Birgu (Malta)
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- Social relationsword and phrases useful for the social contacts in the city
- Signing the wayhow to find your way in the city and how to understand city signs
- Signing the needsevery day needs such as shops, restaurants, services
- Signing the placeswords and phrases about the most important places in the city
- Signing the atmospherehow to feel the city
THE MALTESE LANGUAGE
Maltese is the only Semitic language written in the Latin alphabet in its standard form. The oldest known document in Maltese is "Il Cantilena," a poem from the 15th century written by Pietro Caxaro as well as the military list of 1419-20 which contains, places, names and nicknames in Arabic.
The Maltese language developed from the Phoenician and subsequently Arabic spoken by the Arabs who invaded and occupied Malta in 870 AD. Malta was occupied by French-speaking Normans in 1090. Between 1530 and 1798 Malta served as the base for the Knights Hospitaller of St John, whose records were written in Italian and Latin. Malta became a British colony in 1800 and the British tried to replace Italian with English as the second language. For centuries, Maltese was nearly exclusively a spoken language, with writing being done in Arabic, or later, Italian. All foreign dominations left their imprint on the Maltese language.
After Malta become independent in 1964 both English and Maltese were given official status and Maltese became the national language of Malta. Today Maltese is used in most sectors of public life, including parliament, the church, the press and other media, and in general conversation. English is generally the preferred medium of instruction in schools, especially at the higher levels of the educational system. Both Maltese and English are the official languages of the state of Malta.
The Maltese alphabet
Letter | Word | Pronounced... | Meaning |
A | Anglu Xatt | long like ‘a' in ‘far' or short like ‘u' in shut | angel shore |
B | Blu | like english b | blue |
ÄŠ | ÄŠoff | like ch in 'church' | bow, tie |
D | Demm | as de in devil | blood |
E | Ekonomija Hena | short, as e in 'shed long, as ai in 'hair' | economy happiness |
F | Frott | like english f | fruit |
Ä | Ä ifen | like g in gem | vessel |
G | Gardell | like g in 'great' | goldfinch |
Għ | Għazla | regarded as a single letter in maltese. it is silent or pronounced as h in ‘house' if at the end of the word | choice |
H | Fehem
Fih | silent within a word;
| understand, realize
|
Ħ | Ħamsa | like h in 'house' | five |
I | Fitt Ilu | short, as i in 'fit' long, as ee in 'jeep' | pushy ago |
IE | Bniedem | this is a two letter vowel, and occurs only as a long vowel. phonetically it sounds like ee, in beer. | person |
J | Jannar | like y in 'yes' | january |
K | Kelma | like k in 'kit', pronounced as ke in kettle | word |
L | Landa | like l in 'life' | tin |
M | Mans | like english ‘m' | domestic |
N | Nisel | like english ‘n' | origin |
O | Bott Sod | short, like o in got long, like aw in law | taunt stiff |
P | Patata | like english ‘p' | potato |
Q | Qabad | compared to the cockney sound of the final letter in the english word "that" | seize |
R | Razzett | pronounced as r in rain | farmhouse |
S | Sinjur | pronounced se as in set | gentlemen, sir |
T | Tfajla | pronounced te as in tell | yes |
U | Pulptu Ħut | short, like u in 'full' long, like oo in 'fool' | pulpit fish |
V | Velu | pronounced ve as in vessel | veil |
W | Woda | pronounced we as in well | water |
X | Xemx | like sh in ‘shape' | sun |
Ź | Å»jara | like z in ‘zebra' | a visit |
Å» | Zekzek | the italian z but has two different sounds. like z in zorro and like ts in nuts | to hiss |