As languages evolve and change, there are bound to be instances where words which were once distinct in sound, somehow through the passage of time and the evolution of a language, begin to sound the same. A typical example in the English language, to take an example that we are all familiar with, is the words “night” and “knight”. They sound the same now, but their spelling shows us that they have a different history of pronunciation.
In this blog, we will explore a list of homophones in the Maltese language. Let’s go!
Dar (House) vs Dahar (Back) vs Dar (He turned)
A very common homophone situation that anyone learning Maltese will encounter is the one above. All of these three words are used in daily conversations but all of them have a different meaning. But why do they sound the same? Well, in Arabic, the base for the majority of the Maltese language, all of these words have distinct pronunciations. In case of “dahar” for example, the /h/ is still pronounced, whilst in Maltese, it was lost over time. That being said, there is evidence that we used to indeed pronounce this letter, including a poem by Ġan Franġisk Bonamico from the 17th century where the word “żahar” rhymes with the word “baħar”.
Sema’ (He heard) vs Sema (Sky)
As you can see, encountering homophones between nouns and verbs in the third person masculine singular is quite common. The difference in spelling between them is the apostrophe at the end of “sema’” (he heard) which represents the letter ‘għ’. As in the case of most homophones, the only way you can tell which one is being used when a person speak is through the context.
Xemgħa (candle) versus Xema’ (Wax)
This homophone is one of the trickier ones to deal with for the simple reason that both of these words come from the same root, which means that what they mean is related. This might be the trickiest homophone in the language because both of these words can be used in similar contexts. As with the majority of other homophones, its context will tell you what meaning the sounds that you’re hearing have, although it’s more common for the word “xemgħa” to be used in common speech.
Bonus: Baħħar (sailing) vs Baħħar (sailor)
Now, I know what you’re thinking– this is a homonym, not a homophone! Well, yes! But this wasn’t always the case. Before Deċiżjonijiet Nru. 1 which was released by Il-Kunsill tal-Ilsien Malti, these two words were spelt differently. An â replaced the second letter in baħħar (sailor). Why was this decision made? To make writing in Maltese - a somewhat complicated language - easier. Since Maltese is a language based on a semitic grammatical system that bases the creation of words with 3 or 4 consonants at the base (in this case, B-Ħ-R), this is a common situation that occurs between the 3rd person masculine singular and nouns related to jobs coming from the same consonant base or root.
How do we solve this “problem” of homophones? Well, it’s a problem that will never be solved! Even for me as a Maltese speaker, sometimes distinguishing between two words can be difficult. All you need to do is practice your spoken Maltese and if you don’t have the opportunity to do so with a real life Maltese person or just want to have some options, make sure to have a look at this blog from a few months ago to get some insights into the language!
Kris, Community Manager - Maltese
In this blog, we will explore a list of homophones in the Maltese language. Let’s go!
Dar (House) vs Dahar (Back) vs Dar (He turned)
A very common homophone situation that anyone learning Maltese will encounter is the one above. All of these three words are used in daily conversations but all of them have a different meaning. But why do they sound the same? Well, in Arabic, the base for the majority of the Maltese language, all of these words have distinct pronunciations. In case of “dahar” for example, the /h/ is still pronounced, whilst in Maltese, it was lost over time. That being said, there is evidence that we used to indeed pronounce this letter, including a poem by Ġan Franġisk Bonamico from the 17th century where the word “żahar” rhymes with the word “baħar”.
Sema’ (He heard) vs Sema (Sky)
As you can see, encountering homophones between nouns and verbs in the third person masculine singular is quite common. The difference in spelling between them is the apostrophe at the end of “sema’” (he heard) which represents the letter ‘għ’. As in the case of most homophones, the only way you can tell which one is being used when a person speak is through the context.
Xemgħa (candle) versus Xema’ (Wax)
This homophone is one of the trickier ones to deal with for the simple reason that both of these words come from the same root, which means that what they mean is related. This might be the trickiest homophone in the language because both of these words can be used in similar contexts. As with the majority of other homophones, its context will tell you what meaning the sounds that you’re hearing have, although it’s more common for the word “xemgħa” to be used in common speech.
Bonus: Baħħar (sailing) vs Baħħar (sailor)
Now, I know what you’re thinking– this is a homonym, not a homophone! Well, yes! But this wasn’t always the case. Before Deċiżjonijiet Nru. 1 which was released by Il-Kunsill tal-Ilsien Malti, these two words were spelt differently. An â replaced the second letter in baħħar (sailor). Why was this decision made? To make writing in Maltese - a somewhat complicated language - easier. Since Maltese is a language based on a semitic grammatical system that bases the creation of words with 3 or 4 consonants at the base (in this case, B-Ħ-R), this is a common situation that occurs between the 3rd person masculine singular and nouns related to jobs coming from the same consonant base or root.
How do we solve this “problem” of homophones? Well, it’s a problem that will never be solved! Even for me as a Maltese speaker, sometimes distinguishing between two words can be difficult. All you need to do is practice your spoken Maltese and if you don’t have the opportunity to do so with a real life Maltese person or just want to have some options, make sure to have a look at this blog from a few months ago to get some insights into the language!
Kris, Community Manager - Maltese