Can People from the Levant Understand Maltese?

[@FldMrshlWAbouSaad]

As a Lebanese person who's very familiar with the Tunisian dialect. I was able to understand 95% right away and didn't struggle like them. It's basically Tunisian base with an Italic topping. Very stimulating video! Thanks Bahador. 🙏🏻

[@omrimaher2754]

I'm a Tunisian and I confirm

[@fadifarhat-mufu5686]

Exactly, I watched the first example and I was not sure why they all struggled. Even with "mort" (passed by [the sea]), the Syrian gentleman said that it was close to "maraqit" and another one said "marart". "Mort" is, in fact, plain Arabic (yammur) and is even used in other formal Arabic contexts such as Traffic Police (Shurtat al Maroor).

[@FldMrshlWAbouSaad]

@Fadi Farhat - MUFU you know how the average Arabic speaker among the young generation has become quite weak in fos7a knowledge. So, not surprising.

[@Myladyinred999]

So interesting to know, thanks 👍

[@Oz4rmEg]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jqaWh2Z_drl4g9k

[@TravelsWithTony]

I am an Irish-German from the Bronx, but my adopted grandfather was Maltese, born in Gozo in 1911. He taught us our Catholic prayers in Maltese way back when .... Fascinating language and culture. All people seem to have christian first names and Arab last names. So he was Anthony Jose-Maria Mejlaq (or Meilak). He came to the US with many other Maltese in the late 1920s. I grew up eating Maltese Rice and loving it.

[@آقا-ظ2ي]

Wow! Amazing!

most Maltese surnames are Sicilian.

[@levaltshuler1315]

@ But some of them are Semitic

[@TravelsWithTony]

@ Interesting. The names in my family all sounded Arabic, like Mejlaq and Fennech

[@leventtrolley9135]

@ Don't forget, Muslims ruled over Sicily for over 200 years... Sicilian Arabic was a dialect of a language disappeared in time.

[@polypolyglottus5698]

I am from Tunisia and when he speak Maltese, it seems to me like someone who talk a Tunisian dialect with an Italian accent. Even the Maltese proverbs in the end of the video, we use them in Tunisia ^_^

[@Oz4rmEg]

Funny... I'm Egyptian and I got his sentences as well. But couldn't read 😮😮😮

[@polypolyglottus5698]

@@Oz4rmEg I can read it easily ^_^

[@amirasalima5490]

It's literally Tunisian dialect, in the past malta was under the Tunisian rule

[@ninamoony8551]

​@@amirasalima5490Honestly I do not recognize the Tunisian accent at all. It is just Arabic mixed with Italian with a specific Maltese accent

[@hamzahammami22]

​@ninamoony8551 it doesn't have a Tunisian accent, it's for the most part the Tunisian dialect with a Italian/Sicilian accent with a lot of italian words

[@user-zh7yr1up8g]

Arabic is my third language and this is so fascinating to witness. Sean is the perfect candidate for this because as a native Maltese speaker he has also learned Arabic fluently and that allows him to better spot the connections. Very lovely video. Great job to all!

[@kaminobatto]

I am a native Arabic speaker and currently learning Biblical Aramaic and Hebrew. I would love to learn Syriac as well, so I would appreciate it if you could recommend a platform or a private tutor. Thanks!

[@isaac1674]

Dakhewat Khoni

[@levaltshuler1315]

@@kaminobatto Where are you from? There are not many sources to learn Syriac, but there is one I know called Beth Mardutho and they are based in the U.S but you can take online classes from anywhere.

[@kaminobatto]

@@levaltshuler1315 thanks a lot🙏 I'll look them up. I'm originally from Lebanon.

[@giorgioashuri6481]

Can I ask you what nationality you are? It's just that your avatar is written in Assyrian-ArAmean.

[@FadiHamoud1980]

I wish Sean, would consider making a YT channel, teaching Maltese. Would be a hit.

[@raniabaha2210]

I wish so too, I wanna learn Maltese (the ressources are rare) and his enthusiasm would certainly motivate me even more !

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

It is a difficult language to learn. I am Maltese by birth, but I cannot speak it and make sense. There are Maltese dialects by the way or there were, universal education has made Maltese standardized. I am sure at home people speak in their dialect. For example, yes in Maltese, the written form, is Iva but Iwa is the dialect.

[@dandana4647]

as an old tunisian that reminds me the way Italians living in Tunisia used to speak the tunisian dialect

[@magrebinoberbero]

the maltese language is a mixture of arabic and north African Darija arabic " Algeria, libya, Morocco and Tunisia " and italian language , especially the sicilian dialect . the exact percentage is as follows : italian 54 % Arabic 41% English 04 % others. 1% if you do not believe me, please research it.

[@philipmulville8218]

Hi Bahador, really beautiful video. I’m Irish, and speak Russian and Arabic. Sean is amazingly talented - his Arabic pronunciation is perfect. I could understand a lot of the Maltese, and, when in Valletta some years ago, kept turning my head when listening to the language as it sounded so like Arabic to me. Thanks so much to all the participants.

[@Honest_Question]

I don't know how much he studied, but to me he sounds (and I would even consider him to be) a native Arabic speaker.

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

Sean is into Semitic languages. Most Maltese people are not, their interests are rooted in Europe not the Arab world. Most Maltese don't understand the various Arab languages or Classical Arabic, not even Tunisian which has a lot of those sounds no longer existing in Maltese. Sean was being a good teacher in order for those people to understand, hand he spoken everyday Maltese they would get one word out of twenty, and be confused overall.

[@mahmoudalhweitat3634]

Thanks for linking bridges between nations through languages. I guess Tunisians could understand Maltese easier than those who speaks other Arabic dialects. Even though, I managed to understand the speech orally rather than scripturally.

[@umar4655]

This was really wholesome and educational! Thank you Sean, and loved that your son appeared. He's very cute and smart. Thanks to the participants and Bahador for organizing this session.

[@sasino4569]

I liked everything about Sean. His vibe and enthusiasm toward languages. His background and how well educated he is. Really looks like an extremely nice guy to be around.

[@try2justbe]

He used to have a program on arabic TV as well in the 2000s.

[@sasino4569]

@@try2justbe what is the name of it?

[@philipmulville8218]

Yes, I fully agree. His enthusiasm is infectious - a very interesting and talented guy.

[@saimraja2119]

@@philipmulville8218 Controll your self you little thing

[@Diego_Borges]

The TV show was called Aisha Marra - يشها مرة

[@anvarsaidinov1488]

Thank you, Bahador, don't let your work be overlooked. I am from Uzbekistan, my nationality is from Tashkent. May our Persian Tajik Arab brothers be healthy. Bahador, you are doing a good job.

[@BahadorAlast]

Thank you so much 🙏

[@MJ-yz8yh]

the Maltese father and his son (yosef) should do a show on youtube, I dont know what but I want to see more of them ♥♥

[@whatever4929]

Ty

[@leonardell-bon7104]

He is not Maltese, he studies at the University of Malta.

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

In Maltese that name is Joseph or Guzepp not Yusef which is Arabic or Hebrew. Sean used Yusef for those Arabs sake.

[@Rasheed7]

26:40 Darba from ضربة not from درب 😁 The original meaning of the word شيخ Sheikh in Standard Arabic FusHa is an old man, so Maltese kept the right meaning.

[@laurenford9057]

As someone learning Arabic, this is interesting to watch. It feels so great when you can quickly connect the words.

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

I don't know. Arabic languages are written using their abjad, Maltese is written using the Latin script with some additions.

[@Name-yb7hn]

I feel this is really similar to my ear to Tunisian dialect. I’m from KSA and understood almost 95% of all sentences ❤

[@magrebinoberbero]

Tu es un mytho In Tunisia Arabic is spoken with some Tunisian words and other north African darija words from Algeria and Libya and Morocco derived from Italian, french , Spanish , Turkish and Berber words are also used . Every North African country has its own dialect and pronunciation of the standard Arabic language. Algerians and Tunisians also speak french Libyans speak Italian Moroccans speak french and Spanish

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

Sean spoke Maltese the way you would speak to your 2 y.o child. Every day Maltese would confuse any speaker of Arabic dialects.

[@saranasser9642]

Thank u Bahadour been waiting for such content. Forore than a decade

[@fafta71]

I'm Saudi and could understand most of what was said. I just want to note that "Hashish" literally means "grass" in certain Saudi dialects; it doesn't necessarily mean marijuana.

[@amirasalima5490]

No it's grass of course, but in th context hachich means vegetables. in Tunisia we called leafy vegetables hchich

[@robinhood3926]

In malta haxix can mean all the vegetables and fruits too

[@liliqua1293]

In Egypt, hashish only means marijuana haha for us, grass is negila

[@abukitten]

In Somali we have XAASHI حاش which means a sheet of paper

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

Haxix means vegetables in Maltese. If you understood most of the Maltese you are better than most Arabs.

[@jakewhittaker1145]

Sean's enthusiasm and blatant excitement to share knowledge and interesting aspects of language is so infectious. I hope this is how I come across too when I get really excited to show/share language "stuff" with other people! Thank you Bahador!! 🙏

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

Well, he loves the Maltese language and has accepted its origin point in Tunisia, and he is into Semitic languages. Most Maltese people are not interested in the Arab world, Africa or the Arabic languages, they just love their language as its the language of their mothers.

[@pierreabbat6157]

My favorite Maltese saying (not that I know much Maltese) is "minn żmien żemżem" (from Zamzam time). Zamzam is a well in Mecca which is well over a millennium old.

[@luapfellacim]

👍 sharingfor Thanks

[@HGAHAMFHAH]

4 to 5 millenniums actually

[@leonardell-bon7104]

I am Maltese and I say it without knowing why it really meant, interesting.

[@Nashmi-JO]

Zamzam is a well that was found in mecca before thousands of years by Hajar the wife of prophet ibrahim ​@leonardell-bon7104

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

I doubt any Maltese person knows there is a well in Mecca called Zamzam. It is well know that the ancestors of Maltese people were Scilians who were Mozarabs, Sicilians who spoke some form of North African Arabic and who became Muslims probably to avoid the tax on Christians. I think the saying just means the remote past, the long gone days like when people used stones for tools.

[@Diego_Borges]

Sean is just amazing. Being able to speak 2 Romance languages and two Semitic languages besides English is awesome. I hope to see him more often in the channel. I always wanted to know Malta but had no idea the Maltese language was that close to Arabic. As an Arabic student know it makes everything even more interesting!

[@felf4173]

Last time, when there was tunisian and maltese comparaison. I couldn't understand maltese but this time I practicaly understood everything as a Tunisian. I also went to Malta this summer, at first I couldn't understand anything but it was easy to understand what was written. Maltese is ver close to Arabic, but they have a different accent that it would take some time to get used to

[@mattiamele3015]

Mind you, this guy speaks Maltese with an accent. Native Maltese spakers don't say "jhobb" with a b-sound, they say "jhoPP". When you see a b or a d at the end of a word that's pronounced as a p or a t. The same applies to other voiced consonants. That is, unless the following word begins with a voiced consonant, which causes voicing assimilation. Example: norqod is pronounced as norqot (nor2ot) but if you say norqod billejl (bel layl) that "d" is indeed pronounced as a d, not as a t.

[@felf4173]

@@mattiamele3015 it's obvious that he has a different accent. As I said in my comment above, you have to get used to the Maltese accent to understand it. An Egyptian wouldn't be able to understand Tunisian accent right away, but when he get used to it,he would be able to understand the big picture( I say hat because they wouldn't be able to understand amazigh, Italian, Spanish and french words used regurally in the Tunisian dialect

[@mattiamele3015]

@@felf4173 Yes, what I mean is the man in the video doesn't speak exactly like someone from Malta.

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

You are honest. Arabs exaggerate their ability to understand Maltese. I believe the word for water in Arabic languages is Ma. In Maltese it is ilma and the water is l'ilma. Maltese has semitic words and also Romance words for the same thing. War in Maltese is gwerra but the semitic word is harb pronounced like harp. In Arabic the word chair is kursi or something like that, in Maltese it's siggu. Kitchen is kcina, car is karrozza, father is missier, aunt is zia, cousin kugin. Yes, Maltese people have an Italian like accent. I think it would take months to understand for Arabs. Sean was speaking slowly as if to children.

[@mattiamele3015]

⁠@@Ponto-zv9vfAs an Italian, my native language being Italian, and as an advanced speaker of Maltese, I can fairly say your statement about Maltese accent is wrong. Maltese is very hard to pronounce for an untrained Italian speaker, and when Maltese people speak Italian they have a very distinct foreign accent. Besides, the definite article becoming part of the word is something that can be found throughout the Maghreb: the word for “water” in Moroccan is pretty much the same as in Maltese. About the loanwords: the entirety of Maghrebi dialects from Libya to Mauritania say “kitchen” with variations of something like Maltese “kcina” (kshina, kujina, kuzina etc.) and some dialects in Algeria and Morocco have “karrossa” for car.

[@sissotarik8393]

by the way maltese language contain some berber words such as "żebbuġ" wich means olives (in arabic we use the word zeitoun" instead)

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

Zejtun is the Maltese spelling, and there is a town called Zejtun in Malta. Zebbug is a town, and the common word for olive. Yes there are Berber words in Maltese, I think fekrun is Berber, not sure.

[@moutarjem]

It is very easy for a Tunisian and a Levantine to learn Maltese. I bet I can learn it fluently in one month full time studying based also on my knowledge of a few European languages

[@dnastrand9922]

Wow! As a Lebanese i am so suprised! I understood 90% of every example ☠️ This is my first time ever getting exposed to the Maltese language

[@abdellahaddoud6254]

It's funny to see how levantine people claim that they don't understand Maghreb dialects :) which are closer to the standard arabic than maltese language ! For me Maltese is one of maghreb dialects but which is more influenced by italian loanwords

[@dnastrand9922]

@Abdellah Addoud i dnt know how to explain it to you, but yes, as a lebanese, i literally don't understand Moroccan/Tunisian/Algerian at all. This video sounded more easy to my ears. But i have no explanation.

[@gsxii1292]

@@abdellahaddoud6254 i do understand Moroccans to an extent but the issue is they speak super fast.

[@yuzan3607]

@@abdellahaddoud6254 I'm from the Gulf region, I also find it much easier to understand Maltese in comparison to Moroccan dialect (to me Tunisian is very easy). Moroccan dialect sounds like a different language honestly.

[@curiousmind_]

@@yuzan3607 Moroccan is heavily influenced by the native Amazigh languages that's why

[@hasray9699]

Please do a comparison video between Arabic and Pashto.

[@mutazilite3611]

THIS IS GREAT! We Need To See More Of This.

[@confluence2519]

Interesting video! Proverb’s definitely are an important linguistic feature is language similarities, and Arabic is filled with them in a way where there are even dialect specific proverbs! I actually wrote a paper recently on the role of color in proverbs existing in Saudi dialects! Loved the video! I also had a question, have you ever thought about doing a video on Arabic and Coptic? It would be interesting to see the sinmialrities, essentially now with the geographical connection to Arabic!

[@BahadorAlast]

Thank you. Definitely have and would love to organize that for a future video!

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

Coptic? Arabic is Semitic, Coptic derives from the extinct language of the ancient Egyptians. There isn't much connection other than they are both Afroasiatic languages.

[@ELYESSS]

darba is used in Tunisian but pronounced as dharba with aض. It literally means one hit but I think it's used the same way as in Maltese.

[@teknul89]

It is indeed Malta has been influenced by Berber countries so if you are Tunisian you will catch up their words more easily and they will the same with your language

[@Johannes...]

ضربة بمعنى مرة

[@ELYESSS]

@@Johannes... yes

[@nayokaldou6251]

@@teknul89 weird the result was dialect of Arabic not Berber !

[@saimraja2119]

@@nayokaldou6251 no

[@mwprw]

Super interesting, its like a mixture of Italian, Levantine Arabic and North African Arabic :)

[@belalabusultan5911]

it also has some Spanish I guess, so it's a melting pot for mediterranean languages and accents.

[@Yanzdorloph]

@@belalabusultan5911 up to the 20th century the Languave in wish the french, Moroccan, Ottoman, Spanish and portoguese sailors comunicated in was a blend of all these languages, althou it was more like a pidgin language in practice it was the lingua franca of the mediteranian sea for centuries, it's name was Sabir language

[@belalabusultan5911]

@@Yanzdorloph I didn't know that, but thank you. I couldn't find Sabir vs Maltese comparisson videos, but I assume they would be kinda similar?

[@liliqua1293]

Although the pronunciation is similar to Levantine Arabic, this is coincidental and there is no direct influence from Levantine on Maltese. Maltese is just an eastern Maghrebian variety with certain urban qualities found in many varieties (loss of q, loss of interdentals, loss of emphatics) such as Cairene, and even some old Moroccan varieties.

[@Yanzdorloph]

@@belalabusultan5911 no one speaks Sabir anymore, as it was never a mother thong to any ppl, just a practical language to comunicate between North Africans and southern Eropeans in the Mediteranian sea, but seeing how Maltese is a mix between arabic, Italian, Spanish and english I'd imagine it was smtg similar but idk. Eddit : wikipedia tells me that it's Based mostly on Northern Italy's languages (mainly Venetian and Genoese) and secondarily on Occitano-Romance languages (Catalan and Occitan) in the western Mediterranean area at first, Lingua Franca later came to have more Spanish and Portuguese elements, especially on the Barbary Coast (now referred to as the Maghreb). Lingua Franca also borrowed from Berber, Turkish, French, Greek and Arabic.

[@jmudikun]

Another very awesome episode, Bahador. I loved this.

[@minnamsl4549]

As an Algerian I understood most of the sentences right away, and I like that man's explanation I would like to be his student 😆😆

[@magrebinoberbero]

Vive la Chaouia

[@ShafiqaIdris]

Thank you for sharing. This was fascinating! After the first couple of sentences I started pausing to try translating before hearing the proper translation and I think I did well. You're explanations of the pronounciation and origins were very helpful!

[@Amal-hc2vt]

It’s amazing, thank you for this nice trip to malta 🙏😍 as a morrocan I understood mostly everything, it’s more similar to nord African dialects as far as the words and the pronunciation is concerned and the way of speaking is more Tunesian

[@karimelbouri]

Fascinating, Maltese sounds almost identical to the Libyan dialect of Arabic 🇱🇾 🇱🇾 Thanks for making these great videos !

[@magrebinoberbero]

Azul, tanmirt I agree with you There are over 8000 Libyan Maltese citizens living in Malta, the influence of the Libyan darija is widespread and is growing.. 🇩🇿🇱🇾🇲🇦🇩🇿 Maltese is mixture of Italian, Sicilian dialect and north African darija of Algeria, Libya, Tunisia and Morocco. North African darija is Arabic mixed with foreign words from Italy, Spain, France and Berber languages

[@mina2hmakar]

I'm from Egypt and been to Malta many times. I find it easy to understand Maltese as an Egyptian especially if you can understand a bit of Italian and can understand when they mix North African Arabic with some Italian. Maltese people feel like Middle eastern Europeans 😁😁😁 Also shout-out to Sean, his Arabic is great 👍👍👍

[@stephencachia5561]

Interessanti ħafna, very interesting, grazzi. Ħadt gost nara dan il-video. I enjoyed watching the video.

[@stephencachia5561]

Interessanti ħafna, very interesting grazzi ħafna. Ħadt gost nara dan il-video, I enjoyed watching this video.

[@rainhawk5264]

It's actually not funny as the Maltese are actually West ASIAN INDO-EUROPEAN PEOPLE NOT AFRO PEOPLE. THEY HAVE BEEN ARABISED/SEMITICISED. Most Maltese people have around 70-80% West Asian Indo-European DNA. Take the DNA result of a Maltese person it will have around 80-90% West Asian Indo-European DNA (20-30% Italian DNA, 20-30% Aegean, and 20-30% Anatolian/Caucasian. And only 5-20% Afro-Semitic from North Africa.

[@mina2hmakar]

Dude, take it easy 😂

[@zeyadyahya1180]

So cool bahador ☀️🙏😃 great video as always ❤️

[@hassanalast6670]

Good to know about Arabic speakers and the Maltese language.

[@michael30000]

This is awesome, understood most words from the first sentence. Love from a Lebanese, Australian

[@lukeet331]

Please please can the maltese guy post some videos teaching some Maltese! He's amazing so knowlegable and explains things so well as someone living in Malta trying to learn it would be really appreciated!

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

Maltese people speak English, you don't need to speak any Maltese at all. I was born in Malta, I am of that ethnic group and if I chose to live there, I wouldn't have to speak a word of Maltese.

[@lukeet331]

@@Ponto-zv9vf I live in Malta, have a Maltese friendship group, a Maltese girlfriend and my family is partially Maltese. Whilst not necessary to get by in Malta to integrate properly knowledge of the language is more than useful. My girlfriend's Nan from Żejtun only speaks Maltese for instance lol

[@mattiamele3015]

@@Ponto-zv9vfYou’re not Maltese.

[@nahidhkurdi6740]

I am an Iraqi with no contact with the north African dialects. However, I am surprised I understood a lot. For example, I recognised with no effort that hashish in the third or the fourth example stands for vegetables.

[@aousr]

I’m from Yemen and I was able to understand almost everything. The Syrian guy is accurate when he said “we are hearing a new Arabic accent/dialect”

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

It isn't an Arabic accent. Maltese people are not from the Middle East or North Africa, they are originally from Sicily and adopted the Semitic language in Sicily as it was the language of the Muslim conquerors. The Maltese people moved to Malta about 1000 years ago from Agrigento in Sicily.

[@mattiamele3015]

@@Ponto-zv9vf They are a separate group of people, a nation in its own right. Their ancestors came from different parts of the Mediterranean, both Muslim and Christian; of course there has been quite a significant input from Sicily because it’s the closest big land and it shares the same religion as Malta, but it’s far more nuanced than your stupid “they just moved from Agrigento” nonsense.

[@catloverss1]

Very informative 👍.. love it .. great post .. keep it up 👍

[@vraimoi]

Good job, very interesting video, thank you very much. and in case no one pointed out where "darba" came from (20:45) I think it goes all the way back to arabic mathematics where Al-Darb (الضرب) mean multiplication. for example in arabic you would say "khamsa darb khamsa" for five "times" five and thats probably why darba means times in maltese.

[@mattiamele3015]

Wow. This is a really interesting input. I just think darba “a time” is a semantic accretion of “one stroke/one hit”. Maltese people also use “daqqa” with the same meaning. Daqqa tirbah, daqqa titlef (sometimes you win, sometimes you lose). Or “xi minn daqqiet” (شي من دقّات) meaning “sometimes”. The thing is, Maltese has lost the use of the verb darab outside of the word midrub (injured), so they don’t associate darba with the concept of “a beat”. As for the verb daqq, it also lost the connotation of beating and it mostly means playing (music) or ringing (bells). But daqqa certainly means a hit/a stroke. For example daqqa ta’ harta (a slap). Daqqa ta’ ponn (a punch - Italian pugno means fist/punch). I think there might be some Romance influence in this, because for example in Catalan cop (hit/stroke) means “time” too. Then there is this expression, in both Italian and French, to say “all of a sudden”: di colpo/tout à coup, with the Maltese version being f’daqqa wahda.

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

In Maltese five is hamsa, the h does not sound as harsh as kh does. Darba wiehet or darba wahda, means one time or once.

[@kaminobatto]

Another great video from Bahadur.

[@Ahmed-pf3lg]

Maltese father speaks Arabic in a khaleeji accent, pretty interesting

[@user-zh7yr1up8g]

He indicated that he was in Saudi Arabia for many years so I think that's why! I love that as a native Maltese speaker he learned Arabic, it makes him very ideal for this since he can quickly see the connections.

[@Ahmed-pf3lg]

@@user-zh7yr1up8g He sounds so much like a native. First time I hear a foreigners speaking Arabic perfectly. Well done for him, but to be fair I guess having Maltese as a first language helps tremendously perhaps.

[@corinna007]

​@@user-zh7yr1up8gYeah, he said in the last video he was in that he had lived in Riyadh for 20 years or something. And since his son is half Arab, it's probably safe to assume that his wife is Saudi.

[@taher_abdelhameed]

13:10 In fact, it's the opposite. the meaning remained as it is in Maltese and changed everywhere else. The letteral meaning of "Hasheesh" is "Reapings" so anything you can reap/harvest is OK to be called Hasheesh, not just weed.

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

Haxis isn't weed in Maltese, it's generic for vegetables you buy at the market.

[@mattiamele3015]

⁠@@Ponto-zv9vf “Weed” in the sense of marijuana is “haxixa” in Maltese which is the same as haxix but in the singulative form. Your Maltese is very limited, the most basic meaning of haxix is “grass” and from there comes the meaning of “vegetables”.

[@عليالمرسومي-ب5ظ]

as an iraqi this is interesting i could understand parts of it

[@Mohamed-ch]

As a Tunisian, one day in Malta is enough for me to master Maltese

[@magrebinoberbero]

Why tunisians prefer to be linked to or compared to Maltese than to north african or Arabs ? Maltese people speak Maltese and Italian officially . And the Maltese ancestors are from Sicily - Italy Tunisia is an Arabic country, so you Tunisian dreamers and mythos stop claiming to be Europeans , you are arabs.

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

There are different levels to the language: street, home, work, education, slang.

[@mattiamele3015]

@@Ponto-zv9vf Most Maltese natives do not have a proper command of all those levels, they barely master “street” “home” and “slang”. Maltese is a neglected language with low prestige in spite of its being the official national language of Malta. Let people be curious about it instead of gatekeeping.

[@شاد]

Amazing Video as always ❤

[@bassamal-kaaki3253]

I think Arabs can become fluent in 6 months of continuous Maltese 😊 I just love this language. A great mix between English, Arabic (Levant). There is also a lot of similarity between Tunisien, Algerian, Moroccan Arabic.

[@little_petra_jordanian]

Levan are not arabs

[@little_petra_jordanian]

Levant

[@bassamal-kaaki3253]

@@little_petra_jordanian What are they then? They speak Arabic and they use the Arab alphabet!

[@nightthemoon8481]

Tunisians can probably become fluent in 3 hours lmao

[@bassamal-kaaki3253]

@@nightthemoon8481 I agree because the Arabic accent is very similar as they use a very similar Arabic to Tunisiens.

[@muneersabr780]

I am from iraq and I could almost understand everything.

[@Ahmed-pf3lg]

It's easy to pick up as an Arab from Saudi Arabia..

[@eng.am.a.m.a3646]

I'm Iraqi and I know North African dialects, it was simple to understand

[@legendkiller2001]

Kol khara naal cheleb ibn hawyan

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

I am Maltese by birth, I don't understand Tunisian, it has a lot of Arabic sounds which to Maltese people sound awful. I don't understand any Arabic language except the ones pronounced like Maltese like Imxi, it means walk, iftah, it means to open. In Maltese a house is Dar not Beit, bejt in Maltese means roof. The only Arabic that sounds nice is Classical Arabic which to my ears sounds very familiar, but the spoken languages of the Arab world sound like gibberish.

[@theblossombella3756]

I am an Arab Lebanese and understood the sentences quickly in Maltese. It was not this hard and the same thing for my mom. I love how languages tend to be similar in so many ways. All love

[@TurboPitchGaming]

am from Tunisia 🇹🇳, the Maltese language near from Tunisian or northern africa Arabic dialect

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

That is true, from Berbers from Tunisia.

[@lenali5677]

I am Algerian and understood everything, soubhan Allah.

[@magrebinoberbero]

I agree with you Maltese is mixture of Italian, Sicilian dialect and north African darija of Algeria, Libya, Tunisia and Morocco. North African darija is Arabic mixed with foreign words from Italy, Spain, France and Berber languages

[@joelandworld]

As a lebanese person who watched Star Academy (so because of that particular show I am now familiar with different arabic dialects) I can understand easily because it's close to Tunisian (n7ebb nzoor...) I guessed the meanings a bit faster then the people in the video.

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

Yes you have a head start, those video Arabs know their dialect plus some MSA, that isn't much help to understand Maltese as Maltese has Sicilian, Standard Italian, English, some French words, has lost a lot of the Semitic sounds and Maltese people are Europeans.

[@mattiamele3015]

⁠@@Ponto-zv9vfWhich clearly shows you didn’t understand the comment above. He said that, as a Levantine who watched pan-Arabic tv shows with participants from various Arabic countries, he could understand Maltese more quickly than the Levantine people who took part in the video, and that is because he has got some familiarity with the Tunisian dialect. Sicilian, French and Standard Italian won’t help you understand “nhobb” or “nzur”, knowing Arabic enables you to understand. It doesn’t matter if there are less guttural sounds, they are still the same words, same conjugation, same grammar, just with a little difference in pronunciation that might sound foreignized or corrupted, but doesn’t make the words unrecognizable.

[@rebmedina2835]

I have enjoyed this

[@fadelabouda3570]

Darba is not درب but it comes from ضربة which is used in Tunisia as well to refer to many times or several sth.

[@maxitmcore]

That was very interesting

[@AbdullahA-ux6wg]

Ix-xih for an old person is not just arabic, its actually quranic so maltes are actually using this word more accurately than modern arabic delicts, which is quite interesting to me as an arabian

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

Xih is actually an old man, not person. Xiha is an old woman. The letter i is not pronounced the same in Xih as in Xiha, and the letter h is crossed which means it is aspired. Maltese has two hs, one crossed the other normal, the normal one is usually silent except when at the end of a word, that is the thing about Maltese you need to know how to pronounce it properly. For example b at the end of the word is pronounced as p, so kelb (dog) is pronounced kelp. D at the end is pronouced as t. The letter X is pronounced as sh, and dotted c as ch.

[@FifthCat5]

Another fascinating video! I hadn’t realized Maltese was so close to Levantine colloquial. The first few examples were completely intelligible and the newspaper articles made sense with explanation. It was actually easier to pick up by ear though because the Maltese spelling is so unfamiliar. Thanks to everyone who participated! ❤

[@stephencachia5561]

Video interessanti ħafna, ħadt gost narah.

[@tesneem7445]

As an algerian maltese sounds like a lost cousin in europe 😂allah ybarek

[@curiousmind_]

Right Allah ybarek we use that a lot

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

Sean used something like that, but Maltese people don't really say that, I think he did it to make it easier for the Arabs to understand. I doubt Maltese people use the word Alla except in church, at funerals and blaspheming. Maltese blaspheme a lot.

[@kalyaamirouche6009]

As an algerian Who was born in France i understand almost everything. The arabic in maltese is more tunisian. But in the same time it was a selection of sentences with lot of arabic words so i don't know if i really could understand maltese. And it's more easy to read than to listen someone speaking maltese...

[@ahmedabousaad841]

Maltese is as close as semitic languages like Aramaic or Amharic to Arabic , may be closer , this makes want to study it . If it was written in Arabic alphabet it will make it a lot easier .

[@nayokaldou6251]

No more like a dialect of Arabic "Maltese language, Maltese Malti, Semitic language of the Southern Central group spoken on the island of Malta. Maltese developed from a dialect of Arabic and is closely related to the western Arabic dialects of Algeria and Tunisia. Strongly influenced by the Sicilian language (spoken in Sicily), Maltese is the only form of Arabic to be written in the Latin alphabet." Encyclopedia Britannica

[@ibrahimmoss]

Fun. I thought of how this podcast could easily be reworked into a language class that everyone would enjoy. However, for this lesson, the Palestinian woman's eyes and smile were as captivating as the lesson.

[@omaralrub1255]

Thats crazy i understood everything he said. This makes me want to learn Maltese.

[@bandolero5068]

Fascinating. I’ve heard x’hinu with a hard kha sound used by my Maltese relatives too.

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

Are they Gozitans. Gozitans speak a peculiar form of Maltese. There are Maltese dialects, you relatives might speak a dialect.

[@mattiamele3015]

@@Ponto-zv9vf A Gozitan would say “x’inhew”or “x’inhiw”, not “x’hinu with a hard kha sound” which doesn’t exist. The “h” in “inhu” is etymological and never pronounced, the difference is in the final vowel.

[@andrew_be1379]

Knights Hospitaller was based in Malta for over 200 years

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

Yes, and the French kicked them out. The Maltese hated the Knights, one of the reasons the Maltese kept their language was that the Knights couldn't understand it.

[@nadooshnadoosh7968]

As an Arab, I could travel to Malta without any fears about language 😂

[@junaid1040]

But they're not Muslim

[@JupiterMoon777]

​@@junaid1040Toz

[@supra1722]

​@@junaid1040 what does that have to do with what he said about language?

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

They all speak English, you don't have to be concerned about Malti unless you pass as Maltese person and Maltese people speak to you in Malti. I am Maltese born and when in Malta everyone takes me as a foreigner and speak to me in English.

[@omrimaher2754]

In tunisia 'Barrani' means literally 'foreigner ' we have a well known folkloric song galouli rawah barrani, barrani ena''

[@FldMrshlWAbouSaad]

JenJoon - Barrani

[@omrimaher2754]

@@FldMrshlWAbouSaad i don't know this song sorry

[@mattiamele3015]

What does rawah mean? In Maltese rawh = they saw him. I recommend you the song "Qalu li raw" by Bayzo (they said that they saw).

[@omrimaher2754]

@@mattiamele3015 rawah in Tunisian dialect means go home (روَّح)

[@omrimaher2754]

@@mattiamele3015 yes also in Tunisian rawah means they saw him (raw = they saw) راوَه

[@joaobastos700]

Hi, Mr. Alast. I'm João Bastos, from Brazil. I'd like to learn Maltese online. If you could help me on it in any way, I'd thank you a lot.

[@maikel3888]

So intresitng thatnks. I am lebanese and I realised that malteese just like dareejah are a combo of languages. But I still dont understand how we consider dareejah as an arabic language. It is as different as malteese.

[@samk0965]

Omg guys you couldn’t understand this??? It’s so easy if you speak leventine Arabic😮

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

It must be one way. I cannot understand any Arabic language but even having stopped speaking Maltese from age 3 I understand Maltese even when some Maltese have their dialects. Yes Maltese has dialects. I find Gozitan Maltese odd sounding.

[@belalabusultan5911]

as a Palestinian, I think I can learn to speak Maltese in 1 - 3 months.... writing is a different thing tho, it has too many letters (like French) so that would take years.

[@mattiamele3015]

Writing is very easy if you know Arabic.

[@belalabusultan5911]

@@mattiamele3015 I am an Arab, and I can write in Latin Alphabet (because I know English).... but there are too many silent letters, and different ways to write the same sound, so it would be a bother.

[@mdmf117]

Don't worry about that ☺️ - even native Maltese people struggle very much to write correctly spelt Maltese due to a lot of silent consonants. Spelling errors are in fact extremely common even in media portals and news etc.

[@belalabusultan5911]

@@mdmf117 so I will indeed have trouble mastering this language, but that is okay because even native speakers are bad at it? :P

[@mdmf117]

@@belalabusultan5911 as long as you speak it well, don't worry about the spelling - you'll be just like the locals 😛

[@spontinimalky]

It's surprising how close Maltese is to Arabic.

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

What Arabic are you referring to? Levanese, Egyptian, Sudanese, Gulf Arabic.. there are lots of varieties.

[@levaltshuler1315]

30:02 Roberta Metsola is actually among the most religious and socially conservative European politicians.

[@mohavlog1655]

I feel like he's speaking Tunisian dialecte 🥰🥰

[@Ooooiops]

I have a Maltese teacher who speaking kuwaiti Arabic dialect very good, my colleagues who dazzled of how he is good specially in numbers or weekdays names but I told them he’s speaking his mother tongue Maltese language 😅

[@vtwindad1549]

I grew up hearing my Nannu speak Maltese loudly down the phone to his friends and brothers. As an English speaking person I was always so fascinated to hear him converse in Maltese. Growing up we picked up some words/counting however I wish I was fluent in such a special ancient language.

[@izzaldeenalkurdi8806]

As Jordanian I understand 90% of it 😂

[@farishope6540]

Same thing and from the first few seconds

[@AndrewF1Gaming]

I'd love a video where Maltese people try to understand an Arab speaker instead :)

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

I am glad you do. I find these videos irritating. Maltese is 1000 years removed from any Arabic dialect, and in reality it takes months for any Arab to learn to speak proper Maltese at all levels even for Tunisians. These videos give an incorrect impression about the ease of comprehension. Sean was speaking as if to children.

[@omrimaher2754]

In tunisia we say Jemaa to mean week for exple: 'jemaatin lifetou' means last 2 weeks

[@mattiamele3015]

Oh okay, in Maltese jemaatin is gimaghtejn (djema3tayn pronounced without 3ayn) and instead of lifetou they say li ghaddew (again gh is 3ayn but silent). Fil-gimaghtejn li ghaddew.

[@nayokaldou6251]

You don't use Semana سمانة like the rest of the Maghrebi dialect ?

[@omrimaher2754]

@@nayokaldou6251 Nope in all regions of Tunisia from the north to the south we say 'jemaa' جمعة

[@omarmousli9529]

Syrians from Homs don't say Shunu haz ...they shw had (what is this) . I feel those guys like elianz to arabic , I almost had everything understood and easily...

[@taouesbentaleb9046]

البارح مريت للبحر مع ابني عندو عشر سنين ... نطق جزاىري 😮

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

You should write it in transliterated Arabic as what you have written cannot be compared with the Maltese.

[@eli_wael]

darb / drab means ' a hit ' in many dialects .. aktar mn draba means more than one hit .. so you can use it multiple times.

[@mahdighodbane3759]

As an Algerian I could understand everything even the Italian words r similar 2 english

[@mohammadalhulli]

بالعراق نقول على الحمار باللهجة العامة "زمال" واعتقد هذي جاية من المالطية لان حصان بالمالطي ziemel Iraqi dialect say zmal means donky which comes from maltese ziemel which is horse Fascinating

[@mattiamele3015]

It doesn’t come from Maltese but the origin is the same. Interesting. Żiemel is زامل. The plural is żwiemel زوامل and the mare is called debba دابة.

[@mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm435]

Darba could be from the Arab word darb with a ض, because in mathematical terminology it means multiplication = 1 times 2 = wahid (1) darb (X) Ethnain (2)

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

Darba does mean times, darba wiehet means one time or once.

[@MBH_212]

I speak Gulf Arabic, and I knew that Arabic heavily influenced the Maltese language. But it’s shocking that I was able to understand 70% of what was said.

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

It isn't Arabic, it's like Tunisian. You know being a Arab that Maghrebi languages are difficult to understand.

[@njoumellil]

It's Tunisian The Maltese language is very similar to the Tunisian dialect, even more than other Arabic dialects, it's as if I were hearing a Tunisian speaking Italian or a Tunisian living in Italy.

[@nicks0alive]

Hi, I want to learn Tunisian. Is Maltese really that close to Tunisian?? Is Moroccan or Algerian easier for a Tunisian to understand than understanding Maltese???? I hear different remarks: some Tunisian people say they can barely understand Maltese while others say they understand it perfectly.

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

Well Maltese is originally from Sicily during the Muslim times more than 1200 years ago. The language came to Sicily from Tunisia ,so at the time Maltese and Tunisian were the same.

[@njoumellil]

@@Ponto-zv9vf Yes I agree with you

[@njoumellil]

@@Ponto-zv9vf Welcome, of course you can learn the Tunisian dialect, do you want me to teach you? Yes, the Maltese language and the Tunisian dialect are very similar. Currently, the Maltese language has been greatly influenced by Latin languages, especially the Italian language, so some sentences in the Maltese language are not understood, but if a Tunisian speaks Italian, he will understand more than 90% of the Maltese language, or perhaps he will understand it more than the Algerian or Moroccan dialect. In general, Maltese is understood by Tunisians by 50% or more, especially in conversations, for example when you say I speak Arabic. In Maltese: jiena nitkellem bil gharbi In Tunisian dialect: ena nitkallem bil 3arbi But the percentage of understanding is not accurate and varies from one person to another. The more you get used to hearing the dialect or language, the more you understand it, and if you are not used to it, you will find it difficult to understand. This depends on getting used to listening. Although Tunisian and Maltese are closer to each other, I expect that Tunisians understand Algerian and Moroccan better because both dialects have the culture of classical Arabic (the mother tongue) and the Maltese language has the culture of Latin languages. In general, Maltese and the Maghrebi dialects are similar and can be considered sister languages ​​or more.

[@Honest_Question]

To a native Arabic speaker, Maltese seems like it would be another (quite unique) dialect of Arabic, and the reasons it isn't are more political than linguistic.

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

Maltese people don't consider themselves to be Arabs or to speak an Arabic dialect. They are Europeans and like Europeans have quite strong prejudice against Africans and Middle Eastern people. They won't show it to you, but Arabs are an inferior group of people to them. Also, Arabs mean the Muslim occupation of Malta for hundred of years, and Maltese people don't like being occupied. They didn't like the British, the French before them, the so called Knights of Malta any of the foreign occupiers. It isn't political, it is a race memory of being occupied, and being forced to be Muslims.

[@mahmoudhijazi123]

I think that Maltese language is a combination of many Arabic accents. So if you know the majority of Arabic accents you would understand 80% or more

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

Nope. It would sound exactly like an Italian speaking in Maltese. The Maltese are Europeans, and the Arabs of the Islam occupation were from North Africa and Berbers.

[@hisham4395]

Hashish can is used for leaf vegetebales in arabic

[@kennethagiusmosta]

Poset u grazzi. Interessanti hafna.

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

For Arabs. Proset means congratulations, grazzi means thank you Interessanti means interesting, hafna means a lot or plenty.

[@mattiamele3015]

@@Ponto-zv9vf You are trying to explain an Arabic word (hafna) to Arabs. And everybody knows “grazie” is Italian for thank you, so it’s easy to infer the meaning of grazzi. Interessanti is very similar to interesting, and many Arab speaking people also know French where the equivalent word is even more similar: intéressant. If they can read your comment, they are already able to understand “grazzi, interessanti hafna”. Only proset might need some elucidation but not just for “Arabs”, indeed why do you address them? Anyway hafna originally means “a handful”, from the verb hafen - to grasp (did you know that?).

[@njoumellil]

Aktar min darba The source of this sentence is Arabic, from the Tunisian dialect, and I believe that they say it in Algeria as well قال أكثر من ضربة في الدقيقة 27:20 تقريبا ليست دربة المالطيين لا ينطقون حرف ''ض'' يبدلونه بحرف ''د'' تعني أكثر من مرة. في تونس نستخدم هذه الجملة

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

Aktar min darba means more than once. Not sure what you mean about the letters. There are two z in Maltese. One z, is pronounced like ts as in tazza, tattsa, cup. The other z is pronouced like z. The letter d is pronounced mostly as d except at the end of a word and it is pronounced as t.

[@njoumellil]

@@Ponto-zv9vf Brother, to understand what I meant, you must be a student of the Arabic language because the Arabic letters are not translated as Google translates them, so do not rely on the current translation, I will try to explain to you. This letter (د) is the same as D But this letter (ض) does not exist in Latin languages, so its translations are different. Sometimes it is translated with the letter z or D or Dh or th, or we replace it with the number 4. It is somewhat similar to the letter Z, but the pronunciation that most closely resembles it in pronunciation is (th), as we say (this) in English, but it is not the same. The letter (ض) is pronounced with emphasis and emphasis. Many Arabic dialects replace the letter ض with the letter D, just like in the Maltese language to facilitate pronunciation. As for th in Arabic, it is written like this (ذ), and if it is pronounced like we say thanks, it is written like this (ث) The Maltese language was influenced by Latin languages ​​because, according to researchers, the ancient Maltese used to pronounce all of these letters. Maltese was previously an Arabic dialect

[@Honest_Question]

That's really cool. I'm Palestinian, and back in the day, my dad went to Malta, and he told us a story about how when he spoke to them in Arabic, they would tell him "ihna ma nihkoush Arabi" (which means "we don't speak Arabic"), and we found it funny because that sentence is the same as Arabic word for word.

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

Not really. Your spelling would not be understood as its not Maltese spelling or pronunciation. Maltese people don't understand Arabic dialects or MSA, it is the way you pronounce your languages, and the words used. This is Maltese: ma nifhmux l-Għarbi, and there is no need for a pronoun Ahna.

[@Honest_Question]

@@Ponto-zv9vf Yes, as far as I understand, Arabs mostly understand Maltese, but Maltese people don't understand Arabic.

[@Honest_Question]

@@Ponto-zv9vf That's still another way of saying it in Arabic (ma nifhamsh il-Arabi), but I just wrote what I remember my father saying.

[@rawadqwedeare]

Is there one with Libyans from east Benghazi and Tripoli west, and Tunisian, with Maltese, maybe good idea to add a Sicilian together

[@b.eddine102]

You should've brought Tunisia and algeria they do have a lot of similarities between the two