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https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/143959| Title: | Taking time off : the semantics of holiday and its synonyms in Maltese |
| Other Titles: | Quam lingua melitea hic subicio. Studies in Maltese linguistics dedicated to Thomas Stolz on the occasion of his 68th birthday |
| Authors: | Nieder, Jessica Spagnol, Michael |
| Keywords: | Maltese language -- Foreign elements -- Arabic Maltese language -- Foreign elements -- Italian Maltese language -- Grammar Maltese language -- Noun Semantics Discourse analysis |
| Issue Date: | 2025 |
| Publisher: | Staten House |
| Citation: | Nieder, J., & Spagnol, M. (2025). Taking time off : the semantics of holiday and its synonyms in Maltese. In S. Čéplö, & A. Ussishkin (Eds.), quam lingua melitea hic subicio. Studies in Maltese linguistics dedicated to Thomas Stolz on the occasion of his 68th birthday (pp. 61-73). Tucson: Staten House. |
| 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. |
| URI: | https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/143959 |
| Appears in Collections: | Scholarly Works - FacArtMal |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taking_time_off_the_semantics_of_holiday_and_its_synonyms_in_Maltese_2025.pdf | 3.42 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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