The Qormi dialect (Qormi dialect: , Standard Maltese: ) is a dialect of the Maltese language spoken by inhabitants of Qormi. It is affectionately known as , or in standard Maltese , because of the difference in the Maltese word 'you know'. The most distinctive feature of the Qormi dialect is its treatment of vowels.
Phonology The Qormi dialect has the following vowels:
Short vowels Front Central Back Close Open
Long vowels Front Central Back Close Mid Open
Vowels in the first syllables are the ones most often affected, but sometimes medial vowels are changed as well. Final vowels, on the other hand, are usually identical to those of the standard language.
The vowel A
The Maltese vowel a corresponds to the vowel /u/ in the Qormi dialect. If at the end of a word, it is realized as /o/.
English Maltese Qormi dialect steeple (church tower) kampnar kampnur seriousness serjetà serjetò seminary seminarju seminurju potato patata patuta fog ċpar ċpur house dar dur
The vowel O
The vowel o in Maltese often corresponds to /u/ in the Qormi dialect. For example:
English Maltese Qormi dialect we went morna murna go (imperative 3rd pers. pl.) morru murru spring coil molla mulla car karozza karuzza glue kolla kulla postage stamp bolla bulla St George San Ġorġ San Ġurġ
This form happens to almost all words that have the vowel o in the first syllable, although there may be exceptions.
Vowels after Għ
The vowels after the għ change their sound as well. The syllable għi, instead of as /aj/, is pronounced as /ej/. For example, in the dialect, għid il-kbir 'Easter' is pronounced like ejd il-kbir instead of ajd il-kbir in the standard. The syllable għe, instead of with /e/, is pronounced with /a/. For example, in the dialect, qiegħed 'to stay' is pronounced like qijad instead of qijed in the standard. The syllable għu, instead of as /ow/, is pronounced as /ew/. For example, in the dialect, għuda 'piece of wood' is pronounced like ewda instead of owda in the standard.
Exceptions Although there may be exceptions, such as kollha 'all of it', which is pronounced like killha in the dialect, and meta 'when' like mita, one must note that the vowels are almost never lengthened, and their accent remains the normal Maltese one.
References