Semantische Strukturen des Italienischen im Maltesischen

Abstract

The West and the Orient met in Malta, and the result of this encounter is the language of the islands. Maltese is an Arabic dialect, which developed into an independent language, and which was essentially determined by the contact with Italian-Sicilian, and later English. The Italian influence set in earlier than the English one and lasted longer, therefore it is more important for expression of Maltese. As a result of the closing off from the Arabic cultural area in the High Middle Ages and the following centuries, the strong influence of Italian on the language of the islanders caused Maltese to come into being. Italian elements in Maltese are encountered today at every turn. Some language areas have been more affected, others less so. In the morphology, the influence of Italian was small. Here we rather have the inflowing Italian elements adjusted into an Arabic system. In the syntax Italian is stronger. This paper makes a comparison of Maltese phrases, words and sentences with their Italian and Arabic counterparts, in an attempt to highlight the influence of Italian on Maltese syntax and semantics.