit in a word, no fun in there, I promise you! A very special mention must be reserved for the letter Q or q, which might look innocuous but in Maltese reserves a surprise, as it does not sound like any other Romance equivalent. In fact, it is a glottal stop, much like the tt in bottle in cockney English. You’re welcome! Surprisingly, even though Malta is a tiny place, the language also has its distinct dialects, some of which are certainly very pronounced and identifiable. Speakers from the Inner Harbour Region will pronounce certain words quite differently from those of Valletta, or the Outer Harbour Region. In Gozo, it’s a completely different story, with what would sound like a different language to the untrained ear. This too is subdivided into distinct dialects according to the town or village, sometimes even the area within it!

Maltese is an ever-evolving language. At an academic level, certain incongruences continue to be addressed, bearing witness to an active and energetic life. But perhaps it’s in the streets that the biggest changes and shifts take place. With loanwords being assimilated, and its speakers being increasingly exposed to the rest of the world, its vocabulary and expression continue to evolve in the most creative of ways. Many Maltese speakers also perform what is referred to as code-switching, which is the seamless flip-flopping between Maltese and English in everyday discourse. The practice, which used to be confined to certain areas, displays a certain proficiency in both languages and used to be associated with a certain social background. Today, it is more widespread and can be regarded as a desirable social marker. So, during your holiday, prick your ears and make sure to take in the wonder that is the Maltese language. See how many familiar words you can detect, and perhaps if you can even understand the gist of the sentence or phrase. Most Maltese will be more than happy to explain what’s going on. Perhaps the one phrase that we use every day and that really encapsulates the whole chiaroscuro duality of the Maltese language is grazzi ħafna, which translates to thank you very much – a meeting place for two of the world’s most ancient and wonderful cultures, living side by side, in an eternal dance.

Here are some handy  words and phrases during your stay:

• Iva - Yes                                       
• Le - No                                   
• Iva, jekk jogħġbok - Yes, please                    
• Le, grazzi - No thanks                        
• Jekk jogħġbok - Please                              
• Grazzi - Thank you                       
• M'hemmx imniex - You're welcome                
• Kafè, jekk jogħġbok - A coffee please   
• Saħħa! - Cheers!                            
• Skużani - Excuse me                       
• Bonġu - Good morning
• Bonswa - Good evening                            
• Il-lejl it-tajjeb - Goodnight                       
• Saħħa - Goodbye     
• Mela - Of course /So / Yes
• Isma - Listen / Come here / Hey!