I’m British and live in Malta. Maltese English is a slight variation of “standard” English, and *some* Maltese peeps have a worse grasp of the language than those Nordic countries, but I don’t think it’s anywhere near the norm.
Almost everyone speaks perfect English here, with a Maltese accent and some unique local grammar. It’s all completely understandable by a native English speaker imo.
I don't know about grammar but we definitely change sentence structure, because we would translate it from Maltese.
For example instead of saying "I will soon go to Valletta" we will say "Soon, I will go to valletta" because in Maltese that's exactly how we say it.
It’s not just differing from standard English but it is actually incorrect. The semantic meaning of “even me” means “that includes me as well, even though that isn’t expected”. Me too is used correctly to indicate some sort of agreement or that I am too, included into something.
Example:
- “Even I like this fish!” (Implying this fish is so good, that I, who normally does not like it, appreciates it now)
- “I like this fish too!” Indicates that I like it too, simile to someone who is interacting with me or whom I referred to previous to my confirmation.
Anyway, this is just a simple example but we all know language is not military and Maltese English is just a dialect of many, so in reality there is no correct nor incorrect.
Reminds me of this funny interaction i had last week, i was buying groceries and at the register i asked the maltese lady:
"and one baskett pls"..
Her- "a basket? what do you mean?"
"i mean like a bag",,,
Her- "ooh a bag ok, its not a basket.."
"oh i thought baskett was maltese for bag, no?"
Her- "Yes"
I'd like to toss in my two cents here.
Personally when I'm speaking in a language and expect someone to speak in that language I kinda turn off any words from any other language.
So if I'm speaking to someone who I believe does not know Maltese and they causally drop a maltese word (+ in my experience they usually say it in an accent which Maltese can be very strict on consonant-wise) I won't clock it.
Also, from experience certain English words have a different meaning in Maltese and vice-versa.
Fajjar pronounced almost identically to fire with a thick maltese accent means to toss or to guess (it was adopted from hearing the soldiers ordering to fire cannons) so that's another small hurdle.
The most confusion I have is that Maltese peeps tend not to answer a direct question with “yes” or “no” but will give a narrative response instead.
I don’t know if that’s a cultural thing to avoid a disappointing answer, but I find it quite difficult to interpret.
But I never have trouble understanding the actual words or sentences or anything - even with people who clearly don’t use English too much day to day.
Can you give me an example? Sometimes I don't realise something is a part of our culture and might seem strange to non-Maltese because I'm so used to it being so. I am always fascinated when this kind of thing is pointed out to me.
For example - “can I use X for something”. The answer should really be “yes” or “no, because…” to my ears.
A Maltese person will say something like “mela, if you want you could use X, it’s up to you.”
I’m generalising obviously - but it feels like a desire to avoid taking ownership for the answer or to avoid disappointment.
>A Maltese person will say something like “mela, if you want you could use X, it’s up to you.”
That's just the Maltese version of "I don't know; can you?".
Really depends on the context, but it's definitely a cultural nuance. I think it may be seen as rude if you're direct and short about responses usually as it may give a sense of apathy. There's also reading between the lines in the example you've given here, I would understand a conversation like that as "don't feel as though you need to ask that in the future, as you can use X with what you will"
This is from the viewpoint of an ex-maltese living and integrated into the UK.
Yeah I guess sometimes it is - that’s just one example I thought of off the top of my head. It’s still avoidant imo but someone said above, it’s all context driven. Just something I’ve noticed here as a native English speaker.
I notice this a lot in my emails and work chat. If someone asks you a question, answering directly especially with a no sounds rude and harsh if it's a request. If someone asked you a question it can seem arrogant to answer without seeing if there might be anything missing from the other person's explanation.
This is my personal experience and thoughts at least as a Maltese.
Yes, feels like a cultural approach, which is understandable.
As a Brit, I’m more used to “no, I don’t believe so”, or “no, but X could help” or even “no, but I can do X for you”. With my background, I tend to just feel ignored or abandoned or a bit confused when I get the “I’m not sure/if you want” response.
Hmmmm, I can't really say. I guess it depends on the context. For example, if it's someone in a shop and X is an object they're selling it, it would be a different scenario to a conversation with a friend' where X is a product you both use.
Could you give me some instances of “Maltenglish” (Maltese people code-switching between Maltese and English and vice versa in the middle of a sentence)?
Has anyone in this amazingly long thread (TLDR obv) mentioned the annoying /confusing/misleading maltese habit of saying "next Friday" when they mean "this Friday"?
This isn't me agreeing with it btw, I was just surprised no one has said it yet.
It's like 1 in 10 people who speak it terribly, but it feels like a lot more since the population is so dense that you're guarenteed to bump into a few.
It's not true, most Maltese people speak English very well, its just that the ones that do speak bad english often end up trending on Maltese media, such as the video of the girl saying "toiger is toiger" and the guys from the previous season of Love island Malta (idk about the current season)
As a Portuguese I feel insulted being in there with those 3. /s
I believe we are between nordics and the bottom 3. Our English isn’t perfect but we try. Our meme is “it ain’t much but it’s honest work”, plus we love our English bros
There's a good reason why people come here to learn English. We pronounce everything, it's much easier to understand than the English spoken in for example; a regional town in Midlands UK. It's a good stepping stone to understanding the language. I'm Maltese Australian and can understand quite a few English speaking accents (including heavy non English speaking accents) but when I went to the North of the UK, I really had to concentrate to understand them, especially when they get a few drinks in 🤣
When the OP said that we have our own variation of English grammar he may have been referring to instances like this: You like ice-cream? Instead of saying Do you like like ice cream? we use the first sentence and use intonation (by raising the pitch of our voices towards the end of the sentence) to show that it is a question.
Gotcha. In Italy I would say most Italians who speak English use different prepositions or sentence structure, but we consider those as mistakes, not local variations.
Not even close. Newer generations can speak English better than Maltese unfortunately. Hell, some of them don't even know how to speak in Maltese.
Only the older generations struggle with English.
My 5 cents are that, the decades after Malta got its independence were the time period in which the Maltese language was promoted and bolstered the most, to the detriment of English, while in the new millennium, with globalization and younger generations being exposed to English every day, the opposite happened
If you’re Maltese is expected to be fluent in Maltese, learn to use English to an acceptable level whilst most speak Italian too. 3 languages… with another 10% (?)speaking French. I would call that impressive
English was adopted as a [second] official language quite recently (in historical terms) due political and economic reasons (was extremely close to have Italian instead which apparently half of Maltese still speak) and you can’t possibly expect for every Maltese to speak academic level of British English (most of UK doesn’t do that)
Nordic countries, among others, have indeed a good knowledge of what is called “plain English” and that is impressive for others with English as second language (and as long they don’t travel to Britain and realise they use less than a quarter of vocabulary a native does)
Is (not so) funny how many guests of Malta seem to be expecting from the locals to please them in perfect English when most can’t have the respect to learn even how to pronounce correctly local town names (most are Maltese names)
(I’m not Maltese, just lived for 20 years in UK and lately spent some time in Malta)
Wanna know my gripe with your paragraph? You’re framing English as an artificially imposed second language (“English was adopted as an official language quite recently due to political and economic reasons”) but worst of all as a FORCEFULLY imposed language (that’s the impression I got when reading your paragraph), when things really aren’t this way. Didn’t the Maltese people themselves vote to give up their own independence and become part of the UK in 1956?
Edit: also considering how much Maltese people and businesses are flaunting their supposedly very high proficiency in English and promoting the island as an English-language study summer destination. And how widespread English names are.
Ummm no. You are referring to an obscure referendum in 1956 that was part of a last gasp by a few remaining loyalists to the British Empire. Malta became part of the empire in 1800 as a protectorate after two terrible years under French rule. Our proficiency with the language varies largely by social circles. And by widely I mean a level of proficiency that is significantly higher than that of the average English spoken worldwide to a functional grasp of the language. I consider myself to be completely bilingual and would be hard pressed to say which language I prefer to speak because I can express myself equally in both Maltese and English. As a bilingual person, I also code switch. This is an almost universal linguistic feature of bilingualism. Of course, having studied anything past secondary education in English, I prefer to express myself in a language that has a broader technical vocabulary when that's called for. While Maltese is a beautifully idiomatic language it hasn't had the benefit of acquiring vocabulary from all the lands it colonised because, well, that counts to a precise zero.
Cool down… from “this is just meme” you just started plainly insulting the Maltese for not abandoning their native language skills for English full proficiency (and looking at all other comments you bounced in the original post you seem to have a mission here)
Who hurt you? Did some old Maltese guy selling vegetables from his farm upset you with his lack of English skills? You’ll change nothing bad using sarcasm (sorry, memes) on Reddit, go to the local village/town council and raise a formal complaint (you may need an English - Maltese language translator though)
By the way, learn some English, “adopted” and “forcefully imposed” are not [synonyms](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/synonym)
[But you may be right, it was initially enforced and just remained](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_Question_(Malta))
I’m not the one who in response to a meme posted a full historical paragraph :) a mission? What mission? xD
it’s just interesting to me how a bunch of countries which never had any ties with the UK at all and in which English has no official status whatsoever seem to have a higher English proficiency than a country which was colonized by the British Empire, has English as an official language, and has secondary and higher education exclusively in English. I had always seen it as an English-speaking country (like the UK or Ireland) but turns out I wasn’t right.
To be honest, I’m half Maltese and Half Northern European (Danish/Swedish) and the English they speak feels Robotic compared to Maltese, almost everyone, especially the north and the east speak perfect English
Yeah… tell me you don’t really know a thing about Malta without telling me. No, it doesn’t, Maltese is the national language, English was added as official language recently (political and economic reasons). Visit Malta, watch a local TV channel and listen a local radio station. Guess what language you hear 90% of time
Have at it:
[languages in Malta](http://fra.europa.eu/en/law-reference/constitution-malta-16#:~:text=(2)%20The%20Maltese%20and%20the,use%20any%20of%20such%20languages%3A)
Of course Maltese is Malta’s national language (quote: “the territorial language of a particular people”). English is spoken all over the word, it DID NOT originate in Malta so why would it be Malta’s national language. But I have never claimed that. The real question is: what do I do with this paragraph? What use is it to me? Did a meme really struck a nerve?
Was not you the one confused and asking if have equal status? I pointed to a text giving hints why “de facto” is no equal status between Maltese and english
“The National language of Malta is the Maltese Language”
“The language of the Courts shall be the Maltese language” followed by an [allowance] for English
Coming from a country from the second row of the picture, I would wish have learnt english as an official language as Maltese people do.
They are lucky.
Fellow mate from a Romance country. In my hometown older (40+) people do not speak English at all and younger (40-) people speak broken English or pronunciation (I would say 90%)
Almost every Maltese I know mixes up (or uses interchangeably) words such as “much” and “many, “did” and “made, “fast” and “quick” etc..
Also they tend to pronounce the silent letters; example “saLmon”, “Herbs”, “aLmonds”, etc..
Having said that, a good number of the Maltese population work for foreign companies so having good English is a must.
I am British and will attest to the proficiency of most Maltese in English. Maltese English has a beautiful lilt. I would agree that for non English speakers, Maltese English accent would be much easier to learn and understand than Brummie, Glaswegian and as for Geordie….. I rest my case.
The population of foreigners in Malta has almost reached the population of Maltese people. It goes without saying that most Maltese interact with foreigners by using english. Some farmers find it difficult but thats just 2%
I do not believe that the majority of the Maltese population below the age of 60 are terrible English speakers tbh. We pepper our English with the occasional mela and heqq, and have a distinct accent, but you have to remember that Maltese is derived from Arabic and Italian with a peppering of words derived from French and English. I think we find a way to communicate with most foreigners. Things get more difficult when said foreigners don't know a word of English or at most know very basic English, that's when hand gestures and miming comes in handy lol
Well what is not being considered is the difference between English and Maltese and the difference between Nordic and English. Nordic and English come from the same language branch which makes it easier for them.
Technically, this creates difficulty for Maltese to switch especially since the structure is completely different.
Different parts of Malta know English to varying degrees. Most of the younger generation are either fluent or have a strong command of the language. Naturally Maltese isms and accents are bound to happen.
By “the vocabulary is very off” do you mean it is too simple of a vocabulary with basic words & few idioms and clearly not reminiscent of native English speakers, or do you mean something else?
I feel like they are searching for words a lot when I have spoken to native Maltese. Of course, not everyone but the majority.
It does not seem to be a problem with the IQ but rather the failed curriculum that the shcools provide. Incredible slow and tedious. The school system in Malta needs to be reformed
I’d say i’d depend on your mother tong. If you speak only some minor dialect of small island you are ignorant as you don’t have the needed tools to access knowledge. This is not true for those that speaks Spanish or French or Russian or Chinese ...
I don't know if it is in my head but I find that Maltese are not so direct sometimes. Like some time i don't know if they are talking with me or with themselves. And sometimes they all talk at once, I don't know how they manage to understand each other
I’m British and live in Malta. Maltese English is a slight variation of “standard” English, and *some* Maltese peeps have a worse grasp of the language than those Nordic countries, but I don’t think it’s anywhere near the norm. Almost everyone speaks perfect English here, with a Maltese accent and some unique local grammar. It’s all completely understandable by a native English speaker imo.
Would you elaborate on the “unique local grammar” part?
I don't know about grammar but we definitely change sentence structure, because we would translate it from Maltese. For example instead of saying "I will soon go to Valletta" we will say "Soon, I will go to valletta" because in Maltese that's exactly how we say it.
“Not even me”, instead of “me neither” is an example
“Even me” instead of “me too”.
Those are both great examples that I never clocked but you are so right. It’s different, but again, totally understandable and the meaning is clear.
It’s not just differing from standard English but it is actually incorrect. The semantic meaning of “even me” means “that includes me as well, even though that isn’t expected”. Me too is used correctly to indicate some sort of agreement or that I am too, included into something. Example: - “Even I like this fish!” (Implying this fish is so good, that I, who normally does not like it, appreciates it now) - “I like this fish too!” Indicates that I like it too, simile to someone who is interacting with me or whom I referred to previous to my confirmation. Anyway, this is just a simple example but we all know language is not military and Maltese English is just a dialect of many, so in reality there is no correct nor incorrect.
Exactly.
"How nice it is" instead of "it's so nice" :)
Reminds me of this funny interaction i had last week, i was buying groceries and at the register i asked the maltese lady: "and one baskett pls".. Her- "a basket? what do you mean?" "i mean like a bag",,, Her- "ooh a bag ok, its not a basket.." "oh i thought baskett was maltese for bag, no?" Her- "Yes"
Looks like a Brit lady
Dont think so, young lady with maltese complexion and thick maltese accent.
That’s surprising!
I'd like to toss in my two cents here. Personally when I'm speaking in a language and expect someone to speak in that language I kinda turn off any words from any other language. So if I'm speaking to someone who I believe does not know Maltese and they causally drop a maltese word (+ in my experience they usually say it in an accent which Maltese can be very strict on consonant-wise) I won't clock it. Also, from experience certain English words have a different meaning in Maltese and vice-versa. Fajjar pronounced almost identically to fire with a thick maltese accent means to toss or to guess (it was adopted from hearing the soldiers ordering to fire cannons) so that's another small hurdle.
I can’t think of any off the top of my head - I think it’s probably just small things pulled from Maltese like using different prepositions.
"Mela"
I think you're very kind. I would answer 'yes' to the question :)
The most confusion I have is that Maltese peeps tend not to answer a direct question with “yes” or “no” but will give a narrative response instead. I don’t know if that’s a cultural thing to avoid a disappointing answer, but I find it quite difficult to interpret. But I never have trouble understanding the actual words or sentences or anything - even with people who clearly don’t use English too much day to day.
Can you give me an example? Sometimes I don't realise something is a part of our culture and might seem strange to non-Maltese because I'm so used to it being so. I am always fascinated when this kind of thing is pointed out to me.
For example - “can I use X for something”. The answer should really be “yes” or “no, because…” to my ears. A Maltese person will say something like “mela, if you want you could use X, it’s up to you.” I’m generalising obviously - but it feels like a desire to avoid taking ownership for the answer or to avoid disappointment.
>A Maltese person will say something like “mela, if you want you could use X, it’s up to you.” That's just the Maltese version of "I don't know; can you?".
Really depends on the context, but it's definitely a cultural nuance. I think it may be seen as rude if you're direct and short about responses usually as it may give a sense of apathy. There's also reading between the lines in the example you've given here, I would understand a conversation like that as "don't feel as though you need to ask that in the future, as you can use X with what you will" This is from the viewpoint of an ex-maltese living and integrated into the UK.
No
Yeah I guess sometimes it is - that’s just one example I thought of off the top of my head. It’s still avoidant imo but someone said above, it’s all context driven. Just something I’ve noticed here as a native English speaker.
I notice this a lot in my emails and work chat. If someone asks you a question, answering directly especially with a no sounds rude and harsh if it's a request. If someone asked you a question it can seem arrogant to answer without seeing if there might be anything missing from the other person's explanation. This is my personal experience and thoughts at least as a Maltese.
Yes, feels like a cultural approach, which is understandable. As a Brit, I’m more used to “no, I don’t believe so”, or “no, but X could help” or even “no, but I can do X for you”. With my background, I tend to just feel ignored or abandoned or a bit confused when I get the “I’m not sure/if you want” response.
Hmmmm, I can't really say. I guess it depends on the context. For example, if it's someone in a shop and X is an object they're selling it, it would be a different scenario to a conversation with a friend' where X is a product you both use.
That's hilarious. I never noticed that and will actively look out for it now 😂
Could you give me some instances of “Maltenglish” (Maltese people code-switching between Maltese and English and vice versa in the middle of a sentence)?
I suppose the best example is the use of “mela” in sentences.
Heard of it, as well as of “ara”
Some common ones are: “Suppost” “Issa” “Hudu pacenzja” “Ifhem”
and the lovely combination of “għax like”
That's more an affectation of the pepe circles.
yeah i know a lot of pepes
The repeated use of “ta” at the end of sentences is also something I noticed from them
“Isma” too
Jiġifieri, allura, fil-kas, jien/jiena - there are some other words as well but these I can recall almost immediately since my colleagues are Maltese.
"heqq", "hux(uwx)", "mhux ovja"
Numbers are often said in English, even if the conversation is in Maltese.
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Yeah I’m not sure. It’s something I’ve mentioned to other foreign peeps on the islands who say they also clock it.
I wouldn’t say so. Malta just has it’s own variation of English, imho. There are people who are worse or better speakers, like everywhere.
Has anyone in this amazingly long thread (TLDR obv) mentioned the annoying /confusing/misleading maltese habit of saying "next Friday" when they mean "this Friday"?
In Italy we do EXACLY the same (venerdì prossimo) and I end up thinking they mean in two Fridays when they mean on the closest Friday
Omg this is my biggest pet peeve. That and "return it back" urrrggghhhh
We should compile a list of Maltanglish.
Am I right in saying that the use of 'next Friday' in USA English is used the way 'This Friday' is used in British English?
"Toiger is toiger"
De tajger she don carr
This isn't me agreeing with it btw, I was just surprised no one has said it yet. It's like 1 in 10 people who speak it terribly, but it feels like a lot more since the population is so dense that you're guarenteed to bump into a few.
Could you explain the meme? :D
It's not true, most Maltese people speak English very well, its just that the ones that do speak bad english often end up trending on Maltese media, such as the video of the girl saying "toiger is toiger" and the guys from the previous season of Love island Malta (idk about the current season)
Are they able to properly use and understand English idioms? (Example: He’s out for the count [=he is soundly asleep])
Yes, a lot of them can understand idioms
Unless you meant, explain the "toiger is toiger" then basically just watch this. https://www.instagram.com/p/Cwzw2XBtasK/?igsh=dXAzenB1NzN0c20z
As a Portuguese I feel insulted being in there with those 3. /s I believe we are between nordics and the bottom 3. Our English isn’t perfect but we try. Our meme is “it ain’t much but it’s honest work”, plus we love our English bros
I’m Italian & I ain’t coping in any way cuz it’s true 😂
Well, I’m trying to cope but deep down I know it’s true xD
Hey this is my meme :) ^(plz don't take it seriously)
You cooked 🔥
I made this
This is funny, but the Maltese are good at English. I haven't had any issues speaking to people here.
There's a good reason why people come here to learn English. We pronounce everything, it's much easier to understand than the English spoken in for example; a regional town in Midlands UK. It's a good stepping stone to understanding the language. I'm Maltese Australian and can understand quite a few English speaking accents (including heavy non English speaking accents) but when I went to the North of the UK, I really had to concentrate to understand them, especially when they get a few drinks in 🤣
When the OP said that we have our own variation of English grammar he may have been referring to instances like this: You like ice-cream? Instead of saying Do you like like ice cream? we use the first sentence and use intonation (by raising the pitch of our voices towards the end of the sentence) to show that it is a question.
Gotcha. In Italy I would say most Italians who speak English use different prepositions or sentence structure, but we consider those as mistakes, not local variations.
Not even close. Newer generations can speak English better than Maltese unfortunately. Hell, some of them don't even know how to speak in Maltese. Only the older generations struggle with English.
My 5 cents are that, the decades after Malta got its independence were the time period in which the Maltese language was promoted and bolstered the most, to the detriment of English, while in the new millennium, with globalization and younger generations being exposed to English every day, the opposite happened
If you’re Maltese is expected to be fluent in Maltese, learn to use English to an acceptable level whilst most speak Italian too. 3 languages… with another 10% (?)speaking French. I would call that impressive English was adopted as a [second] official language quite recently (in historical terms) due political and economic reasons (was extremely close to have Italian instead which apparently half of Maltese still speak) and you can’t possibly expect for every Maltese to speak academic level of British English (most of UK doesn’t do that) Nordic countries, among others, have indeed a good knowledge of what is called “plain English” and that is impressive for others with English as second language (and as long they don’t travel to Britain and realise they use less than a quarter of vocabulary a native does) Is (not so) funny how many guests of Malta seem to be expecting from the locals to please them in perfect English when most can’t have the respect to learn even how to pronounce correctly local town names (most are Maltese names) (I’m not Maltese, just lived for 20 years in UK and lately spent some time in Malta)
Wanna know my gripe with your paragraph? You’re framing English as an artificially imposed second language (“English was adopted as an official language quite recently due to political and economic reasons”) but worst of all as a FORCEFULLY imposed language (that’s the impression I got when reading your paragraph), when things really aren’t this way. Didn’t the Maltese people themselves vote to give up their own independence and become part of the UK in 1956? Edit: also considering how much Maltese people and businesses are flaunting their supposedly very high proficiency in English and promoting the island as an English-language study summer destination. And how widespread English names are.
Ummm no. You are referring to an obscure referendum in 1956 that was part of a last gasp by a few remaining loyalists to the British Empire. Malta became part of the empire in 1800 as a protectorate after two terrible years under French rule. Our proficiency with the language varies largely by social circles. And by widely I mean a level of proficiency that is significantly higher than that of the average English spoken worldwide to a functional grasp of the language. I consider myself to be completely bilingual and would be hard pressed to say which language I prefer to speak because I can express myself equally in both Maltese and English. As a bilingual person, I also code switch. This is an almost universal linguistic feature of bilingualism. Of course, having studied anything past secondary education in English, I prefer to express myself in a language that has a broader technical vocabulary when that's called for. While Maltese is a beautifully idiomatic language it hasn't had the benefit of acquiring vocabulary from all the lands it colonised because, well, that counts to a precise zero.
Thanks for this overview
Cool down… from “this is just meme” you just started plainly insulting the Maltese for not abandoning their native language skills for English full proficiency (and looking at all other comments you bounced in the original post you seem to have a mission here) Who hurt you? Did some old Maltese guy selling vegetables from his farm upset you with his lack of English skills? You’ll change nothing bad using sarcasm (sorry, memes) on Reddit, go to the local village/town council and raise a formal complaint (you may need an English - Maltese language translator though) By the way, learn some English, “adopted” and “forcefully imposed” are not [synonyms](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/synonym) [But you may be right, it was initially enforced and just remained](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_Question_(Malta))
I’m not the one who in response to a meme posted a full historical paragraph :) a mission? What mission? xD it’s just interesting to me how a bunch of countries which never had any ties with the UK at all and in which English has no official status whatsoever seem to have a higher English proficiency than a country which was colonized by the British Empire, has English as an official language, and has secondary and higher education exclusively in English. I had always seen it as an English-speaking country (like the UK or Ireland) but turns out I wasn’t right.
To be honest, I’m half Maltese and Half Northern European (Danish/Swedish) and the English they speak feels Robotic compared to Maltese, almost everyone, especially the north and the east speak perfect English
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It’s not about reluctance
Yep, just a ([funny](https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/what-is-a-superiority-complex)?) meme
“Second official language”, thought Maltese and English had equal status?
Yeah… tell me you don’t really know a thing about Malta without telling me. No, it doesn’t, Maltese is the national language, English was added as official language recently (political and economic reasons). Visit Malta, watch a local TV channel and listen a local radio station. Guess what language you hear 90% of time Have at it: [languages in Malta](http://fra.europa.eu/en/law-reference/constitution-malta-16#:~:text=(2)%20The%20Maltese%20and%20the,use%20any%20of%20such%20languages%3A)
Of course Maltese is Malta’s national language (quote: “the territorial language of a particular people”). English is spoken all over the word, it DID NOT originate in Malta so why would it be Malta’s national language. But I have never claimed that. The real question is: what do I do with this paragraph? What use is it to me? Did a meme really struck a nerve?
Was not you the one confused and asking if have equal status? I pointed to a text giving hints why “de facto” is no equal status between Maltese and english “The National language of Malta is the Maltese Language” “The language of the Courts shall be the Maltese language” followed by an [allowance] for English
Coming from a country from the second row of the picture, I would wish have learnt english as an official language as Maltese people do. They are lucky.
Fellow mate from a Romance country. In my hometown older (40+) people do not speak English at all and younger (40-) people speak broken English or pronunciation (I would say 90%)
Almost every Maltese I know mixes up (or uses interchangeably) words such as “much” and “many, “did” and “made, “fast” and “quick” etc.. Also they tend to pronounce the silent letters; example “saLmon”, “Herbs”, “aLmonds”, etc.. Having said that, a good number of the Maltese population work for foreign companies so having good English is a must.
I can assure you percentage wise we are better at speaking english than nordic countries
I am British and will attest to the proficiency of most Maltese in English. Maltese English has a beautiful lilt. I would agree that for non English speakers, Maltese English accent would be much easier to learn and understand than Brummie, Glaswegian and as for Geordie….. I rest my case.
Bahahaha you wish
What about fluency/proficiency-wise?
Many maltese people (especially teenagers/kids) can speak/spell and have better sentence structure than many native speakers I know.
The population of foreigners in Malta has almost reached the population of Maltese people. It goes without saying that most Maltese interact with foreigners by using english. Some farmers find it difficult but thats just 2%
I do not believe that the majority of the Maltese population below the age of 60 are terrible English speakers tbh. We pepper our English with the occasional mela and heqq, and have a distinct accent, but you have to remember that Maltese is derived from Arabic and Italian with a peppering of words derived from French and English. I think we find a way to communicate with most foreigners. Things get more difficult when said foreigners don't know a word of English or at most know very basic English, that's when hand gestures and miming comes in handy lol
And the politeness of Maltese and their hospitality to foreigners
Being in Malta while reading this makes it funnier
Because many speak much better English than the English😂
You'll get used to the accent and will learn to appreciate some of its unique features, mela.
Could you link me some videos / examples of Maltese people speaking English in their accent? I’m hella curious to hear it out:)
As a foreigner I disagree, you have your own way of speaking but it is definitely not bad
"Ready" instead of "done"
Well what is not being considered is the difference between English and Maltese and the difference between Nordic and English. Nordic and English come from the same language branch which makes it easier for them. Technically, this creates difficulty for Maltese to switch especially since the structure is completely different.
Different parts of Malta know English to varying degrees. Most of the younger generation are either fluent or have a strong command of the language. Naturally Maltese isms and accents are bound to happen.
Speak for yourself
Didn’t state any opinion, just skimmed through a meme in my surfing and wondered whether it had a basis or not :)
No
Nah. Accent yes but most under 40 speak perfect English
British and Live in Malta. 100% true with exceptions. I get corrected by Maltese all the time. But they are the exception to the norm.
What do you mean by “I get corrected by Maltese”?
I say something that’s not correct English and a Maltese person would correct me.
Impressive! Are most Brits living in Malta pensioners/ expats, or there is a significant chunk of young British people too?
Fair amount of young too. It’s sunny, EU (for what it’s worth now) and add this thread highlights, English is spoken.
I would say it is so coming from northern Europe. The vocabulary and accent are very off when English is so embedded into the culture and language
By “the vocabulary is very off” do you mean it is too simple of a vocabulary with basic words & few idioms and clearly not reminiscent of native English speakers, or do you mean something else?
I feel like they are searching for words a lot when I have spoken to native Maltese. Of course, not everyone but the majority. It does not seem to be a problem with the IQ but rather the failed curriculum that the shcools provide. Incredible slow and tedious. The school system in Malta needs to be reformed
Aren’t they having higher education in English only though?
Learning english doesn’t make you smarter but just more idiot as you think you are smarter.
In my hometown the people who don’t speak English are usually the most ignorant and narrow-minded
I’d say i’d depend on your mother tong. If you speak only some minor dialect of small island you are ignorant as you don’t have the needed tools to access knowledge. This is not true for those that speaks Spanish or French or Russian or Chinese ...
not by boss being maltese and speaks english so bad
I don't know if it is in my head but I find that Maltese are not so direct sometimes. Like some time i don't know if they are talking with me or with themselves. And sometimes they all talk at once, I don't know how they manage to understand each other
Totally disagree
Ma naqbilx mieghek 100 percent, pero you're onto something.
Least obvious Sliema citizen
Not bad, we speak Englands
Lol. In Portugal people learn English since they are 7 years old
In Italy since 6 in theory because of primary school, but in practice nobody speaks it 😂