About 12 yeras ago, as I was walking through the streets of Tunis, a woman came to me and asked me in a strange tunisian-like accent where she could find Moschino bags. As I didn't even knew that Moschino is a well known italian design brand, I was just confused and replied that I didn't knew. The woman had visibly some difficulty to undestand what I was saying. Although I used to hear the maltese music Charts on radio in summer as I was found of european (dance) music, it didn't came to my mind that the woman was a maltese tourist on a shopping tour in Tunis. It was just funny to listen to the presenter of the show while telling the rankings.
Maltese language is in fact some kind a mixture of tunisian/libyan diaclect with some (or much) italian and english in it.
Both languages (or dialects) have undergone a sperate development since about the year 1300, with christianity and Romance-speaking Europe as the dominant political and cutural force in Malta and Islam and arabic culture ruling on the other side of the mediterranean sea.
I also couldn't say how both languages mutually influenced each other, as maltese people lived in Tunisia for about one century (mid 19th till mid 20th century).
Here are some maltese words that should be familiar to tunisians:
imsiefer= مسافر
nieqes=ناقص (absent)
ftehim=فتاهم= تفاهم (note that maltese often permute consonants as tunisians sometimes do)
dhul=دخول (entrance)
ragel=راجل (man)
alla=الله (though maltese are catholic!)
Sahha=صحة (some kind of Ciao, used by tunisians in a similar manner, but not so often and always at the beginning of a conversation, not at its end)
vappur=بابور
Imgharfa= مغرفة (spoon)
bittieha=بطيخة (melon)
hobz=خبز (bread)
zebbuga= زبوجة - زبوزة (olive tree)
And now some proverbs (Qwiel Maltin= أقوال مالطيين):
IL-MARA BHALL-LUMIJA TAGHSARHA U TARMIHA=
المراة بحال اللومية,تعصرها و ترميها
A woman is like a lemon; you squeeze her and throw her away.
RAGEL U QATTA TIBEN TNEJN=راجل و قطة تبن اثنين
A man and a sheaf of straw make two.
BEWSA MINGHAJR TAGHNIQA DONNHA WARDA MINGHAJR FWIEHA=
بوسة من غير تعنيقة دونها وردة من غير فواحة
A kiss without a hug is like a flower without fragrance.
BIL-LEJL IN-NISA KOLLHA XORTA=
بالليل النساء كلها شرطة
At night all women are alike.
GHARUSA GDIDA, KULL MA TMISS KOLLU JFUH=
عروسة جديدة، كل ما تمس كله يفوح
Whatsoever a new bride touches is fragrant.
HU RAGEL AKBAR MINNEK U MHUX ZAGHZUGH JIXBA' MINNEK
خوذ راجل أكبر منك و ما
تاخوش زغزوغ يشبع منك
Marry a man older than you and not a younger man, who will tire of you.
IR-RAGEL TIGIEGA U L-MARA SERDUQ, ID-DAR TINQALEB TA' TAHT FUQ=
الراجل دجاجة و المرأة سردوك، الدار تنقلب متاع التحت الفوق
When the husband is a hen and the wife is a cock, the house is topsy-turvy.
TAGHMILX ZALZA QABEL TAQBAD IL-HUT.
ما تعملش صالصة قبل ما تقبض الحوت
Dont make sauce before catching fish.
there are even more sexist maltese proverbs. I don't remember how to it is written in maltese, but it sounds like:
يد في البرمة و يد في صرمها
!!!!!!
Insellimlek! (equivalent of "Besslema" in Tunisia, when speaking to one person)
3 Kommentare:
Soly,
That's just amazing. I knew Maltese was very close to Tunisia/Lybian spoken Arabic, but never thought it was _this_ close. Thanks for the research!
-Imed
Hi Imed,
nevertheless, I have to say that those proverbs are old ones, and maltese got nowadays much more italian and english vocabulary in it! Thanks for the comment :-)
Very interesting story and research into Maltese!
You might find this site to be a great place to continue your research:
Malti wiki browser
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