大咖福利影院

tina_ch wrote:

Hi MGrima,

I聮ve the same problem, courses are not really to expect. Private tuition hard to find.

Here a few books:

Antoinette Camilleri: Merħba Bik
to me, not really helpful. The book itself doesn聮t have a key, nearly no English translations, not much English explanation. In short: you need a teacher beside.

Lydia Sciriha: Beginning Maltese and Continuing Maltese are ok. The only thing I can聮t stand is the beeping sound on the CD, between words and sentences.

Joseph Aquilina: Concise Maltese-English English-Maltese Dictionary is ok. Nevertheless I prefer the original version of it.

***Joseph Aquilina, Maltese - English - Maltese Dictionary. Very good, for beginners the 2 Maltese volumes are sufficient.


***For self-studies I recommend: 聯Learn Maltese, why not?聰 Joseph Vella, as printed book or to download: . All explanations in English. Al Maltese sentences translated. There is a key to all exercises.

Lorna Vassallo, Maltese through English. A new book (2012), very good, all explanations in English, all translated. But not for a beginner. 

The CDs EuroTalk, TalkNow! Tghallem il-Malti. Different levels.

Just to listen to:


Good luck
tina

Hi there,
This topic is interesting, because Malta was my first choice of relocation back in 1990.
At that time, I never bothered about Maltese language because I knew they speak English over there.
How is Maltese language?  Any similarities with other language(s)?
Is it easy to learn?  Simple grammar or killer grammar? 

Also, do the Maltese speak proper English, or it's all Americanized or localized Maltenglish?

tina_ch wrote:

Hi John

You may have a look at these sites.

Hello Tina,
Thank you.
I realize I re-invented the word Maltenglish in my previous post: I found it in your link

Do you think Maltese language will disappear?

lornavassallo wrote:

Dear John,

Thanks for your interest. Putting it simply, Maltese is a mixture between Arabic, Italian and today quite some English.听 The alphabet is a latin one though (ie the same as English).听 Consisting of three languages at once the grammar is a very vast one and mainly semitic.听 I would call it a difficult language myself although Ive met people who disagree.听 In fact I know foreigners who learnt the language by themselves apparently without books after a few years living here.听 These include different nationalities eg French, Russians etc etc.听 Well, I think it all depends on how interested you are.

Re English, the Maltese are the best English speakers outside the UK. We all start learning English at the age of 3/4.听 Today's youngsters are even much better at English, as before (my age) we used to start off with three languages (Maltese, English. Italian) when young.听 So what we lacked in English we made up for by knowing a lot of Italian.听 But still Italian is the third language in Malta today inspite of being given less importance and most Maltese understand Italian too.

The Maltese have also won a number of awards for teaching English as a foreign language and Malta is also preferred to learn English because we pronounce English more articulately,
In fact teaching English as a foreign language is quite a big industry here and there are about 40 such schools.

That said, the Maltese do not all know how to speak English that well.听 It depends a lot on their background.听 Obviously as all university courses are taught in English, it is not easy to find a graduate who doesnt speak English well.听 But even at secondary and primary level (from 4-16) a number of subjects are taught in English at school.

To conclude, I can also say, that the Maltese having a history of colonization (and having passed peacefully from one empire to another for 2000 with only one armed revolt听 in 1798) are known for their friendliness and hospitality.听 Even if they do not know how to express themselves well, they will show you around to help you find a place or employ a lot of time to help a foreigner feel at home in our country.听 As a prolific traveller I think this is not just a myth but a truth.听 As Maltese, we all know we depend on foreigners, and that s why tourists come here.听

Hope the answer is satisfactory and remember Im also a tourist guide so excuse my detailed answer!

Dear Lorna,
Thank you very much for taking the time to explain so thoroughly.听 Nobody so far answered my questions, posts or threads in this forum so clearly as you did.听

I helps to know that Maltese are the best English speakers in Europe after English in England.
It makes me wonder how well the Gibraltarians speak ...

Perhaps because of expats, lots of travelers and Internet many languages will die leaving room for just a few major languages to persist and evolve.
I realize how hard it is for Maltese to resist the big wave of change.听

lornavassallo wrote:

And by the way, best English speakers outside UK in EUROPE.听 I dont mean better than the Americans, Canadians, Australians 听 Hope you got it!

Americans, Canadian, Australians and etc. speak localized English.听 The best English speaker with perfect diction is the Queen of England whom I have difficulty imitating ...听
Thank you one more time.听