Zejtun Dialect
Encyclopedia
One of the dialects found in the Maltese language
Maltese language
Maltese is the national language of Malta, and a co-official language of the country alongside English,while also serving as an official language of the European Union, the only Semitic language so distinguished. Maltese is descended from Siculo-Arabic...

 is the Żejtun Dialect (in general Maltese termed as Żejtuni and by the speakers as Żejtewni). This dialect is used by many of the Żejtun
Zejtun
Żejtun is a medium sized town in the south of Malta. Żejtun holds the title of Città Beland, which was bestowed by Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim, Grandmaster of Knights of Malta in 1797, Beland being his mother's surname....

 inhabitants and in other settlements around this city like Marsaxlokk
Marsaxlokk
Marsaxlokk is a traditional fishing village located in the south-eastern part of Malta, with a population of 3,277 people . The village’s name comes from marsa, which means "port" and xlokk, which is the local name for south east...

, that consists of about twelve thousand people.

There many words that find it in the Maltese dialect only example:
  • For kite
    Kite
    A kite is a tethered aircraft. The necessary lift that makes the kite wing fly is generated when air flows over and under the kite's wing, producing low pressure above the wing and high pressure below it. This deflection also generates horizontal drag along the direction of the wind...

    the Maltese word is tajra but in this dialect it is found as manuċċa.
  • For foggy weather
    Fog
    Fog is a collection of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. While fog is a type of stratus cloud, the term "fog" is typically distinguished from the more generic term "cloud" in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated...

    the Maltese word is ċpar but in this dialect it is found as ċlambu.

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 Vocal 'A'

The vowel 'A' in the Żejtun dialect is changed into 'U' or 'E'. 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 form happens to roughly all of the words that end in the vowel ' A ', but when the sentence construction does not allow the vowel 'A' transmute 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'. Example:
English Maltese Żejtun Dialect
wild selvaġġ salvaġġ
seriousness serjetà sirjitu
seminary seminarju siminurju
when meta mite

The Vocal 'O'

The vocal ' 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 ' 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 form occurs in many other words that have 'O' as their first vocal letter.

The Vocal 'U'

When the last vocal of the word is the U, it is changed into the vocal O with the consonant W with a muted-ending . 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
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