Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/45222
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dc.contributor.authorBrincat, Joseph M. (Giuseppe)-
dc.date.accessioned2019-07-26T09:35:32Z-
dc.date.available2019-07-26T09:35:32Z-
dc.date.issued2008-
dc.identifier.citationBrincat, J. (2008). Before Maltese: languages in Malta from prehistory to the byzantine age. In A. Bonanno, & P. Militello (Eds.), Malta in the Hybleans, the Hybleans in Malta: Malta negli Iblei, gli Iblei a Malta (pp. 233-244). Palermo: Officina di Studi Medievali.en_GB
dc.identifier.isbn888861575X-
dc.identifier.urihttps://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/45222-
dc.description.abstractDue to its position exactly at the centre of the Mediterranean Sea, Malta’s contacts have not been limited to its immediate neighbours, Sicily and North Africa. Throughout its history it has been at the mercy of the naval powers that sailed the Sicilian channel and the Maltese language has been shaped by its inhabitants’ contacts with the peoples who governed the islands or established colonies there. For thousands of years, when the inhabitants had to live off the islands’ resources, the population was small, around 5,000, and this factor may have allowed language substitution a number of times. This may surprise us today, but before the Romantic Age people had a very pragmatic view of language: like any other tool it was prized mostly for its efficiency. The population multiplied in the past one thousand years, thanks to waves of settlers from abroad who forged strong contacts with the locals and introduced bilingual interaction in various domains. For this reason a history of the Maltese language must be seen in the wider linguistic history of the Maltese islands and offers linguists in both the historical and typological fields an intriguing case study of a “minor” language that survived alongside a series of “major” languages like Arabic, Latin, Sicilian, Italian and English. These enjoyed a lot of prestige in Malta but their use was restricted to the literate minority.en_GB
dc.language.isoenen_GB
dc.publisherOfficina di Studi Medievalien_GB
dc.rightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessen_GB
dc.subjectLanguage and culture -- Malta -- Historyen_GB
dc.subjectMaltese language -- Foreign elements -- Arabicen_GB
dc.subjectMaltese language -- Foreign elements -- Latinen_GB
dc.subjectMaltese language -- Foreign elements -- Englishen_GB
dc.subjectMaltese language -- Foreign elements -- Italianen_GB
dc.titleBefore Maltese : languages in Malta from prehistory to the byzantine ageen_GB
dc.title.alternativeMalta in the Hybleans, the Hybleans in Malta: Malta negli Iblei, gli Iblei a Maltaen_GB
dc.typebookParten_GB
dc.rights.holderThe copyright of this work belongs to the author(s)/publisher. The rights of this work are as defined by the appropriate Copyright Legislation or as modified by any successive legislation. Users may access this work and can make use of the information contained in accordance with the Copyright Legislation provided that the author must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the prior permission of the copyright holderen_GB
dc.description.reviewedpeer-revieweden_GB
Appears in Collections:Malta in the Hybleans, the Hybleans in Malta: Malta negli Iblei, gli Iblei a Malta

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