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1 correction found
The Maltese language is 70% Arabic
Published linguistic analyses do not support the claim that Maltese is “70% Arabic.” University of Malta sources instead put Arabic/Semitic-origin vocabulary at roughly one-third of Maltese, with a majority of words coming from Sicilian/Italian and other non-Semitic sources.
Full reasoning
The 70% figure is contradicted by published linguistic work from the University of Malta.
One University of Malta chapter summarizing Joseph Brincat’s etymological analysis states that only 32.41% of the lexical entries in Aquilina’s Maltese-English Dictionary are Semitic words, while 60.23% are non-Semitic. Another University of Malta paper gives a similar breakdown for Aquilina’s larger dictionary: 32.41% Arabic, 48.12% Italian, and 4.26% Sicilian, plus smaller shares from other sources.
So Maltese is absolutely a Semitic language with Arabic roots, but saying the language is “70% Arabic” is not supported by these standard lexical analyses. In the published counts cited above, Arabic-origin vocabulary is closer to one-third, not 70%.
2 sources
- Maltese : the Maltese language in education in Malta
According to Brincat’s (2011) etymological analysis of the lexical entries in Joseph Aquilina’s Maltese-English Dictionary (1987-1990), only 32.41% are Semitic words, while a staggering 60.23% are non-Semitic words.
- Maltese : blending Semitic, Romance and Germanic lexemes
Tab. 2: The etymology of the Maltese vocabulary in Aquilina’s Maltese-English Dictionary ... Semitic: Arabic 32.41%; Romance: Sicilian 4.26%; Italian 48.12%.