Qormi dialect

Last updated
Qormi dialect
Qurmi
Region Qormi and surrounding area
Maltese alphabet
Language codes
ISO 639-3
IETF mt-u-sd-mt43
Qormi-map.svg
Qormi in Malta

The Qormi dialect (Qormi dialect: Qurmi, Standard Maltese: Qormi) is a dialect of the Maltese language spoken by inhabitants of Qormi. It is affectionately known as it-Tuf, or in standard Maltese it-Taf, because of the difference in the Maltese word taf 'you know'. [2] The most distinctive feature of the Qormi dialect is its treatment of vowels.

Contents

Phonology

The Qormi dialect has the following vowels: [3] :24

Short vowels

Front Central Back
Close i u
Open a

Long vowels

Front Central Back
Close ii uu
Mid ee oo
Open aa


Vowels in the first syllables are the ones most often affected, but sometimes medial vowels are changed as well. Final vowels, on the other hand, are usually identical to those of the standard language.

The vowel A

The Maltese vowel a corresponds to the vowel /u/ in the Qormi dialect. If at the end of a word, it is realized as /o/. [4]


EnglishMalteseQormi dialect
steeple (church tower)kampnarkampnur
seriousnessserjetàserjetò
seminaryseminarjuseminurju
potatopatatapatuta
fogċparċpur
housedardur

The vowel O

The vowel o in Maltese often corresponds to /u/ in the Qormi dialect. [4] For example:

EnglishMalteseQormi dialect
we wentmornamurna
go (imperative 3rd pers. pl.)morrumurru
spring coilmollamulla
carkarozzakaruzza
gluekollakulla
postage stampbollabulla
St GeorgeSan ĠorġSan Ġurġ

This form happens to almost all words that have the vowel o in the first syllable, although there may be exceptions.

Vowels after Għ

The vowels after the change their sound as well.

Exceptions

Although there may be exceptions, such as kollha 'all of it', which is pronounced like killha in the dialect, and meta 'when' like mita, one must note that the vowels are almost never lengthened, and their accent remains the normal Maltese one.

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References

  1. Martine Vanhove, « De quelques traits prehilaliens en maltais », in: Peuplement et arabisation au Maghreb cccidental : dialectologie et histoire, Casa Velazquez - Universidad de Zaragoza (1998), pp.97-108
  2. Borg, Albert (2011). "Lectal variation in Maltese". Variation and Change. The Dynamics of Maltese in Space, Time and Society. Akademie Verlag. p. 9–31. doi:10.1524/9783050057200.9. ISBN   978-3-05-005720-0.
  3. Hulst, Harry van der (2018). Asymmetries in vowel harmony: a representational account. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN   9780198813576.
  4. 1 2 Pascale, Natalie (2011). "Maltese dialects: the effects of globalization and Changing attitudes on Malta's linguistic diversity" (PDF). Omertaa: journal of applied anthropology. ISSN   1784-3308 . Retrieved 2 February 2024.