Description
This is a comprehensive linguistic study of the Maltese language of Australia known as Maltraljan (Ausmaltese) as it has evolved over the last seventy years of Maltese migration to Australia.
The first two chapters outline the historical, sociological, political and linguistic framework in which this continuing phenomenon has developed. A select glossary of some nine hundred headwords with several derivations and variations added thereto, comprises chapter three – the core of the entire work. This lexical presentation includes, for the first time ever in the lexical study of Maltese, phonemic transcriptions for every entry. No Maltese dictionary or glossary to date has ever gone into such linguistic depth. In addition to this, the glossary presents an in-depth, though general analysis, of the main features of Maltraljan (viz. Phonological, semantic, morphological, syntactic, as well as examples for each entry of convgersational usage for each term and the respective provenance when this is known.)
A considerable bibliography is added, providing the researcher and student with ample cross-reference for both cross-checking as well as for further research.