Thread by @seyyedreza

I still can't believe the fact that Pete Buttigieg's last name is Arabic hasn't become more common knowledge over the last year.

Buttigieg means "Father of the Chicken" - ابو دجاج.

A quick thread on Malta and why they speak Arabic:

Buttigieg's father is from Malta, an island between Tunisia and Italy where they speak an Arabic dialect called Malti.

And his last name - Buttigieg?

It's pronounced "Bu-dgaga" - and its synonymous with Arabic, "Abu Djadja," meaning "The Father of the Chicken" - ابو دجاج.

Malta was part of the Arab World from the 800s until 1091.

After the Normans invaded, classical written Arabic was no longer used and Maltese spoken Arabic over time became a separate language - albeit one that is highly similar to the spoken Arabic of nearby Tunisia or Lebanon.

Because Malta no longer used written Arabic, it lost the glue that binds together the different dialects we call Arabic -the mutually intelligible written language they all use.

So although Maltese speak Arabic, they can't write it; and they've added lots of English and Italian.

Here's some signs from Malta to illustrate how similar Maltese is to Arabic.

This street sign, Tariq al-Suq, is exactly the same as it would be in Arabic - albeit written in Latin letters.

This signs meanwhile reads “al-sawwaqa matlouba yparkou bel exhaust pipe l barra “ - which sounds almost like the English-inflected Arabic of Beirut!

The beginning and end are pure Arabic, the middle is English that's over time become part of Maltese.

The church hymn really makes clear how much Maltese is Arabic- every single line is completely clear to an Arabic speaker!
اسمع الاغنية تع الميلاد
كريستو نازل من السموات
تولد في وسطنا ابن الله
جاي يفورنا بالبركات
صار تربية من مريم
شابة صافية من كل خطاء
البروفت (نبي) هيك خبروا...

As you can see, Maltese church language preserves Arabic extremely well.

My guess is because it is more formal and archaic Maltese, it follows Arabic more closely - as compare to generalized Maltese, which absorbed more Italian and English words.

Also just to be very clear, this is not an endorsement of Buttigieg in any way, shape, or form.

#ILikeBernie!

It’s been suggested that his name may have “Father of the Chicken” because someone in the family may have sold chicken- ie something more like “Father of Poultry”. A possible origin story!

I’m hearing that maybe instead “Father of the Chicken,” We could maybe go with “Chicken Daddy” instead as a translation for Buttigieg.

I like that too!

Just to clarify- Maltese is a separate language. It grew out of Arabic but it is no longer considered Arabic.

The name Buttigieg is completely Maltese; but it’s roots are completely Arabic. You just have to squint a bit to see them.

Once you’ve seen it, it’s hard to unsee

This Buttigieg Abu-Djaj meme definitely wins the day!