In the first post regarding the Maltese language, I introduced the alphabet.
Today, following my notes order, I am going to write about the article, but first let me add that in the Maltese alphabet the consonants are arranged in two groups:
Sun Consonants: Ċ, D, N, R, S, T, X, Z, Ż
Moon Consonants: B, F, Ġ, Ħ, J, K, L, M, P, Q, V, W
This grouping will make easier to remember the rules for a correct use of the articles.
The Maltese language actually has only one article: il-
Note that the article requires to be separated from the following word with a "-" (dash).
Even though it is written as one of the Italian articles, its usage is in fact very similar to the English the: it remains the same regardless the number and the genre of the noun it precedes.
However, unlike the English article, the Maltese one changes slightly depending on the first letter of the following word.
If the following word starts with a The article is
Vowel A, E, I, O, U, IE L-
GĦ, H L-
Sun consonants I<consonant>-
Moon consonants IL-
Basically, when the word that follows starts with a sun consonants the L changes into that consonant. If the word that follows starts with a vowel, the I is dropped. In all the other cases the article is always IL-.
Since għ and h do not have a sound on themselves, the rule is the same of the vowels one.
Some examples:
L-Ilma The water
L-Ieħor The other one
L-Ħobż The breadIĊ-Ċirasa The cherry
ID-Dar The house
IX-Xita The rain
IL-Mara The woman
The last example "il-mara" gives me the opportunity to introduce one characteristic of the Maltese language: adding the article to a word, can change the meaning of it.
In this case, "il-mara" can be used with the meaning "my wife".
To distinguish these cases in writing, the general rule is to change to capital the first letter of the word following the article.
In speaking, the intended meaning can be understood from the context.
Some examples:
Il-mara The woman
Il-Mara My wife
Il-raġel The man
Il-Raġel My husband
L-erbgħa The four
L-Erbgħa Wednesday
As far as I know, there are no exceptions to the rules for determining the correct article, but I cannot be completely sure, being my knowledge limited.
Native Maltese speakers, am I correct?
Showing posts with label language. Show all posts
Showing posts with label language. Show all posts
Saturday, 24 September 2016
Wednesday, 3 August 2016
The Maltese language
Today I have received a letter from the MCAST institute with the score of the final assessment exam.
During the past four months I have attended the Maltese for Foreigners Level 1 course that was focused on the very basic of the grammar and the understanding of short text and speaking.
In general, learning a new language is a difficult task that requires a good effort especially at the beginning.
Considering that I am trying to improve my English at the same moment, learning Maltese is even more difficult for me considering the small amount of time I can dedicate to it.
Many teachers suggest the best way to learn a language is immerse yourself into it: I am listening radio (in Malta there are a few of very good stations), watching TV (even though, in general, I am not used to) and put some effort in trying to translate what native speakers say.
While waiting for the starting date of the next course of Maltese language (yes, I have passed the exam with a quite good score ☺ ), I have decided to revisit what I have learned writing a series of post in this blog.
Maltese alphabet is composed of 30 letters:
A B Ċ D E F Ġ G GĦ H Ħ I IE J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Ż Z
a b ċ d e f ġ g għ h ħ i ie j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x ż z
Maltese language is very phonetic and, with some very minor exceptions, letters are pronounced always in the same manner.
The author of this video spells the alphabet:
I have to say that for an Italian native the most difficult letters are "q", a guttural sound, and "ħ" the "sounding h" somewhat similar to the English one that we find so difficult to pronounce correctly.
On the other hand, even though not very difficult to pronounce, I find very difficult to distinguish ż from z when native people speak.
Għ is a particular case: it does not have sound per-se, but prolongs the vowel that precedes it. This is what the official rule says.
Unfortunately, native speakers pronounce it in several fashion because of dialects.
tiegħi (= mine/my) is pronounced "tiAi", "tiEi" or "tii-i" depending of the village of origin of the speaker.
There are a few other exceptions, but in general reading Maltese language consists in connecting the sounds of the alphabet letters.
Il-bnedmin kollha jitwieldu ħielsa u ugwali fid-dinjità u d-drittijiet. Huma mogħnija bir-raġuni u bil-kuxjenza u għandhom igibu ruħhom ma' xulxin bi spirtu ta' aħwa.
English
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
During the past four months I have attended the Maltese for Foreigners Level 1 course that was focused on the very basic of the grammar and the understanding of short text and speaking.
In general, learning a new language is a difficult task that requires a good effort especially at the beginning.
Considering that I am trying to improve my English at the same moment, learning Maltese is even more difficult for me considering the small amount of time I can dedicate to it.
Many teachers suggest the best way to learn a language is immerse yourself into it: I am listening radio (in Malta there are a few of very good stations), watching TV (even though, in general, I am not used to) and put some effort in trying to translate what native speakers say.
While waiting for the starting date of the next course of Maltese language (yes, I have passed the exam with a quite good score ☺ ), I have decided to revisit what I have learned writing a series of post in this blog.
The alphabet
Maltese alphabet is composed of 30 letters:
A B Ċ D E F Ġ G GĦ H Ħ I IE J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Ż Z
a b ċ d e f ġ g għ h ħ i ie j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x ż z
Maltese language is very phonetic and, with some very minor exceptions, letters are pronounced always in the same manner.
The author of this video spells the alphabet:
I have to say that for an Italian native the most difficult letters are "q", a guttural sound, and "ħ" the "sounding h" somewhat similar to the English one that we find so difficult to pronounce correctly.
On the other hand, even though not very difficult to pronounce, I find very difficult to distinguish ż from z when native people speak.
Għ is a particular case: it does not have sound per-se, but prolongs the vowel that precedes it. This is what the official rule says.
Unfortunately, native speakers pronounce it in several fashion because of dialects.
Example:
tiegħi (= mine/my) is pronounced "tiAi", "tiEi" or "tii-i" depending of the village of origin of the speaker.
There are a few other exceptions, but in general reading Maltese language consists in connecting the sounds of the alphabet letters.
Example (from Ager, Simon. "Omniglot - writing systems and languages of the world" www.omniglot.com):
MalteseIl-bnedmin kollha jitwieldu ħielsa u ugwali fid-dinjità u d-drittijiet. Huma mogħnija bir-raġuni u bil-kuxjenza u għandhom igibu ruħhom ma' xulxin bi spirtu ta' aħwa.
English
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
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