https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/8765 Mon, 13 Apr 2026 09:04:20 GMT 2026-04-13T09:04:20Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/144461 Title: Kelma għal kelma : teżawru tematiku Malti Abstract: Ħafna huma tal-fehma li l-vokabularju Malti qiegħed, kulma jmur, jinxef, jitnaqqar u jiddgħajjef. L-istil ta’ ħajja li qegħdin jgħixu ħafna minna llum, b’inqas kuntatt wiċċ imb wiċċ u b’għajnejna l-ħin kollu mgħarrqin f’xi screen, xejn mhu jgħin għaliex ftit li xejn inkunu esposti għall-Malti mħaddem tajjeb. Fil-proċess edukattiv, l-istudju sistematiku tal-vokabularju mhuwiex jingħata l-importanza li tixraqlu. Madankollu, matul iż-żmien, lokalment kien hemm xi tentattivi sporadiċi maħsuba biex isaħħu jew jgħallmu l-vokabularju b’sistema (Spagnol 64), u kultant jitfaċċaw xogħlijiet ġodda li juru li hemm ir-rieda biex din is-sitwazzjoni titjieb. Il-proġett ta’ teżawru tematiku li qed nipproponi jien, għalhekk, għandu proprju jitqies bħala tentattiv serju ieħor intenzjonat li jagħti palata lil min hu interessat isaħħaħ il-vokabularju tiegħu u jikkomunika b’Malti aktar mirqum. Tue, 01 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/144461 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/143961 Title: Vowel sequences in Maltese sound form I verbs Authors: Lucas, Christopher; Spagnol, Michael; Brown, Niamh Abstract: This article provides an analysis of the historical phonological development of Maltese sound Form I verbs, tracing their evolution from Proto-Arabic. Building on the foundational work of van Putten (2020), who identified the exceptionless sound changes governing Maltese short vowels, this study presents both the regular phonological developments and the analogical changes that have influenced the vocalism of these verbs. On the basis of a comprehensive dataset of over 240 verbs, the study (a) reveals the differential effects on specific vowel sequences of different phonetic environments (including guttural and emphatic consonants), and (b) examines the impact of analogical restructuring on the Perfect and Imperfect forms of verbs, both between different tense–aspect forms of individual verb lexemes and across different lexemes. By categorizing these verbs into distinct classes based on their phonological behaviour, the article elucidates the systematic processes underlying their historical development. This work, thus, not only enhances our understanding of Maltese morphophonology but also contributes to broader discussions on language change within the context of Semitic languages, and the interaction of regular sound change and analogy in morphophonological change more generally.; Dan l-artiklu joffri analiżi tal-iżvilupp fonoloġiku storiku tal-verbi sħaħ tal-Ewwel Forma fil-Malti, bl-evoluzzjoni tagħhom mill-Proto-Għarbi. L-istudju jitlaq mix-xogħol fundamentali ta’ van Putten (2020) li jidentifika l-bidliet fonetiċi bla eċċezzjoni fil-vokali qosra tal-Malti, u jippreżenta kemm l-iżviluppi fonoloġiċi regolari kif ukoll il-bidliet analoġiċi li influwenzaw il-vokaliżmi ta’ dawn il-verbi. Permezz ta’ ġabra komprensiva ta’ aktar minn 240 verb, l-istudju (a) jikxef l-effetti ta’ kuntesti fonetiċi differenti (inklużi l-konsonanti gutturali u enfatiċi) fuq sekwenzi vokaliċi speċifiċi, u (b) jistħarreġ l-impatt tar-ristrutturar analoġiku fuq l-għamla tal-Perfett u l-Imperfett tal-verbi, sew fi ħdan lessema waħda u sew minn lessema għal oħra. Bit-tqassim ta’ dawn il-verbi f’kategoriji distinti skont l-imġiba fonoloġika tagħhom, l-artiklu juri l-proċessi sistematiċi fl-iżvilupp storiku tagħhom. Għalhekk, dan ix-xogħol mhux biss jgħinna nifhmu aħjar il-morfofonoloġija tal-Malti imma jieħu sehem ukoll fid-diskussjoni usa’ dwar il-bidla lingwistika fl-ilsna Semitiċi, u r-relazzjoni talbidla fil-ħoss regolari mal-analoġija fil-bidla morfofonoloġika b’mod ġenerali. Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/143961 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/143960 Title: On the evolution of Maltese weak and geminate form I verbs Authors: Lucas, Christopher; Spagnol, Michael; Brown, Niamh Abstract: This article charts the evolution of weak and geminate verbs in Maltese from their Proto-Arabic origins, continuing the work begun in Lucas, Spagnol & Brown (2025) on a comprehensive database of the Form I verbs in use in contemporary standard Maltese. We consider hollow, geminate, final-weak, initial-weak and irregular verbs, focusing on the evolution of the stem vowels of both the Perfect and the Imperfect, and showing how they can be accounted for on the basis of exceptionless sound laws, together with a small number of well-motivated analogical changes.; Dan l-artiklu jsegwi l-iżvilupp tal-verbi dgħajfin u torox fil-Malti min-nisel Proto-Għarbi tagħhom, u b’hekk jibni fuq ix-xogħol mibdi minn Lucas, Spagnol u Brown (2025) dwar ġabra sħiħa ta’ verbi tal-ewwel forma użati fil-Malti standard kontemporanju. Nittrattaw il-verbi moħfijin, torrox, neqsin, xebbihin u irregolari, u niffukaw fuq l-evoluzzjoni tal-vokali fiz-zokk tal-Perfett u l-Imperfett, u nuru kif jistgħu jiġu spjegati skont regoli fonetiċi bla eċċezzjonijiet, flimkien ma’ għadd żgħir ta’ bidliet analoġiċi b’motivazzjoni ċara. Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/143960 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/143959 Title: Taking time off : the semantics of holiday and its synonyms in Maltese Authors: Nieder, Jessica; Spagnol, Michael Abstract: This study investigates the semantic and contextual variation among three Maltese nouns denoting ‘holiday’ or ‘time off’: btala (Semitic), vaganza (Romance), and holiday (English). Using corpus data and computational analysis based on distributional semantics, we show that while the three terms are near-synonyms, they differ in register, contextual scope, and degree of integration into Maltese. The findings illustrate how language contact shapes subtle variation in meaning and usage. Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/143959 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z