Żejtun dialect
One of the dialects of the Maltese language is the Żejtun dialect (Standard Maltese: Djalett taż-Żejtun or Żejtuni; Żejtun Maltese: Żejtewni). This dialect is used by many of the inhabitants of Żejtun and in other settlements around this city such as Marsaxlokk, and spoken by about 12,000 people.[1]
| Żejtun dialect | |
|---|---|
| Żejtuni dialect | |
| Żejtewni | |
| Region | Żejtun and surrounding area |
Native speakers | About 12,000 (2020)[1] |
| Maltese alphabet | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| IETF | mt-u-sd-mt67 |
 Żejtun in Malta | |
The following three words are examples; there are many more that make it into the list of vocabulary found in this dialect.
- For 'kite' the Standard Maltese word is tajra, but in this dialect it is found as manuċċa.
- For 'foggy weather' the Standard Maltese word is ċpar, but in this dialect it is found as ċlambu.
- For 'slingshot' the Standard Maltese word is żbandola, but in this dialect it is found as steringa.
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 vowel A
The vowel a in the Żejtun dialect changes into /u/ or /e/. For example:
| English | Maltese | Żejtun dialect |
|---|---|---|
| newspaper | gazzetta | gezzette |
| meat | laħam | leħem |
| fat | xaħam | xeħem |
| coal | faħam | feħem |
| water | ilma | ilme |
| burner | spiritiera | spiritiere |
| home | dar | dur |
This change happens to roughly all of the words that end in the vowel a, but when the syllable structure does not allow the vowel a to change 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/. For example:
| English | Maltese | Żejtun dialect |
|---|---|---|
| wild | selvaġġ | salvaġġ |
| seriousness | serjetà | sirjitu |
| seminary | seminarju | siminurju |
| when | meta | mite |
The vowel O
The vowel 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 it is notated as ù. Example:
| English | Maltese | Żejtun dialect |
|---|---|---|
| school | skola | skùla |
| wheel | rota | rùta |
| pan | borma | bùrma |
| sack | xkora | xkùra |
| corner | rokna | rùkna |
| roll | romblu | rùmblu |
This change occurs in many other words that have o as their first vowel.
The vowel U
When the last vowel of the word is u, it changes into the diphthong /ow/. Sometimes the u is changed into ew. Example:
| English | Maltese | Żejtun dialect |
|---|---|---|
| ship | vapur | vapowr |
| Mr. | sinjur | sinjowr |
| stick | bastun | bastown |
| vase | vażun | vażown |
| money | flus | flews |
| fish | ħut | ħewt |
| shop | ħanut | ħenewt |
References
- Pascale, Natalie (2020). Maltese Dialects: the Effects of Globalization and Changing Attitudes on Malta's Linguistic Diversity. Malta: omertaa. p. 14.