Malta 870-1054 : Al-Himyari’s account and its linguistic implications

Abstract

One of the most intriguing aspects of the evolution of the Maltese language is the lack of a clearly perceivable substratum. When the study of language became truly scientific, thanks to the developments of the historical comparative approach in the late Nineteenth century, languages were no longer considered ready-made built-in systems, genetically transmitted like birdsong (as in Schleicher 1859). The geographical and social dimensions disproved the puristic and ethnic-nationalistic notions, and therefore languages came to be seen as products of the fusion of various elements reflecting historical events and durable contacts (Ascoli 1873). When a community adopted a new language it invariably grafted it on the old language, which remained recognizable in such elements as pronunciation (phonology), basic or local vocabulary (lexicon and semantics) and certain grammar rules (morphology and syntax). According to the stratigraphical concept of languages this underlying layer is called the substratum. The substratum of Maltese could have been either Punic, Latin or Greek.