-hom

Appendix:Variations of "hom" Maltese Alternative forms mt -hem dialectal Etymology mt :inh ar:هُم + 1 Pronunciation mt /ɔm/ generally mt /ħɔm/ after -h, -ħ, -għ mt /jɔm/ after -i, -ie mt /wɔm/ after -u Suffix suffix mt pronoun 3rd-person plural pronominal suffix: their; them mt tagħhom<qq:only in possessive use> mt sħab<t:friends> <alt:sħabhom><t:their friends> mt taħt<t:under> taħthom<t:under them> mt jisma'<t:he hears> <alt:jismagħhom><t:he hears them> Usage notes When the suffix mt -hom follows one of the diphthongs mt -aj, -ej, -aw, -ew, there are two possible pronunciations. The vowelised mt -h- may either be represented as a glide [j], [w], or it may lengthen the onset of the diphthong. Hence mt 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 mt -ahom is contracted to [ɔːm]: mt attakka he attacked, /atˈtak.ka/ → mt attakkahom he attacked them, /at.takˈkɔːm/. There is, however, a fairly common nonstandard pronunciation that treats mt -ahom by analogy with mt -agħhom (as in mt jismagħhom above). This yields pronunciations such as /at.takˈkaħ.ħɔm/.