Word order in the clauses of the narrative sections in P. P. Saydon's Bible translation in Maltese

Abstract

General Aims: This study project was aimed at discovering a linguistic explanation for a historical phenomenon: the failure of the Bible translation in Maltese done by Rev Prof Peter Paul Saydon, to impose itself as the Bible of the population of Malta at large even though it was hailed from the beginning as a literary masterpiece.

Contents of Dissertation: This dissertation had three main parts or sections. In the fIrst section we shall say all the reader needs to know about our research project in order to understand our work: we shall identify the object of our study, defIne the research proposal, and describe our method of work. Then comes the central section which contains the data employed as empirical basis for the generalisations to be made in the third and fInal section. The data will be preceded by an introduction in which helps will be provided for the eventual reader of the dissertation who does not know Maltese, so that he/she will be able to go through the data without undue diffIculty. The linguistic discussion proper will be given in the third section, to be followed by the conclusions.