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Copyright

Andrei A. Avram;

Published On

2025-01-31

Page Range

pp. 33–74

Language

  • English

Print Length

42 pages

Contextual Neutralisation of Voicing in Maltese Obstruents

A Historical Perspective

  • Andrei A. Avram (author)
This chapter explores the historical evolution of contextual voicing neutralization in Maltese obstruents, focusing on regressive voicing assimilation and word-final devoicing. By comparing Modern Maltese with its Arabic ancestor, evidence shows sporadic instances of spontaneous voicing and devoicing in earlier stages, transitioning to systematic phonological rules by the late 18th century. An analysis of texts, lexicons, and notarial records from the 15th to 18th centuries reveals that while early Maltese exhibited voiced obstruents and mixed clusters, regressive assimilation and word-final devoicing gradually became pervasive. Both rules, first attested in the 16th century, spread via lexical diffusion, affecting Semitic roots and Romance loanwords alike.

The study underscores the typological shift from unrestricted obstruent voicing contrasts in Arabic to the Maltese system characterized by regressive assimilation and word-final devoicing. This development challenges claims of direct inheritance from Sicilian Arabic, suggesting instead a Maltese-specific innovation. Despite some exceptions, such as non-integrated borrowings, these phonological rules persist synchronically in Modern Maltese.

The findings contribute to understanding the diachronic phonology of Maltese, highlighting its divergence from other Arabic varieties and its typological realignment. The study also emphasizes the importance of historical linguistic evidence in reconstructing phonological change and its implications for the interaction of Semitic and Romance components in Maltese.

Contributors

Andrei A. Avram

(author)
Professor of English Linguistics at University of Bucharest

Andrei A. Avram is Professor of English Linguistics at the University of Bucharest, Romania. He holds a PhD in linguistics from the “Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” Institute of Linguistics of the Romanian Academy, Bucharest (2000), and a PhD in Linguistics from Lancaster University (2004). His research areas are pidgins and creoles with various lexifiers, language contacts, and phonology. Publications include Pidginurile şi creolele cu bază engleză şi franceză ca tip particular de contact lingvistic (2000), On the Syllable Structure of English Pidgins and Creoles (2005), Fonologia limbii japoneze contemporane (2005), book chapters in edited volumes, and articles in English World-Wide, English Today, Journal of Language Contact, Cochlear Implants International, Lengua y migración, Études Créoles, Linguistics in the Netherlands, Mediterranean Language Review, Linguistik Online, Papia, Acta Linguistica Asiatica, Linguistica Atlantica, Romano-Arabica, Revue roumaine de linguistique, Bucharest Working Papers in Linguistics.