localize-mt

Localize: Maltese (mt → Malti)

Distilled from production translation prompts for Maltese. Follow these rules verbatim — they are model-agnostic and produce native-quality Maltese output for Malta (mt-MT).

Mindset

Int kittieb Malti nattiv eżiġenti ħafna li tobgħod espressjonijiet mhux naturali bil-Malti, bħat-traduzzjonijiet litterali mill-Ingliż jew frażi goffi. Issa trid tirrevedi dan it-test sakemm jilħaq livell ta' fluwenza u naturalezza li jissodisfak għal kollox, filwaqt li tippreżerva t-tifsira oriġinali.

Reject literal English calques and forced neologisms. Restructure fully into natural Maltese. Maltese tolerates English noun loanwords (file → fajl, settings, dashboard, link) and Italian-origin verbs (issejvja, ikkanċella, ikklikkja). Forced obscure pure-Maltese neologisms when the bilingual-tech term is universally understood are NOT desirable — Maltese is genuinely diglossic.

Scope & Variants

This skill targets Standard Maltese (Malti Standard, mt-MT) as defined by the Kunsill Nazzjonali tal-Ilsien Malti (National Council for the Maltese Language) and used in:

• Government, parliament, courts (Maltese is co-official with English under Article 5 of the Constitution).
• Education and media (TVM, l-Orizzont, Times of Malta Maltese edition).
• L-Akkademja tal-Malti orthography (the official 1924 reformed system, with subsequent updates).
• Software UI, formal correspondence, and product copy.

There is no significant regional variant inside Malta for written purposes. Spoken dialects exist (Gozitan / Għawdxi has distinctive features; Cottonera/Three Cities Maltese, Żejtuni, etc.) but written Standard Maltese is unified. There are also Maltese diaspora communities in Australia, Canada, UK, and Tunisia — they use the same written standard.

NOT in scope:

• Vernacular spoken forms with heavy code-switching ("Maltenglish" / "Manglish") — fine in conversation, NOT in product UI.
• Archaic/literary forms (e.g., Dun Karm's poetic register).
• Italian or Sicilian (despite massive lexical overlap — Maltese is a separate language).
• Tunisian Arabic or any Arabic variety (despite shared Semitic root — Maltese is genuinely distinct and uses Latin script).

Identity Guardrail (CRITICAL — read every translation start)

Maltese is the ONLY Semitic language in the European Union AND the only Semitic language written in Latin script anywhere in the world. It is a unique linguistic identity:

• Family: Afro-Asiatic > Semitic > Central Semitic > Arabic > Maghrebi > Siculo-Arabic (medieval Sicilian Arabic, c. 870–1249 CE) → Maltese. Then ~800 years of separation from the Arabic world plus heavy Italian/Sicilian/English contact.
• Script: Latin alphabet with diacritics (Ċ Ġ Ħ Ż), not Arabic abjad. Maltese speakers DO NOT read Arabic script and an Arabic-script presentation is alien and unwelcome.
• Mutual intelligibility with Arabic: ASYMMETRIC and limited. A Maltese speaker may catch some Tunisian/Libyan colloquial words; an Arabic speaker generally cannot read or understand spoken Maltese without learning it. The shared core vocabulary (~30% of high-frequency words) is heavily phonologically eroded and the rest is Romance/English.
• Mutual intelligibility with Italian: ZERO at the grammar level. Maltese verbs conjugate Semitically (root-and-pattern). Italian shares vocabulary (~52% Romance lexicon in Maltese) but the morphology is alien to an Italian speaker. Maltese is NOT a dialect of Italian.
• EU status: Official EU language since 2004. All EU documents are translated into Maltese. Malta is a full EU member, Eurozone member (since 2008), Schengen member.
• Religion: Overwhelmingly Roman Catholic (~95%). Cultural and idiomatic references are Catholic (festas, il-Madonna, San Pawl, il-Quddiesa). Islamic terminology is foreign in Maltese cultural context despite the Arabic linguistic root — DO NOT assume Islamic framing.
• Population: ~500,000 speakers in Malta + Maltese diaspora.

Do NOT:

• Render Maltese in Arabic script.
• Treat Maltese as "a kind of Arabic" — it is its own language with its own literary tradition since the 18th century.
• Treat Maltese as "Italian-ish" — the grammar core is Semitic.
• Strip the diacritics (Ċ → C, Ġ → G, Ħ → H, Ż → Z) — these are DIFFERENT letters, not "fancy versions" of plain ones.
• Confuse Maltese with Maltese English (the variety of English spoken in Malta — that's different content).
• Use Arabic religious terminology (Allah, salaam, inshallah) — culturally inappropriate. Maltese says Alla (also meaning God, but in Catholic context), bonġu (good morning, from Italian), jekk Alla jrid (God willing, Catholic register).

Maltese Alphabet (30 letters)

The Maltese alphabet has 30 letters in this official order:

A B Ċ D E F Ġ G GĦ H Ħ I IE J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Ż Z

Note: GĦ (digraph) and IE (digraph) are listed as single letters. H (plain h) and Ħ (h-bar) are separate letters. G (plain g) and Ġ (g-overdot) are separate letters. Z (plain z) and Ż (z-overdot) are separate letters.

Special letters — exact Unicode and sound

Letter	Unicode (uppercase / lowercase)	IPA	Origin	Example word	Translation
Ċ ċ	U+010A / U+010B	/tʃ/	overdot — from Italian "c" + Semitic	ċans, ċavetta, biċċa, ġiċċ	chance, key, piece, edge
Ġ ġ	U+0120 / U+0121	/dʒ/	overdot	ġurnata, ġenna, ġid, oġġett	day, paradise, wealth, object
GĦ għ	digraph (G + Ħ)	silent / vowel lengthener	from Arabic ʿayn ع	għajn, għada, għajnuna, tagħlim	eye/spring, tomorrow, help, teaching
Ħ ħ	U+0126 / U+0127	/ħ/ pharyngeal	from Arabic ḥ ح	ħaġa, ħobż, ħafna, ħelu	thing, bread, much, sweet
IE ie	digraph (I + E)	/iː/ or /ɪə/	native	ktieb, kbir (no), tieni, fieres	book, big (no — kbir uses i, not ie), second, ill
Ż ż	U+017B / U+017C	/z/	overdot	żmien, żball, żewġ, ħaża	time, error, two, harvest
Q q	standard	/ʔ/ glottal stop	from Arabic ق	qattus, qalb, qiegħda, sieq	cat, heart, sitting, foot/leg
X x	standard	/ʃ/ "sh"	from Arabic ش	xemx, xita, xahar, xebh	sun, rain, month, resemblance
J j	standard	/j/ "y" sound	native	jum, jien, jaf	day, I, knows

Critical: NEVER strip diacritics or substitute plain letters

These are NOT "decoration" — they distinguish meaning:

With diacritic	Without (WRONG)	Meaning shift
żmien (time)	zmien	Ż and Z are different letters; "zmien" is non-existent / typo
ħobż (bread)	hobz	Ħ ≠ H; the word becomes nonsensical
ġurnata (day)	gurnata	Ġ ≠ G; "gurnata" reads as if pronounced with hard g
ċans (chance)	cans	Ċ ≠ C; in Maltese plain C is not used at all (replaced by Ċ or K)
għajn (eye/spring)	ghajn	GĦ is one letter — losing the bar over ħ makes it unreadable
żball (error)	zball	Ż ≠ Z; "zball" doesn't exist
ħafna (many)	hafna	Ħ ≠ H
ġid (wealth)	gid	Ġ ≠ G

Severity 3.0 — stripping diacritics is a critical error. Maltese plaintext without diacritics is the equivalent of writing French "etre presse" instead of "être pressé" — it identifies the writer as a foreigner who doesn't respect the language.

Note on plain C: Maltese alphabet has no plain C. The phoneme /k/ is written K (kelb = dog, ktieb = book) and /tʃ/ is written Ċ. So a word like "computer" borrowed from English becomes kompjuter (with K) in Maltese orthography. If you see plain "C" in supposedly-Maltese text, it is either a foreign brand name kept as-is, or an error.

Register

Maltese has a much less rigid formality system than Italian, French, or German. There is no clear T-V (tu/Lei) distinction in modern usage.

The three address forms

Form	Use	Verb form	UI default?
int (you, singular)	Standard for all UI, customer service, professional writing, friendly business	2nd person singular	YES — default for product UI
intom (you, plural)	Genuinely addressing multiple people	2nd person plural	Only when truly plural
Sinjur / Sinjura + 3rd person	Hyper-formal, rare, mostly legal/parliamentary	3rd person singular	NO — sounds stuffy in UI

Bottom line: Use int consistently for software UI. There is no "casual vs polite" choice to make at the pronoun level — Maltese product UI is uniformly direct without sounding rude.

What changes register in Maltese (NOT pronouns)

Since pronouns don't shift, register is signalled by:

• Vocabulary register: prefer Romance loanwords (ikkanċella, irriserva, ikkonferma) for formal tone; prefer Semitic-core words (ħassar, agħlaq, iftaħ) for direct/neutral tone. Mixing is fine and natural.
• Sentence length and complexity: short imperatives = direct; longer subordinated clauses = formal.
• English code-switching: more English mixed in = casual; pure Maltese = formal. UI typically uses moderate code-switching (the term "fajl", "settings", "login" are acceptable).
• Greetings: "Bonġu" (good morning, Italian-origin) is universal polite; "Hi" / "Ħaj" is informal.

Consistency rules

• Pick a register at the start of a file and hold it for the entire file.
• DON'T mix "int" and "intom" unless the text genuinely shifts between addressing one user and multiple.
• DON'T mix heavy English code-switching with otherwise formal Maltese — looks like a mistake.
• Buttons: imperative 2nd person singular form (Iffranka, Aħsar, Iftaħ, Agħżel) regardless of overall register.

Critical Hard Rules

1. Definite article il- and sun-letter assimilation (CRITICAL, severity 2.5)

The definite article il- assimilates to 9 sun consonants (ittri tax-xemx). This is parallel to Arabic ال (al-) sun-letter assimilation, inherited directly from Siculo-Arabic.

Sun letters (xemxin): Ċ, D, N, R, S, T, X, Ż, Z Moon letters (qamrin): B, F, Ġ, G, GĦ, H, Ħ, J, K, L, M, P, Q, V, W Before vowels: the i drops → l-

Letter	Article form	Example	Translation
Ċ (sun)	iċ-	iċ-ċans, iċ-ċavetta	the chance, the key
D (sun)	id-	id-dar, id-dawl	the house, the light
N (sun)	in-	in-nar, in-nanna	the fire, the grandmother
R (sun)	ir-	ir-raġel, ir-rota	the man, the wheel
S (sun)	is-	is-sema, is-sodda	the sky, the bed
T (sun)	it-	it-tifel, it-tieqa	the boy, the window
X (sun)	ix-	ix-xemx, ix-xita	the sun, the rain
Ż (sun)	iż-	iż-żmien, iż-żewġ	the time, the two
Z (sun)	iz-	iz-zalza, iz-zokk	the sauce, the trunk
B (moon)	il-	il-bieb, il-baħar	the door, the sea
F (moon)	il-	il-fajl, il-fenek	the file, the rabbit
Ġ (moon)	il-	il-ġurnata, il-ġnien	the day, the garden
G (moon)	il-	il-gallarija, il-gass	the gallery, the gas
GĦ (moon)	l- (before għ)	l-għajn, l-għada	the spring/eye, tomorrow (note: għ acts vowel-like)
H (moon)	il-	il-hena, il-hobby	the joy, the hobby
Ħ (moon)	il-	il-ħobż, il-ħaġa	the bread, the thing
J (moon)	il-	il-jum, il-jott	the day, the yacht
K (moon)	il-	il-ktieb, il-kelb	the book, the dog
L (moon)	il-	il-lejl, il-lampa	the night, the lamp
M (moon)	il-	il-mara, il-mejda	the woman, the table
P (moon)	il-	il-passaport, il-poeżija	the passport, the poem
Q (moon)	il-	il-qattus, il-qalb	the cat, the heart
V (moon)	il-	il-vapur, il-vjaġġ	the ship, the journey
W (moon)	il-	il-wiċċ, il-warda	the face, the rose
Vowel start	l-	l-istudent, l-omm, l-iskola	the student, the mother, the school

Wrong → Correct examples:

Wrong	Correct	Why
il-tifel	it-tifel	T is a sun letter
il-sodda	is-sodda	S is sun
il-raġel	ir-raġel	R is sun
il-żmien	iż-żmien	Ż is sun
il-ċans	iċ-ċans	Ċ is sun
il-xemx	ix-xemx	X is sun
in-ktieb	il-ktieb	K is moon — don't over-assimilate
ir-ġurnata	il-ġurnata	Ġ is moon — don't over-assimilate
il-iskola	l-iskola	Vowel start → drop i
il-omm	l-omm	Vowel start → drop i
iż-zalza	iz-zalza	Z and Ż are different letters; iz- for Z, iż- for Ż

Why severity 2.5: native speakers will catch this immediately. It is the most visible "is this writer actually Maltese?" test.

2. Maltese days of the week — definite article in action

All day names start with the definite article + sun-letter assimilation (or moon). This is a great mini-quiz on whether you understand the system:

Day	Maltese	Article + assimilation analysis
Monday	It-Tnejn	il- + tnejn → it- (T is sun)
Tuesday	It-Tlieta	il- + tlieta → it- (T is sun)
Wednesday	L-Erbgħa	il- + erbgħa → l- (vowel start)
Thursday	Il-Ħamis	il- + ħamis → il- (Ħ is moon)
Friday	Il-Ġimgħa	il- + ġimgħa → il- (Ġ is moon)
Saturday	Is-Sibt	il- + sibt → is- (S is sun)
Sunday	Il-Ħadd	il- + ħadd → il- (Ħ is moon)

Day names are always capitalised.

3. Maltese months (always capitalised)

Month	Maltese	Notes
January	Jannar	from Italian gennaio
February	Frar	native compressed form
March	Marzu	from Italian marzo
April	April (or Awwissu? — see below)	Italian aprile
May	Mejju	from Italian maggio
June	Ġunju	from Italian giugno — note Ġ
July	Lulju	from Italian luglio
August	Awwissu	from Italian agosto
September	Settembru	Italian settembre
October	Ottubru	Italian ottobre
November	Novembru	Italian novembre
December	Diċembru	Italian dicembre — note Ċ

Date construction with "ta'" (= "of"):

• 15 ta' Jannar 2024 (long form, the most natural in prose)
• 15/01/2024 (numeric, in UI date pickers)

NOT 15 Jannar 2024 without ta' (sounds wrong) and NOT Jannar 15, 2024 (American order, foreign).

4. Semitic root-and-pattern morphology (severity 1.5)

Native Maltese verbs use a trilateral root (three consonants) and conjugate by inserting vowels in patterns. Italian-origin verbs use a different system. Both coexist.

Example root: k-t-b (writing)

Form	Maltese	Translation
Perfect (he wrote)	kiteb (dictionary form)	wrote
Verbal noun (writing)	kitba	the act of writing
Agent noun (writer)	kittieb	a writer
Passive participle (written)	miktub	written
Imperfect 2nd person fem sg (you-fem write)	tikteb	you (fem) write
Plural noun (writings)	kitbiet	writings

All from the same k-t-b skeleton, with different vowel patterns and prefixes/suffixes.

Example root: f-t-ħ (opening)

Form	Maltese	Translation
Perfect (he opened)	fetaħ	opened
Imperative (open!)	iftaħ	open! — standard UI button
Passive participle (open/opened)	miftuħ	open (adj)
Imperfect (he opens)	jiftaħ	he opens

Example: Italian-borrowed verb "iffranka" (to save money/file)

• Perfect: iffranka (he saved)
• Imperative: iffranka (save!)
• Imperfect: jiffranka (he saves)
• This verb does NOT have a trilateral root — it conjugates Italian-style with the i- prefix and gemination of the first consonant of the borrowed stem.

Implication for translators: don't try to "regularise" — accept that some verbs follow Semitic patterns and others Italian patterns. Use established forms.

5. The ma...x double negation (CRITICAL, severity 2.0)

Maltese verb negation requires both ma- before and -x after the verb. Single negation is incorrect.

Wrong	Correct	Translation
Ma issejvja	Ma issejvjax	Doesn't save / didn't save
Ma niftaħ	Ma niftaħx	I don't open
Ma jaf	Ma jafx	He doesn't know
Ma ktibt	Ma ktibtx	I didn't write
Ma nstab	Ma nstabx	Not found (passive form, common in error messages)

Use "mhux" for noun/adjective negation, NOT verbs:

Wrong	Correct	Why
Mhux issejvja (= "not save")	Ma issejvjax	verbs use ma...x
Ma kbir (= "not big")	Mhux kbir	adjectives use mhux
Ma utent (= "not a user")	Mhux utent	nouns use mhux

Why severity 2.0: error messages and validation strings are full of negation. Getting this wrong sounds immediately broken to native speakers.

6. Two genders + adjective agreement (severity 2.0)

Maltese has masculine and feminine for nouns AND adjectives. Adjectives follow the noun and agree.

Default rules:

• Nouns ending in -a → usually feminine (sistema, lingwa, problema, mara, kelma, ħaġa).
• Nouns ending in consonant → usually masculine (fajl, kompjuter, ktieb, ragħal, raġel, ħobż).
• Exceptions exist: papa (the Pope, masculine despite -a), id (hand, feminine despite consonant ending), dar (house, feminine despite consonant ending), triq (street, feminine).

Adjective endings (typical):

Form	Masculine sg	Feminine sg	Plural (often same for both genders)
big	kbir	kbira	kbar
new	ġdid	ġdida	ġodda
beautiful	sabiħ	sabiħa	sbieħ
good	tajjeb	tajba	tajbin
open	miftuħ	miftuħa	miftuħin

Wrong → Correct:

Wrong	Correct	Why
sistema ġdid	sistema ġdida	sistema is fem (ends -a)
lingwa kbir	lingwa kbira	lingwa is fem
fajl ġdida	fajl ġdid	fajl is masc
problema kbir	problema kbira	problema is fem in Maltese (unlike Italian where il problema is masc)
mara tajjeb	mara tajba	mara is fem
ktieb kbira	ktieb kbir	ktieb is masc

7. Plurals: broken + sound + English -s coexist (severity 2.0)

Maltese has multiple plural systems, depending on word origin:

a) Broken plurals (Semitic-origin words) — internal vowel change

Singular	Plural	Translation
ktieb	kotba	book → books
kelb	klieb	dog → dogs
tifel	tfal	boy → children
raġel	rġiel	man → men
dar	djar	house → houses
kelma	kliem	word → words
qalb	qlub	heart → hearts
ħuta	ħut	fish → fish (collective)

b) Sound plurals (masculine) — add -in / -ijiet

Singular	Plural	Translation
ħaddiem	ħaddiema / ħaddiemin	worker → workers
kittieb	kittieba	writer → writers

c) Sound plurals (feminine) — add -i / -iet / -ijiet

Singular	Plural	Translation
lingwa	lingwi	language → languages
sistema	sistemi	system → systems
applikazzjoni	applikazzjonijiet	application → applications
informazzjoni	informazzjonijiet	piece of info → information items

d) English-loan plurals — add -s

Singular	Plural	Translation
fajl	fajls	file → files (also "fajls" is widespread; some prefer "files")
kompjuter	kompjuters	computer → computers
dashboard	dashboards	dashboard → dashboards

e) Dual number (Semitic relic) — for natural pairs

Dual is rare in modern Maltese but appears for naturally paired or counted things:

Singular	Dual	Translation
jum (day)	jumejn	two days
sena (year)	sentejn	two years
xahar (month)	xahrejn	two months
siegħa (hour)	sagħtejn	two hours

After dual, the noun is in the dual form, NOT plural. So "two days" = jumejn, NOT żewġ jiem. For "3 days" or more, use plural: tlett ijiem (three days).

8. ICU plural system (5 forms: one/two/few/many/other)

Maltese has a CLDR/ICU 5-form plural (more complex than English):

Category	Applies to	Example noun: ktieb (book)	Example with number
one	n = 1	ktieb wieħed	1 ktieb
two	n = 2	żewġ kotba (or dual jumejn for days)	2 kotba
few	n = 0 or n%100 in 3-10	kotba	5 kotba
many	n%100 in 11-19	-il ktieb	15-il ktieb
other	everything else (20+, fractions)	ktieb (singular!)	20 ktieb, 100 ktieb

Key trap — 20+ uses SINGULAR:

Wrong	Correct	Why
20 kotba	20 ktieb	20+ uses singular (true other category)
100 lingwi	100 lingwa	100 uses singular
5 ktieb	5 kotba	3-10 uses few-plural
11 ktieb (without -il)	11-il ktieb	11-19 uses "many" form with -il- suffix
2 kotba	żewġ kotba	2 uses "two" category + dual word żewġ

ICU example:

{count, plural, =0 {ebda fajl} one {fajl wieħed} two {żewġ fajls} few {# fajls} many {#-il fajl} other {# fajl}}

9. Word order (SVO, adjectives follow noun)

Maltese is SVO (subject-verb-object), more like Romance languages than Arabic VSO. But unlike English/Italian, adjectives FOLLOW the noun (Semitic pattern, also Italian standard pattern).

Wrong	Correct	Translation
ġdid fajl	fajl ġdid	new file
L-utent fetaħ ġdid il-fajl	L-utent fetaħ il-fajl il-ġdid	The user opened the new file
il-kbir tifel	it-tifel il-kbir	the big boy (both noun and adj take definite article)

Note: when noun is definite, the adjective ALSO takes the article:

• tifel kbir (a big boy — indefinite)
• it-tifel il-kbir (the big boy — both get il-/it-)

10. Numbers: Anglo-style separators (severity 1.5)

Due to British colonial influence (1814–1964), Maltese uses English-style number formatting, NOT continental European:

Format	Maltese	Italian (for contrast)
Decimal	3.14 (period)	3,14 (comma)
Thousands	1,234 (comma)	1.234 (period)
Combined	1,234.56	1.234,56
Currency	€1,234.56 or €1,234.56	1.234,56 €
Percentage	45.5% (no space)	45,5%

Wrong → Correct:

Wrong (continental)	Correct (Maltese)
3,14	3.14
1.000	1,000
1.234,56 €	€1,234.56
45,5%	45.5%

This is one of the few areas where Maltese aligns with English/Irish conventions rather than continental European EU conventions. Do not "fix" to continental style — this is correct Maltese.

11. Currency: EUR (since 2008)

Malta adopted the Euro on 1 January 2008, replacing the Maltese Lira (Lm). Format follows Anglo conventions:

Form	Example
Numeric	€1,234.56 or EUR 1,234.56
Spelled out	elf mitejn u erbgħa u tletin ewro u sitta u ħamsin ċenteżmu (rare in UI)
Abbreviated in prose	€100, €1.50, €0.50
Plural	ewro (invariable for euro) / ċenteżmi (cents, plural of ċenteżmu)

Word "euro": officially spelled ewro in Maltese (note the W). Common forms: 1 ewro, żewġ ewro, 5 ewro, 100 ewro (number is what changes, not the noun).

Don't use Lm (Lira Maltija) — it has been demonetised since 2008.

12. Date and time

Date formats:

• Numeric: DD/MM/YYYY → 15/01/2024, 28/02/2024
• Long: DD ta' MONTH YYYY → 15 ta' Jannar 2024
• The word ta' (= "of") with apostrophe-curly is the standard linker. Don't use plain "ta" without apostrophe.

Time formats:

• Standard: 24-hour → 14:30, 09:05, 23:59
• Optional 12-hour with: ta' filgħodu (AM, morning), ta' wara nofsinhar (PM, afternoon), tal-għaxija (evening)
• Examples: 2:30 ta' filgħodu (2:30 AM), 2:30 ta' wara nofsinhar (2:30 PM)

Day + date in prose:

• Il-Ħamis, 15 ta' Jannar 2024 (Thursday, 15 January 2024)
• Note: day name has its article (Il-Ħamis), separated by comma from the date.

13. The "ta'" linker (genitive/of-construction)

ta' (= "of") with apostrophe is the most common Maltese linker. It connects nouns in a genitive-like relation:

Maltese	English
il-fajl ta' Joe	Joe's file
il-bidu **tal-**ġurnata	the start of the day (note: ta' + il- → tal-)
**għal-**ħabta ta' nofsinhar	around noon
15 ta' Jannar	15th of January
ta' filgħodu	of the morning (= AM)

Contractions with definite article:

• ta' + il- = tal- (tal-ġurnata, tal-fajl)
• ta' + l- (before vowel) = tal- (tal-utent — same form, just different surface)
• ta' + iż- (sun-letter case) = taż- (taż-żmien)
• ta' + it- = tat- (tat-tifel)
• ta' + is- = tas- (tas-sodda)

Same pattern as Italian "di + il = del" — Maltese contracts ta' + article.

14. Other prepositions and their article contractions

Preposition	Meaning	+ il- contraction	Example
fi / f'	in	fil-	fil-fajl, fil-kompjuter
bi / b'	with/by	bil-	bil-Malti (in Maltese), bil-ħlas
ġo / ġol-	inside	ġol-	ġol-kaxxa
għal / għall-	for	għall-	għall-utent, għall-applikazzjoni
ma' / mal-	with	mal-	mal-utent
mill-	from	mill-	mill-fajl
mal-	with/by	mal-	mal-ġurnata
fuq	on/about	fuq il- (no contraction, often)	fuq il-mejda
taħt	under	taħt il-	taħt il-mejda

These all assimilate with sun letters: fis-sema (in the sky), bit-tifel (with the boy), mar-raġel (with the man).

UI Conventions

Buttons — imperative 2nd person singular

Maltese buttons use the imperative form. Concise, direct.

Action	Maltese button	English
Save	Iffranka or Issejvja or Salva	Save
Cancel	Ikkanċella	Cancel
Delete	Ħassar	Delete
Open	Iftaħ	Open
Close	Agħlaq	Close
Edit	Editja or Immodifika	Edit
Copy	Ikkopja	Copy
Paste	Waħħal	Paste
Search	Fittex	Search
Select	Agħżel	Select
Click	Ikklikkja	Click
Upload	Tella' or Ittellgħa	Upload
Download	Niżżel or Inżel	Download
Send	Ibgħat	Send
Login	Idħol or just Login	Login
Logout	Oħroġ or Logout	Logout
Confirm	Ikkonferma	Confirm
Try again	Erġa' pprova	Try again
Continue	Kompli	Continue
Back	Lura	Back
Next	Li jmiss or Sussegwenti	Next
Yes	Iva	Yes
No	Le	No
OK	OK or Tajjeb	OK

Note on "Iffranka" vs "Issejvja": both are used. Iffranka comes from Italian "affrancare" (to free/dispatch); Issejvja is from English "save". For modern software UI, Issejvja or Salva are more common. Pick one and stay consistent in a file.

Status messages — "Qed" + present (ongoing), past participle (completed)

Maltese has a progressive aspect marker "qed" (= "is/are doing"). Use it for ongoing actions.

State	Pattern	Example
Ongoing	Qed + imperfect verb	Qed jissejvja... (saving...), Qed jittella'... (uploading...)
Completed (verb)	past participle	Ssejvjat (saved), Ittellgħa (uploaded), Tlesta (completed)
Completed (state)	Tlesta / Sar / Lest	Tlesta! (done!), Lest (ready)
Failed	Ma rnexxiex / Ma rnexxix	Ma rnexxiex jissejvja (couldn't save)

Wrong	Correct	Why
Issejvjat (for ongoing)	Qed jissejvja...	Use "qed" for ongoing
Qed ittella' (for completed)	Ittellgħa or Tlesta	Past participle for done
Falla	Ma rnexxiex or Kien hemm problema	More natural failure phrasing

Drag and drop

Action	Maltese	Notes
drag	ikkaxkar	(lit. "to drag, pull along")
drop	itfa' or erħi	itfa' = throw/place; erħi = let go
release	erħi	NOT heles (= liberate, wrong sense)
browse files	Agħżel il-fajls	NOT "Browse fajls" — use "agħżel"

Wrong	Correct
Draggja l-fajls hawn	Ikkaxkar il-fajls hawn
Ħeles għall-upload	Erħi biex ittella'
Browse fajls	Agħżel il-fajls

Empty states — Ebda + noun

English	Wrong	Correct
No files	xejn fajls	Ebda fajl or L-ebda fajl
No results	xejn riżultati	Ebda riżultat
No data	xejn data	Ebda data or L-ebda data disponibbli
Empty	Vojt	Ebda element or L-ebda kontenut

Ebda (= "no, not any") + singular noun is the formal pattern. Bla (= "without") works in marketing.

Error and validation messages

Type	Pattern	Example
Field validation	indicative or impersonal	Dan il-qasam huwa obbligatorju (This field is required)
Action instruction	imperative	Daħħal valur validu (Enter a valid value)
State description	impersonal/passive	Ma rnexxiex jingħaqad mas-server (Couldn't connect to the server)

Wrong	Correct
Qasam nieqes	Dan il-qasam huwa obbligatorju (the calque "missing" is unnatural)
Daħħal valur (infinitive in error)	Daħħal valur validu (imperative + complement)
Il-fajl ma jistax jinstab	Il-fajl ma nstabx (use passive verb form, not English calque)

Marketing "Zero X" → "Bla X" or "Ebda X"

Wrong (English calque)	Correct (Maltese)
Zero downtime	Bla interruzzjoni or Disponibbiltà kontinwa
Zero errors	Bla żbalji or Ebda żball
Zero maintenance	Bla manutenzjoni or Ma jeħtieġx manutenzjoni
Zero commitment	Bla impenn

Quantity expressions: "iktar minn N" NOT "N+"

Wrong	Correct
+25 lingwi	Iktar minn 25 lingwa
25+ formati	Iktar minn 25 format or 'l fuq minn 25 format

Note the singular lingwa / format after numbers in iktar minn N (matching the "other" plural category for 20+).

UI label completeness — complete noun phrases

Wrong (bare adjective)	Correct
Awtomatiku	Modalità awtomatika (Automatic mode)
Avvanzat	Settings avvanzati or Impostazzjonijiet avvanzati
Alternattiv	Detezzjoni alternattiva

Punctuation, Numbers, Dates, Currency

Item	Maltese
Decimal separator	. (period — Anglo style)
Thousands separator	, (comma — Anglo style)
Example number	1,234.56
Currency	€1,234.56 (symbol before, no space) — or 1,234.56 € is also accepted
Date numeric	DD/MM/YYYY → 15/01/2024
Date long	15 ta' Jannar 2024 (with "ta'" linker, month capitalised)
Time	24-hour 14:30 standard; 12-hour 2:30 ta' filgħodu (AM) / ta' wara nofsinhar (PM)
Quotation marks	"..." (standard double quotes, like English)
Spacing around : ; ? !	No NBSP — standard ASCII spacing (NOT French rules)
Ellipsis	… (single char) preferred over ...
Apostrophe	' curly preferred; in ta', m', b', f' it is essential

Common conversions from continental EU style:

Wrong (Italian/German style)	Correct (Maltese)
3,14	3.14
1.000	1,000
1.234,56 €	€1,234.56
01/15/2024 (American)	15/01/2024

Terminology

Preferred UI translations

English	Preferred Maltese	Alternative	Notes
file	fajl	(no real native equivalent)	English loan, fully integrated
folder	kartella	fowlder	from Italian "cartella"
save	issejvja / iffranka / salva	(pick one per file)	salva from Italian
delete	ħassar	elimina	ħassar = native Semitic
cancel	ikkanċella	ħassar	from Italian "cancellare"
upload	tella' / ittellgħa	upowdjat	tella' is native (lit. "raise")
download	niżżel / inżel	downlowdjat	niżżel is native (lit. "lower")
click	ikklikkja	(no native alternative)	English-origin verb
search	fittex	sib	native Semitic
select	agħżel	għażel	imperative form
open	iftaħ	—	from f-t-ħ root
close	agħlaq	—	imperative
edit	editja / immodifika	—	editja is English loan
copy	ikkopja	—	from Italian "copiare"
paste	waħħal	inkolla	waħħal = native (lit. "stick")
send	ibgħat	—	native
user	utent	—	from Italian "utente"
account	kont	—	from Italian "conto"
email	email	posta elettronika	email is universal
password	password	kelma sigrieta	password is universal
settings	settings / impostazzjonijiet	konfigurazzjoni	English term very common
dashboard	dashboard / pannell	—	English usually retained
browser	brawżer	—	Maltese-spelled English
link	link / ħolqa	—	both forms used
login	idħol / login	—	both common
logout	oħroġ / logout	—	both common
help	għajnuna	—	native
about	dwar	—	native
home	dar / paġna prinċipali	—	dar = "house"
share	aqsam	—	imperative
confirm	ikkonferma	—	Italian-origin
try again	erġa' pprova	—	with apostrophe in erġa'
done	lest / tlesta	—	lest = ready; tlesta = is completed
loading	qed jagħbi / qed itella'	—	"qed" + verb
error	żball	erro	native
warning	twissija	—	native
success	suċċess	—	Italian-origin

Italian-origin verbs (the i- prefix + double consonant pattern)

A productive Maltese pattern: take an Italian verb stem, drop the infinitive ending, prefix with i- (or ikk- if stem starts with c/k), gemminate the first consonant.

Italian	Maltese verb
salvare	issejvja (also salva)
cancellare	ikkanċella
copiare	ikkopja
confermare	ikkonferma
caricare	ikkarika
comunicare	ikkomunika
consultare	ikkonsulta
controllare	ikkontrolla
eliminare	ielimina (rare; native ħassar more common)
modificare	immodifika
organizzare	organizza
programmare	ipprogramma
stampare	istampa (print)
telefonare	iċempel (native!) or ittelefona

English-origin verbs (recent, often clearly anglicism)

English	Maltese verb form	Notes
save	issejvja	gemmination + i- prefix
update	iggajdja / aġġorna	aġġorna (Italian-origin) preferred in formal context
login	illoggja	informal
logout	illogjawt	informal
post (verb)	ippostja	informal
share	issjerja (rare) or aqsam (native)	aqsam preferred
edit	editja	well-established
upload	upowdjat (rare) or tella' (native)	tella' preferred
download	downlowdjat (rare) or niżżel (native)	niżżel preferred

Rule of thumb: prefer native or Italian-origin verb when it exists and is established (tella', niżżel, aqsam, fittex, iftaħ). Use English-loan verb when no clear native equivalent exists (ikklikkja, editja).

False friends to watch (Italian → Maltese)

Maltese	Means	NOT the Italian
attwalment	currently	NOT "actually" — use fil-fatt for actually
eventwalment	possibly	NOT "eventually" — use fl-aħħar for eventually
sensibbli	sensitive	NOT "sensible" — use raġonevoli for sensible
libreriija	bookstore / library (both!)	context-dependent
simpatiku	nice / friendly	NOT "sympathetic" — use tal-għajn for sympathetic
eduwkat	educated / polite	broader than English "educated"

Brand names

Foreign brand names (Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, OneSky) remain unchanged. When the definite article is needed:

• Sun letter at start → assimilate: it-Twitter (T is sun)
• Moon letter at start → keep il-: il-Facebook, il-Google
• Vowel start → l-: l-Apple, l-Instagram

Religious / cultural sensitivity

Malta is overwhelmingly Roman Catholic. The following is fine and culturally apt:

• Alla (God, in Catholic Christian sense — same word root as Arabic Allah but Catholic meaning in Maltese)
• il-Madonna (Our Lady, Virgin Mary)
• San Pawl (Saint Paul — Malta's patron, important national identity)
• il-festa (feast day — every village has its patron saint's festa)
• il-Quddiesa (Mass)
• Il-Milied (Christmas)
• L-Għid (Easter)

DO NOT use Arabic/Islamic framings (salaam, inshallah verbatim, ramadan references, mosque-related vocabulary) as the default cultural baseline. They are intelligible (Malta has Muslim minority + ties to North Africa) but culturally not the norm.

Inclusive option for non-religious contexts: avoid religious idioms entirely. Use neutral business language.

Calque / Anti-Pattern Blocklist

Wrong (literal calque)	Natural Maltese
Jagħmel sens (lit. "makes sense")	Għandu sens or Huwa loġiku
Fl-aħħar tal-ġurnata (lit. "at the end of the day")	Fl-aħħar mill-aħħar or Wara kollox
Aqta' siek (lit. "break a leg")	Il-hena! or Awguri!
Biċċa kejk (lit. "piece of cake")	Faċli daqs tnejn or Mhux diffiċli
Ħa tieħu post (lit. "is going to take place")	Isir or Iseħħ
Ibbażat fuq (overuse)	Skont when possible
Sabiex (= "in order to", verbose)	Biex
Fil-każ li (= "in case", verbose)	Jekk
Zero żbalji	Bla żbalji or Ebda żball
Zero downtime	Bla interruzzjoni or Disponibbiltà kontinwa
AI-ibbażat	B'appoġġ tal-AI or Bbażat fuq l-AI
Utent-ħabib (lit. "user-friend")	Faċli għall-użu or Intuwittiv
X-konxju (calque of X-aware)	Li jqis il-X or Sensittiv għall-X
L-Istati Uniti tal-Amerika (in UI)	l-USA or l-Istati Uniti

"Inżel/erħi" confusions

Wrong	Correct	Why
Ħeles għall-upload	Erħi biex ittella'	"Heles" = liberate/free a prisoner — wrong sense for "release/let go"
Permettja l-upload	Erħi biex ittella'	"Permettja" = permit — different semantic

Conjunction commas

Conjunction	Comma?
u (and)	No comma before
jew (or)	No comma before
jew inkella (or else)	No comma before
iżda / imma / però (but)	Comma before
li (that — relative/subordinating)	Comma before (usually)
meta (when)	Comma before
jekk (if)	Comma before
għax (because)	Comma before
biex (so that, in order to)	Comma before

Wrong	Correct
Agħżel fajl, jew fowlder	Agħżel fajl jew fowlder
Ikklikkja, u issejvja	Ikklikkja u issejvja
Ikklikkja biex tissokta	Ikklikkja, biex tissokta

Self-Check Checklist

Accuracy

• All special letters preserved: Ċ ċ Ġ ġ Ħ ħ Ż ż (NEVER stripped or replaced with C G H Z)
• Digraphs intact: GĦ and IE treated as units (not split)
• Definite article assimilates correctly: sun letters (Ċ D N R S T X Ż Z) → iċ-/id-/in-/ir-/is-/it-/ix-/iż-/iz-; moon letters → il-; vowels → l-
• Day names with article (It-Tnejn, It-Tlieta, L-Erbgħa, Il-Ħamis, Il-Ġimgħa, Is-Sibt, Il-Ħadd)
• Month names capitalised (Jannar, Frar, Marzu, April, Mejju, Ġunju, Lulju, Awwissu, Settembru, Ottubru, Novembru, Diċembru)
• Date format: DD/MM/YYYY or DD ta' MONTH YYYY (with ta')
• Gender agreement: masc/fem on adjectives (sistema ġdida NOT sistema ġdid; fajl ġdid NOT fajl ġdida)
• Plural form correct: broken (kotba, klieb, tfal), sound (-iet/-ijiet, -in), or English -s (fajls, kompjuters), depending on word origin
• 20+ uses SINGULAR (20 ktieb, NOT 20 kotba); 11-19 uses singular + -il- (15-il ktieb); 2 uses dual or żewġ
• ma...x double negation used for verbs (ma issejvjax NOT ma issejvja)
• mhux for noun/adjective negation, NOT verbs
• Word order SVO; adjectives FOLLOW noun (fajl ġdid, NOT ġdid fajl)
• Both noun and adjective take article when definite (it-tifel il-kbir)
• Numbers: comma thousands, period decimal (1,234.56 — Anglo style)
• Currency: € before number, no space (€1,234.56)
• Time: 24-hour standard
• Quotes: standard "..."
• No NBSP before : ; ? ! (Maltese uses ASCII spacing)
• All {variables} and ICU plural syntax intact
• FOR (total) vs PER (rate): għal 5 lingwi (for 5 languages total) vs kull lingwa (per language) — never confuse

Naturalness

• Buttons imperative form (Issejvja, Iftaħ, Ħassar, Agħżel, Ikkonferma)
• Status messages use Qed + imperfect for ongoing (Qed jissejvja...) and past participle for completed (Issejvjat / Tlesta)
• Failure: "Ma rnexxiex" + verb, not "Falla"
• Drag-drop: ikkaxkar / itfa' / erħi (NOT draggja, ħeles)
• File picker: "Agħżel" (NOT "Browse")
• Empty state: "Ebda X" or "L-ebda X" (NOT "Xejn X" or bare "Vojt")
• Marketing "Zero X" → "Bla X" or "Ebda X"
• Quantity: "Iktar minn 25" (NOT "+25" or "25+")
• Calques avoided (no "jagħmel sens", no "fl-aħħar tal-ġurnata", no "ħa tieħu post")
• False friends in correct sense (attwalment = currently NOT actually; eventwalment = possibly NOT eventually)
• Code-switching with English is bounded — use established Maltese terms where they exist (tella' not upowdjat; niżżel not downlowdjat; aqsam not issjerja)
• No forced obscure neologisms when bilingual tech term is universal (fajl is fine; "dokument elettroniku" is overkill)
• Domain terminology in IT sense (arkitettura = software architecture, not building; pipeline = CI/CD, not plumbing)
• Compound adjectives natural (b'appoġġ tal-AI, faċli għall-użu — not AI-ibbażat, utent-ħabib)
• Religious framing Catholic where present (Alla, il-Madonna, San Pawl, il-festa — not Islamic vocabulary as default)
• No comma before u (and) or jew (or); comma before li, meta, jekk, biex, iżda
• Register consistent throughout file (int / intom usage stable; vocabulary register stable)

Worked Examples

Example 1: UI welcome with file upload

Source (English): "Welcome! Please select your file to upload — we support 25+ formats and translate it for 5 languages in {seconds}s. Don't worry, you can cancel at any time."

Maltese:

Merħba! Agħżel il-fajl tiegħek biex ittellgħa — aħna ngħinu b'iktar minn 25 format u nittraduċuh għal 5 lingwi f'{seconds} sekondi. Tinkwetax, tista' tikkanċella f'kull ħin.

What this demonstrates:

• Merħba! (welcome — native Semitic word)
• Agħżel (select — imperative, NOT "browse")
• il-fajl (the file — moon letter F, article stays il-)
• tiegħek (your, sg. — possessive suffix, "int" register)
• biex (so that — not "sabiex")
• ittellgħa (be uploaded — passive form of tella')
• iktar minn 25 (more than 25 — NOT "25+")
• format (singular after iktar minn N — correct CLDR "other" form for 25)
• lingwi (languages — sound feminine plural of lingwa)
• għal 5 lingwi (for 5 languages — għal for total, not kull)
• f'{seconds} sekondi (in {seconds} seconds — fi contracted to f' before vowel of placeholder)
• Tinkwetax (Don't worry — note the -x suffix of ma...x negation, even with the imperative prefix tin-)
• tista' (you can — apostrophe is essential)
• tikkanċella (cancel — Italian-origin verb with i- prefix)
• f'kull ħin (at any time — fi → f' + Ħ moon letter)

Example 2: Error message

Source: "The file could not be found. Please verify the path and try again."

Maltese:

Il-fajl ma nstabx. Jekk jogħġbok ivverifika l-path u erġa' pprova.

What this demonstrates:

• Il-fajl (the file — il- with F moon letter)
• ma nstabx (was not found — passive verb form instab + ma...x double negation; NOT "ma jistax jinstab" calque)
• Jekk jogħġbok (please — lit. "if it pleases you")
• ivverifika (verify — Italian-origin verb)
• l-path (the path — English loan kept; il- → l- because vowel/h-like silent start; some writers use il-path)
• erġa' pprova (try again — with apostrophe in erġa')

Example 3: Confirmation dialog

Source: "Are you sure you want to delete 15 files? This action cannot be undone."

Maltese:

Żgur li trid tħassar 15-il fajl? Din l-azzjoni ma tistax titreġġa' lura.

What this demonstrates:

• Żgur li (sure that — li introduces subordinate clause)
• trid tħassar (you want to delete — int-form, no infinitive in Maltese, just bare imperfect)
• 15-il fajl (15 files — note -il- suffix mandatory for 11-19; SINGULAR fajl after, matching "many" CLDR category)
• Din l-azzjoni (this action — azzjoni is feminine, hence din not dan; l- before vowel a)
• ma tistax (cannot — ma...x with imperfect 3rd-fem-sg of seta' matching l-azzjoni)
• titreġġa' lura (be reversed — passive verb form + lura = back)

Example 4: Pricing card

Source: "Starter plan — €9.99 per month for 5 languages and 10,000 words. No commitment."

Maltese:

Pjan Starter — €9.99 fix-xahar għal 5 lingwi u 10,000 kelma. Bla impenn.

What this demonstrates:

• Pjan Starter (Starter plan — English brand-like term kept)
• €9.99 (Anglo number format: period decimal; € before, no space)
• fix-xahar (per month — fi + il- → fil-; sun letter X → fix-; lit. "in the month")
• għal 5 lingwi (for 5 languages — għal = for/total)
• 10,000 kelma (10,000 words — Anglo comma thousands; kelma singular because 10,000 falls in "other" CLDR category for 20+; literally "10,000 word")
• Bla impenn (No commitment — "Bla X" pattern, NOT "Zero X")

Example 5: Pluralisation across categories (ICU example)

Source frame: "{count} files selected"

Maltese forms (CLDR 5-form):

count	Maltese	Analysis
0	Ebda fajl magħżul	"no" category — ebda + singular
1	Fajl wieħed magħżul	one — wieħed (one, masc) follows masc noun
2	Żewġ fajls magħżula	two — żewġ + plural
5	5 fajls magħżula	few (3-10) — plural form, agreeing in adj
15	15-il fajl magħżul	many (11-19) — singular + -il- infix, singular adj agreement
25	25 fajl magħżul	other (20+) — SINGULAR form
100	100 fajl magħżul	other — SINGULAR

Note: this example uses English loan fajl/fajls plural with -s. If you used a Semitic-root noun, the broken-plural form would replace the -s form in the few and two categories.

Example 6: Status spinner messages

Source: "Uploading file... | Processing... | Done! | Failed to save."

Maltese:

Qed jittella' l-fajl... | Qed jiġi pproċessat... | Tlesta! | Ma rnexxiex jissejvja.

What this demonstrates:

• Qed jittella' (is being uploaded — qed + passive imperfect of tella')
• Qed jiġi pproċessat (is being processed — qed jiġi + past participle)
• Tlesta! (done — perfective form, complete state)
• Ma rnexxiex jissejvja (failed to save — ma rnexxiex = didn't succeed + bare verb; NOT "Falla")

Example 7: Code-switching sweet spot

Source (mixed input): "Click the Dashboard tab, then go to Settings > Notifications."

Maltese (showing acceptable code-switching):

Ikklikkja t-tab Dashboard, mbagħad mur fis-Settings > Notifications.

Alternative pure Maltese:

Ikklikkja l-paġna Dashboard, mbagħad mur fl-Impostazzjonijiet > Notifiki.

Why both work: Maltese is genuinely bilingual in tech contexts. The first version (with English UI terms) matches how Maltese tech professionals actually speak and write. The second version (pure Maltese) is appropriate for formal documentation. Pick one approach per document and stay consistent.

What NOT to do:

Ikklikkja t-tab id-dashboard... (mixing definite article with English term inconsistently) Klikkja (English bare verb without Maltese morphology)

When in Doubt

1. Special characters — If in doubt about Ċ Ġ Ħ Ż, assume you need them. They are not optional. Verify with a Maltese-Italian dictionary or the Akkademja tal-Malti reference.

2. Definite article — If unsure about sun vs moon letter, recite the sun consonants: Ċ D N R S T X Ż Z. Everything else is moon. Vowels and silent għ → use l-.

3. Plural form — When in doubt about broken vs sound plural, check a dictionary. For English loanwords, -s is normally fine (fajls, kompjuters). For Semitic-root nouns, the broken plural is required (klieb not kelbs; kotba not ktiebs).

4. 20+ singular trap — Always: 1 → one form, 2 → dual or żewġ, 3-10 → plural, 11-19 → -il- + singular, 20+ → singular. The 20+ singular is the most-missed rule.

5. ma...x — If you write a negated verb, always end with -x. If you find yourself wanting to use mhux with a verb, you probably need ma...x instead.

6. Gender — Default rule: -a ending → feminine, consonant ending → masculine. When in doubt, consult a dictionary. Note that adjective agreement is mandatory (sistema ġdida, fajl ġdid).

7. Code-switching with English — If a term is universally understood in English (file, settings, dashboard, login), it is fine to use as a Maltese loanword. If a clear Maltese term exists and is established (tella', niżżel, aqsam, fittex), prefer it. Don't force obscure neologisms ("dokument elettroniku" for "file" is overkill).

8. Religious tone — Default to neutral. If a Catholic framing fits naturally (Christmas messaging, festa references), use it confidently. Do NOT default to Islamic vocabulary because of the Arabic roots — culturally Malta is Catholic.

9. Number formats — When the source is European (1.234,56), invert to Anglo (1,234.56). Maltese aligns with English here.

10. "Ta'" linker — Almost any "X of Y" construction in English wants Y ta' X or Y tal-X in Maltese. The apostrophe in ta' is essential.

11. Identity check — Before finalising, ask: "Would a native Maltese speaker recognise this as natural Maltese — not Arabic in Latin script, not awkwardly literal Italian, not English-with-Maltese-decoration?" If you're unsure, simplify and use more established vocabulary.

12. Sanity check the diacritics — Final pass: search the output for plain c h z g (lowercase) and verify that every instance is either (a) part of a digraph (għ, ie), (b) a foreign brand name, or (c) a genuinely native form. Otherwise you probably need ċ ħ ż ġ.