Maltese orthography : uniformity through etymology or phonology?

Abstract

Features from the three main sources of the constituent elements of the Maltese language - Semitic (mostly Arabic), Romance (largely Sicilian and Italian) and Germanic (most particularly English) - often interrelate within the same linguistic stretches. Linguistic blending takes place rather naturally in speech but may create problems in writing especially since Germanic elements do not always operate on a one-to-one correspondence with the more native Semitic elements. The Maltese language has borrowed extensively from Italian/Sicilian and English, and it is still doing so because of the wide use of the media. [excerpt]