https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/8765 2026-08-07T07:39:31Z 2026-08-07T07:39:31Z Ellul, Dwayne https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/148391 2026-08-04T08:16:30Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Functional trade-offs in bilingual lexicography : a theory-based criticism of Aquilina's Maltese–English dictionary Authors: Ellul, Dwayne Abstract: This article presents a theory-based criticism of Aquilina's Maltese–English Dictionary (AMED), the most authoritative bilingual dictionary in Maltese lexicography. Grounded in Function Theory, it evaluates AMED in relation to communicative and cognitive functions, with particular attention to the interaction between structure, access, and lexicographic information costs. Methodologically, the study combines Tarp's (2017) model of dictionary criticism with Nielsen's (2009) framework of significant features and information costs. Drawing on a systematically con structed sample, it analyses AMED's dictionary concept, structural design, and functional performance across text production, reception, proofreading, translation, and cognitive consultation. The findings show that AMED's authority rests primarily on its cognitive strengths, including encyclopaedic scope, morphological coherence, and historical depth. At the same time, elevated search related and comprehension-related information costs reduce its effectiveness in punctual communicative use. These limitations arise not from a lack of information, but from its structural organisation. More specifically, they reflect an implicit, historically grounded polyfunctional concept that prioritises documentary completeness over functional differentiation. By making these trade-offs explicit, the article contributes to theory-based dictionary criticism and demonstrates how functional analysis can provide explanatory insight into uneven lexicographic performance. It also offers implications for the design of future Maltese–English lexicographic resources better aligned with contemporary user needs.

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z Ellul, Dwayne https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/148251 2026-07-27T11:00:56Z 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Kelma għal kelma : teżawru tematiku Malti Authors: Ellul, Dwayne Abstract: Teżawru tematiku joffri vantaġġi kbar lil kull min ifittex fih. Vantaġġ ewlieni hu li l-kliem kollu marbut ma’ qasam partikolari jinsab qrib xulxin u mhux imxerred mal-erbat irjieħ tal-alfabett. Hekk jispikkaw aktar id-differenzi fit-tifsir, li xi drabi jistgħu jkunu sottili. Bit-tqassim alfabetiku, kliem bħal ċaqċaq, għadma, sinsla, skeletru u qarquċa jkun imferrex taħt erba’ ittri differenti filwaqt li f’dan it-teżawru jinsab miġbur flimkien u għalhekk hemm probabbiltà akbar li l-fittiex isib dak li jkun qed ifittex. Teżawru bħal dan huwa effettiv l-aktar għaliex iqegħedlek il-kliem fuq il-ponta ta’ lsienek, lest biex tużah. Mhux biss jgħin lil min irid jikkomunika jagħżel liema hi l-aktar kelma li tixraq fil-kuntest, iżda jiffaċilita wkoll il-proċess biex il-fittiex isib xi kelma li jeħtieġha u li għandu mnejn lanqas biss ikun jaf li teżisti.; It-Teżawru huwa mqassam f’dawn it-temi: 1. Il-familja u l-ħbieb, 2. Il-ġisem u l-kura tiegħu, 3. Id-deskrizzjoni fiżika, 4. Id-deskrizzjoni tal-karattru,5. Is-sentimenti u l-emozzjonijiet, 6. Il-fażijiet tal-ħajja

2020-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/147897 2026-07-08T10:16:19Z 2026-06-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The doomed Maltese 1826 expedition to Cephalonia Abstract: A British experiment to improve agriculture on the Ionian island using Maltese migrants failed when the latter turned out not to be farmers, and then starting falling ill and misbehaving.

2026-06-01T00:00:00Z Cassola, Arnold https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/147896 2026-07-08T10:01:31Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The 1913 visit to Corfu of a Maltese businessman Authors: Cassola, Arnold Abstract: My recent articles on the first Maltese inhabitants of Corfu have attracted quite some attention. One must keep in mind that the descendants of the nineteenth-century Maltese are today fully integrated in the Corfiot society, but they still keep their Hellenised Maltese surnames. Indeed, when Corfu fell to the Nazis in September 1943, the German commander reported to the headquarters (HQ) in Ioánnina, on the mainland, that 562 Anglo-Maltese still inhabited the island. After a few days, the commander reported that the Maltese were descendants of preceding generations and were fully integrated in the Greek community and, thus, to be considered as Greeks. This evaluation was to save them from being deported to the infamous labour camps in Germany. [excerpt]

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z