Kielbasi:
That would depend, of course, on what you personally consider to be a more important difference.
In my view, the principal difference between the Latin and English masses, is the kind of participation of the faithful. The Latin mass emphasizes internal participation exclusively while the Pauline rite brings in vocal participation by the people.
I would think if the Maronite faithful were more vocal that they would be closer to the Pauline rite, no?
The Maronite rite is fairly vocal, in english, arabic and Aramaeic.
Given the statement, I believe by St Augustine, that he who sings prays twice, internal participation approaches little or no participation. Notice I did not say that it is no participation, but that it approaches it.
In other words, it is not simply a matter of vocal participation; it is more a matter of more complete participation, both vocal and aural.
I am old enough to remember what the Mass was like when there was “internal participation”. Missals coud be bought, but there were no publishing houses I know of who made them available en masse - you had to go and buy one. Many did not have a missal; the net result was that people purchased and brought along devotional books to Mass, sort of getting a 2 for one bargain - they fulfilled their Sunday Obligation (they were physically present); they stood, sat and knelt at the appropriate times; the later in the day the Mass was said, the fewer participants for Communion; and they read their devotional books or said their rosaries during Mass. One of the main reasons there was such a push for the vernacular was that people were physically present, and not much more. Mass was something that was doen to them, not with them.
Mass is the highest prayer of the Church; it is something we need to participate in, not some sort of ritual bordering on magic that “worked” on us if we were physically present. Granted that those who are attending the indult TLM are participating more intently now, it does not follow that all others would likewise follow along well. Further, going back to Agustine, if singing is praying twisce, I would submit that saying a prayer which is in your native tongue has more impact than simply saying something rote in another language that you have a pretty good idea as to the meaning. Don’t kid me, most of the people attending a TLM now “know” very little Latin, in that they could not change a verb from present to past, or correctly give the correct “person” of the verb if asked, or tell the dative from the ablative. And the vast majority of people who are attending the Pauline rite in English (or Swahili, for that matter) would be almost totally adrift. I pray the prayers the priest is saying along with him as he speaks in English; I can drift off in prayer (for example, during the listing of whom we are praying for), and come right back to where we are simply by listening; should I do that while he is praying in Latin (or Spanish), I am quickly lost, and trying to play catch up. I find a distinct difference in parying along with the priest in English than any other language, be it Spanish or Latin (both of which are reasonably available locally). Prayer is simply more fluid in the native tongue.
