Malta e Pantelleria : alla ricerca di un sostrato comune

Abstract

The author has brought forward a comparative analysis between two islands, Malta and Pantelleria. This comparative study of Malta and Pantelleria is desirable because the two islands have in common determinant factors, such as the geographical position and historical events. Also, both islands have very similar language structure. In fact, a Siculo-Arabic dialect similar to Maltese was the vernacular of the island (Pantelleria) until the late 18th century, when the Romance Sicilian superseded it. The modern Sicilian language in Pantelleria contains many Arabic loanwords, and most of the island's place names are of Semitic origin. On the whole, this article will mainly speak of elements of Semitic origin of both languages.