-hom

Maltese

Alternative forms

• -hem (dialectal)

Etymology

From Arabic هُم (hum).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔm/ (generally)
• IPA^(key): /ħɔm/ (after -h, -ħ, -għ)
• IPA^(key): /jɔm/ (after -i, -ie)
• IPA^(key): /wɔm/ (after -u)

Suffix

-hom

2. 3rd-person plural pronominal suffix: their; them

   Synonym: tagħhom (only in possessive use)

   ‎sħab (“friends”) + ‎-hom → ‎sħabhom (“their friends”)

   ‎taħt (“under”) + ‎-hom → ‎taħthom (“under them”)

   ‎jisma’ (“he hears”) + ‎-hom → ‎jismagħhom (“he hears them”)

Usage notes

• When the suffix -hom follows one of the diphthongs -aj, -ej, -aw, -ew, there are two possible pronunciations. The vowelised -h- may either be represented as a glide [j], [w], or it may lengthen the onset of the diphthong. Hence għajnejhom (“their eyes”) may be pronounced /ajˈnɛj.jɔm/ or /ajˈnɛː.jɔm/. The latter is more common.
• When the suffix is added to a verb in -a that disallows imala, the sequence -ahom is contracted to [ɔːm]: attakka (“he attacked”), /atˈtak.ka/ → attakkahom (“he attacked them”), /at.takˈkɔːm/. There is, however, a fairly common nonstandard pronunciation that treats -ahom by analogy with -agħhom (as in jismagħhom above). This yields pronunciations such as /at.takˈkaħ.ħɔm/.