I have to confess that before coming in Malta have never heard about Maltese language. I thought it was a variety of English because of political domination of Great Britain on the island. I was very surprised when I read in a guide that in Malta there are two official languages: English and Maltese. Some other information that attracted me was the history of the language that is very complex and full of interesting facts. When I arrived in Malta I heard Maltese people speaking their own language and I was very surprised by its particular sound. It was similar to the Arabic language because of frequent use of “h”, I think. When I watch Maltese television I have a strange impression that I understand a lot of words without them making sense. It’s because Maltese speaking insert a lot of Italian and English words in their speech. Our teacher explained us that Maltese people prefer to count in English because it’s easier and shorter. Maltese numbers are very long and difficult to pronounce. I liked a lot Maltese songs: it’s very nice to listen to the singers that sing in Maltese.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 9th, 2008 at 11:02 am and is filed under Experiences in Malta.