Lexical strata in Maltese

Abstract

Research on morphology and lexicon has repeatedly pointed out the complexity of morphological processes in word-formation. A number of morphological theories have tried to explain this complex word-formational processes by incorporating the theories of phonology and syntax into a lexical model. Among these, the theory of lexical phonology (Kiparsky, 1982a, 1985; Mohanan, 1982, 1986) took up this challenge by presenting an integrated theory of phonology and morphology. Since then, this theoretical model has been adopted to study the lexicon of many languages (Borowsky, 1986; Hargus, 1985; Paradis, 1986). This paper is an attempt to look into the lexicon of Maltese I which has a rich system of phonological and morphological rules interacting in the word-forrnational process. Apart from the traditional grammars 2 , there are, also, some linguistic studies of the Maltese language within the generative framework. A descriptive study about some aspects of Maltese phonology within the generative framework was done by Michael K. Brame (1972)3. Brarne's paper was mainly aimed at bringing into discussion one particular abstract phonological segment4 in Maltese. Taking the k - c alteration in Sanskrit as a premise, Brame argued that the rule feature approach that was used to explain the palatalization of the voiceless velar stop in Sanskrit would not be desirable in explaining the underlying segments in Maltese phonology. In his study Brame also formalized some of the phonological rules in Maltese. This study will also incorporate some of Brame's analyses of Maltese phonological rules.