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Maltese kiteb vs. Tunisian (Sūsa) ktib

A prosodic CV approach
  • Gilbert Puech
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Advances in Maltese Linguistics
This chapter is in the book Advances in Maltese Linguistics

Abstract

This paper compares verbal and nominal forms in Maltese and Tunisian Arabic with respect to prosody, syllabic structure and stress. Considering prototypical forms like kíteb ‘he wrote’ or básal ‘onions’, Maltese appears to be a trochaic language. Homologous forms in Tunisian Arabic, ktib and bṣal, are obviously built on a different pattern. Stumme (1904) drew philologists’ attention on the possible kinship between Maltese, a Maghrebi dialect, and Levantine Arabic whose syllabic structures are similar. We revisit the controversial issue of assessing the prosodic properties shared by Maltese and trochaic Eastern urban dialects. On the other hand, some continuity may be established between Eastern Bedouin dialects and modern (urban or rural) Maghrebi dialects. We conclude by suggesting that Maltese kept the prosodic structures inherited during the first waves of Arabization. In continental Maghrib these structures were reshuffled in a multilingual environment where Bedouin Arabic dialects spoken by new waves of immigrants were built on a different pattern.

Abstract

This paper compares verbal and nominal forms in Maltese and Tunisian Arabic with respect to prosody, syllabic structure and stress. Considering prototypical forms like kíteb ‘he wrote’ or básal ‘onions’, Maltese appears to be a trochaic language. Homologous forms in Tunisian Arabic, ktib and bṣal, are obviously built on a different pattern. Stumme (1904) drew philologists’ attention on the possible kinship between Maltese, a Maghrebi dialect, and Levantine Arabic whose syllabic structures are similar. We revisit the controversial issue of assessing the prosodic properties shared by Maltese and trochaic Eastern urban dialects. On the other hand, some continuity may be established between Eastern Bedouin dialects and modern (urban or rural) Maghrebi dialects. We conclude by suggesting that Maltese kept the prosodic structures inherited during the first waves of Arabization. In continental Maghrib these structures were reshuffled in a multilingual environment where Bedouin Arabic dialects spoken by new waves of immigrants were built on a different pattern.

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents v
  3. Maltese linguistics: What is new? vii
  4. Part 1: New looks into the past
  5. On the phonology of Sicilian Arabic and early Maltese 3
  6. Aspects of the comparison between Maltese, Mediterranean Lingua Franca and the Occitan-Catalan linguistic group (13th–15th centuries) 39
  7. Part 2: Maltese, and just Maltese
  8. Modifiers and complements within the Maltese verb sequence 67
  9. Focus particles in Maltese: A corpus survey 87
  10. On prepositional ellipsis and the factors which block its application in Maltese 121
  11. Part 3: Beyond Maltese, now and then
  12. Verbal negation with muš in Maltese and Eastern Mediterranean Arabics 151
  13. Maltese kiteb vs. Tunisian (Sūsa) ktib 173
  14. The phonetic study of speakers along the Maltese-English continuum 193
  15. The visibility and salience of Maltese in bilingual Malta’s linguistic landscape 225
  16. The myth of the mixed languages 245
  17. Index of Authors 267
  18. Index of Languages 271
  19. Index of Subjects 273
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110565744-008

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents v
  3. Maltese linguistics: What is new? vii
  4. Part 1: New looks into the past
  5. On the phonology of Sicilian Arabic and early Maltese 3
  6. Aspects of the comparison between Maltese, Mediterranean Lingua Franca and the Occitan-Catalan linguistic group (13th–15th centuries) 39
  7. Part 2: Maltese, and just Maltese
  8. Modifiers and complements within the Maltese verb sequence 67
  9. Focus particles in Maltese: A corpus survey 87
  10. On prepositional ellipsis and the factors which block its application in Maltese 121
  11. Part 3: Beyond Maltese, now and then
  12. Verbal negation with muš in Maltese and Eastern Mediterranean Arabics 151
  13. Maltese kiteb vs. Tunisian (Sūsa) ktib 173
  14. The phonetic study of speakers along the Maltese-English continuum 193
  15. The visibility and salience of Maltese in bilingual Malta’s linguistic landscape 225
  16. The myth of the mixed languages 245
  17. Index of Authors 267
  18. Index of Languages 271
  19. Index of Subjects 273
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