Maltralian

Maltralian
Australian Maltese
Il-Maltraljan
Maltese cane workers in Queensland.
Native to	Australia
Ethnicity	Maltese Australians
Language family	Afro-Asiatic Semitic West Semitic Central Semitic Arabic Maghrebi Arabic Pre-Hilalian Sicilian Arabic Maltese Maltralian
Writing system	Maltese alphabet
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–
ELP	Template:Endangered Languages Project
Linguasphere	Template:Infobox language/lingualist
	Template:Infobox language/lingualist
	Template:Infobox language/lingualist
	Template:Infobox language/lingualist
	Template:Infobox language/lingualist
	Template:Infobox language/lingualist
	Template:Infobox language/lingualist
	Template:Infobox language/lingualist
	Template:Infobox language/lingualist
	Template:Infobox language/lingualist
IETF	mt-AU
Maltese people in Australia according to the 2011 census.

Maltralian or Australian Maltese (in Maltese: ) is the Maltese language of Australia, spoken by Maltese Australians in the country.

The development of the Maltese language in a country far removed from Malta continued, in an environment that maintained a sense of origin and culture.

History of Maltese emigrants to Australia

In 1882 Australia welcomed the first official group of immigrants from Malta, 8 immigrants sent there as part of an experiment conducted by the Maltese Imperial Government. 40 years after that first emigration to Australia, emigration began on a larger scale. Between 1911 and 1939 6,000 Maltese people emigrated to Australia and in the ten years between 1940 and 1949 numbers rose to 8,000. In the twenty years after 1949 Australia welcomed over 61,000 emigrants. 1956 saw 10,300 emigrants from Malta enter Australia. Later numbers of emigrants decreased.

Origins of a new Maltese dialect

The first trace of a change in the Maltese language in Australia was evidenced in 1929 with the publication of Charles Parnis's books, the first Maltese journalist in Australia. These writings included various expressions and vocabulary not included in standard Maltese. This documentation of an Australian-Maltese dialect in journals suggest that its origins go back before 1929.

After these first publications in Maltese by Charles Parnis and some other writers who wrote from 1929 to 1935, there was a pause in work published by Australian-Maltese authors, due to the Second World War. Publication of Australian-Maltese works resumed (in the Maltese language) after 1949, in Melbourne.

Characteristics

The Maltese language in Australia developed a different style from the Standard Maltese, in part due to the Australian social environment.

Maltralian divergences from standard Maltese include:

• The word 'bludger', a masculine and feminine noun, with the verb , neither of which occur in Standard Maltese.
• Maltese words developed a new format like 'to demand' from the Maltese word .
• Words like / rather than or 'blinker' but not the Standard Maltese 'indicator'.
• Standard Maltese uses or for 'help', but Maltralian uses .
• Standard Maltese uses for 'bank', but Maltralian uses .
• There is a lack of Italian influence in the Maltralian dialect, unlike Standard Maltese, for example ('bye') is not used but is, ('congratulations') is not used but or are. However, these Semitic expressions are still present in Standard Maltese.
• For 'football' in Maltralian use , not traditionally used in Standard Maltese.
• The plural of 'home' in Maltese is 'homes', but in Maltralian the plural of is , or . For 'button' the Standard Maltese plural is not used, in favour of . 'girl' does not have the Standard Maltese plural but .
• The word 'cheap' in Maltese is 'cheap' and 'cheaper', but in Maltralian and are used.

References

• Maltese Identity in Australia - What Future? (Archived)