Malti

Maltese

Semitic

FamilySemitic Speakers~520K ScriptLatin CountriesMalta Official inMalta, EU Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3mlt

Maltese (Malti) is a unique Semitic language with ~520K speakers, official in the Republic of Malta (alongside English) and one of 24 official languages of the European Union — the only Semitic language in Latin script, and the only Semitic language with EU official status. It descends from Sicilian Arabic (a Maghrebi Arabic dialect) brought to Malta during the Arab rule of Sicily and Malta (9th-13th centuries), with extensive Italian/Sicilian superstrate (~50% of vocabulary) acquired through 350 years of Knights Hospitaller (1530-1798) and Italian cultural influence, plus significant English (~10%) acquired during 164 years of British rule (1800-1964). The Latin orthography uses Italian-influenced conventions plus diacritics: ċ /ʧ/, ġ /ʤ/, ħ /ħ/, ż /z/. Phonologically retains Semitic features (pharyngeal /ħ/, emphatic consonants in older forms), and morphologically uses both Semitic root-and-pattern (broken plurals, e.g. ktieb "book" → kotba "books") and Romance affixation (regular plurals, e.g. mejda "table" → mwejjed). Standardised by the Mikiel Anton Vassalli grammar (1796) and the Akkademja tal-Malti (founded 1920).

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Maltese

Water

ilma

ilma

Fire

nar

naːɾ

Sun

xemx

ʃɛmʃ

Moon

qamar

ˈʔamar

Star

kewkba

ˈkɛwba

Night

lejl

lejl

Rain

xita

ˈʃita

Snow

borra

bɔrra

Wind

riħ

rɪːħ

Earth

ħamrija

ħamˈriːja

Stone

ġebla

ˈdʒɛbla

Mountain

muntanja

mʊnˈtanja

Sea

baħar

ˈbaħar

Mother

omm

omm

Father

missier

misˈsiːr

Daughter

bint

bint

I

jien

jiːn

You

int

ɪnt

We

aħna

ˈaħna

Name

isem

ˈisɛm

Person

bniedem

ˈbnɪːdɛm

Head

ras

raːs

Eye

għajn

ajn

Ear

widna

ˈwɪdna

Nose

imnieħer

ɪmˈniːħɛr

Mouth

ħalq

ħalʔ

Tooth

sinna

ˈsinna

Tongue

ilsien

ilˈsiːn

Hand

id

iːt

Foot

sieq

siːʔ

Heart

qalb

ʔalp

Bone

għadma

ˈadma

Blood

demm

demː

Poop

kaka

ˈkaka

Love

imħabba

ɪmˈħabba

Tree

siġra

sidʒɾa

Dog

kelb

kɛlp

Cat

qattus

ʔatˈtuːs

Fish

ħuta

ˈħuːta

Bird

għasfur

asˈfuːr

Butterfly

farfett

farˈfɛtː

Egg

bajda

ˈbajda

Bear

ors

ors

Horse

żiemel

ˈziːmɛl

House

dar

daːɾ

Milk

ħalib

ħaˈliːp

Honey

għasel

ˈaːsɛl

Salt

melħ

mɛlħ

Wine

inbid

ɪmˈbiːt

Rice

ross

rɔsː

Chocolate

ċikkulata

tʃikːuˈlata

Iron

ħadid

ħaˈdiːt

Wheel

rota

ˈrɔːta

Silk

ħarir

ħaˈriːr

Book

ktieb

ktiːp

Eat

kiel

kɪːl

Drink

xorob

ˈʃɔrɔp

Sleep

raqad

ˈraʔat

One

wieħed

ˈwɪːħɛt

Two

tnejn

tnejn

Three

tlieta

ˈtliːta

Four

erbgħa

ˈɛrba

Five

ħamsa

ˈħamsa

Hundred

mija

ˈmiːja

Hello

merħba

ˈmɛrħba

Thank you

grazzi

ɡɾattsi

Good

tajjeb

ˈtajjɛp

New

ġdid

dʒdiːt

Red

aħmar

ˈaħmar

White

abjad

ˈabjat

Black

iswed

ˈiswet

Green

aħdar

ˈaħdar

Blue

blu

bluː

Cuckoo

daqquqa

dɐʔˈʔuːʔɐ

Computer

kompjuter

kɔmˈpjuːtɛr

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi

Sushi

sushi

ˈsuːʃi

Tea

te

tɛː

Coffee

kafè

kaˈfɛː

Sugar

zokkor

ˈtsɔkkɔr

Orange

larinġ

laˈrɪntʃ

Ninety-nine

disgħa u disgħin

ˈdɪsa w dɪˈsɛjn

Dopamine

dopamine

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Semitic

Meaning MalteseLibyan ArabicLebanese ArabicSyrian ArabicJordanian ArabicIraqi ArabicTunisian Arabic
Water ilma /ilma/ مية /majja/ ميّ /majj/ ميّ /majj/ ماي /maːj/ ماي /maːj/ ماء /maː/
Fire nar /naːɾ/ نار /naːr/ نار /naːɾ/ نار /naːr/ نار /naːɾ/ نار /naːɾ/ نار /naːɾ/
Sun xemx /ʃɛmʃ/ شمس /ʃəmɛs/ شمس /ʃams/ شمس /ʃams/ شمس /ʃams/ شمس /ʃamis/ شمس /ʃams/
Moon qamar /ˈʔamar/ قمر /ɡəmɛr/ قمر /ʔamaɾ/ قمر /ʔamar/ قمر /ɡamar/ قمر /ɡamaɾ/ قمر /qmaɾ/
Star kewkba /ˈkɛwba/ نجمة /nədʒma/ نجمة /ˈneʒme/ نجمة /ˈnəʒme/ نجمة /naʒme/ نجمة /ˈnɪdʒma/ نجمة /ˈnɪʒma/
Night lejl /lejl/ ليل /liːl/ ليل /leːl/ ليل /leːl/ ليل /leːl/ ليل /leːl/ ليل /liːl/
Rain xita /ˈʃita/ مطر /matˤar/ مطر /matˤaɾ/ مطر /matˤaɾ/ مطر /matˤaɾ/ مطر /matˤaɾ/ مطر /mtˤar/
Snow borra /bɔrra/ ثلج /talʒ/ تلج /talʒ/ تلج /talʒ/ تلج /talʒ/ ثلج /θaldʒ/ ثلج /tɛlʒ/
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Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

Maltese
Irrid nipprova suit li rajt f' ħanut quddiem il-lukanda
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 で 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
我 想 试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 里 看到的 那套西装
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with languages in the same classification

እኔ ሆቴሉ ፊት ለፊት ባለው ሱቅ ውስጥ ያየሁትን ሙሉ ልብስ ለብሼ ማየት እፈልጋለሁ
אֲנָא בָּעֵא אֲנָא לְנַסָּאָה לְבוּשָׁא דַ חֲזֵית בְּ חֲנוּתָא קֳדָם פּוּנדקָא
أنا عاوز أجرب البدلة اللي شفتها في المحل قصاد الفندق
אני רוצה למדוד חליפה ש ראיתי ב חנות מול המלון
Maltese
Irrid nipprova suit li rajt f' ħanut quddiem il-lukanda

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