One of the dialects found in the
Maltese language
Maltese ( mt, Malti, links=no, also ''L-Ilsien Malti'' or '), is a Semitic language derived from late medieval Sicilian Arabic with Romance superstrata spoken by the Maltese people. It is the national language of Malta and the only offic ...
is the Żejtuni Dialect (Standard Maltese: ' or ; Żejtun Maltese: ). This dialect is used by many of the
Żejtun
Żejtun ( mt, Iż-Żejtun ) is a city in the South Eastern Region of Malta, with a population of 11,218 at end 2016. Żejtun is traditionally known as Città Beland, a title conferred by the grandmaster of the Order of the Knights of Malta, F ...
inhabitants and in other settlements around this city like
Marsaxlokk
Marsaxlokk () is a small, traditional fishing village in the South Eastern Region of Malta. It has a harbour, and is a tourist attraction known for its views, fishermen and history. As at March 2014, the village had a population of 3,534. The ...
, that consists of about twelve thousand people.
The following two words are an example, there are many more that make it into the list of vocabulary found in this Dialect.
*For ''
kite
A kite is a tethered heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create lift and drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. Kites often have a bridle and tail to guide the fac ...
'' the Maltese word is ''tajra'' but in this dialect it is found as ''manuċċa''.
*For ''
foggy weather'' the Maltese word is ''ċpar'' but in this dialect it is found as ''ċlambu''.
All the vocal letters in this dialect possess a liquid versatility which allows the position, emphasis and tone of the vowels to change without any distinct rule; in some words the consonant letters are found to change as well. Such variations in the dialect are innate to native speakers.
The Vocal 'A'
The vowel 'A' in the Żejtun dialect is changed into 'U' or 'E'. Example:
This form happens to roughly all of the words that end in the vowel ' A ', but when the sentence construction does not allow the vowel 'A' to transmute into 'E', such as in the Maltese equivalent of ''potato'', i.e. ' ''patata'' ', a different vowel has to be used to elongate the syllable. Here, the word does not become ''petete'' but changes into ' Û ', becoming ''patûta''.
The Vowel 'E'
The vowel 'E' changes into the vowels 'A' or also 'I'. Example:
The Vocal 'O'
The vocal ' O ' in this dialect changes into ' U ', however it demands an element of phonetical emphasis to differentiate this changed ' U from the previous one. In philology such emphasis requires an accent, hence ' ''Ù'' '. Example:
This form occurs in many other words that have 'O' as their first vocal letter.
The Vocal 'U'
When the last vocal of the word is the ''U'', it is changed into the vocal ''O'' with the consonant ''W'' with a muted-ending . Sometimes the ''U'' is changed into ''EW''. Example:
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zejtun Dialect
Dialects of Maltese
Żejtun