- Official language in
- Malta
- Script
- Latin
Where it's spoken
Maltese is the national language of Malta. Malta's Constitution also makes Maltese and English the official languages of Malta. Maltese has also been an official language of the European Union since Malta joined the Union.
Sources
- Constitution of Malta, Article 5 (Language) — Art. 5(1)–(2): national language and official languages
- European Union — "The official languages of the EU" — Maltese listed among the 24 official EU languages, since Malta's accession
Script & pronunciation
Maltese is written in the Latin alphabet, with five extra letters — ċ, ġ, għ, ħ and ż — added for sounds that plain Latin letters do not cover. Ħ is a stronger, more forceful version of the English 'h' sound and can appear at the start, middle or end of a word, as in this app's card Saħħa ('Goodbye / Cheers'). Ġ is pronounced like the English 'j' in 'John', as in the card Bonġu ('Hello / Welcome'). Ż is pronounced like a stronger English 'z', as in the card Skużi ('Excuse me'). Ċ is pronounced like the English 'ch' in 'church', as in the card Jiddispjaċini ('Sorry'). Għ is unpronounced on its own and instead lengthens a neighbouring vowel, as in the card Għandi riżervazzjoni ('I have a reservation').
The definite article il- (or l- before a vowel) also changes shape before certain other consonants: its l merges completely into a following ċ, d, n, r, s, t, x, z or ż, so il-dar ('the house') is written id-dar. This app's card asking about the house wine has tad-dar, built from ta' ('of') plus id-dar.
Sources
- Aquilina, Joseph (1965). Maltese. Teach Yourself Books, Hodder and Stoughton — p.11 (alphabet list); pp.12–15 (letter-by-letter pronunciation table); pp.20–21 (definite article assimilation)
Grammar essentials
Maltese negates a verb by wrapping it in ma before and a stress-bearing x after: hu jiekol ('he eats') becomes ma jiekolx ('he does not eat'). Before a vowel, or before a silent h or għ, ma shortens to m'. This app's card for 'I don't understand' follows the same pattern, with Ma nifhimx.
A sentence with no separate verb, such as one that identifies or describes something, is instead negated with mhux placed before the complement. This app's card warning that the internet is weak uses the same word: L-internet mhux qawwi hawnhekk ('The internet is not strong here').
Maltese has no verb for 'to have'; possession is instead expressed with the preposition għand plus a pronoun suffix, and it is negated the same way as a verb, with m' before it and x after: għandi is 'I have' and m'għandix is 'I have not'. This app's cards show both forms: Għandi riżervazzjoni ('I have a reservation') and M'għandix riżervazzjoni ('I don't have a reservation').
Sources
- Aquilina, Joseph (1965). Maltese. Teach Yourself Books, Hodder and Stoughton — p.96 (mhux negating a verbless statement); pp.107-108 (għand + pronoun suffix for "to have"); p.138 (ma ... x verb negation)
Politeness & etiquette
The standard word for 'please', jekk jogħġbok, is literally a conditional clause: jekk means 'if', and this app's cards gloss jogħġbok as 'it pleases you'. Addressing more than one person, the pronoun suffix changes to give jekk jogħġobkom. This app's card for the everyday singular Jekk jogħġbok ('Please') is tagged neutral, while its card using the plural, Jekk jogħġobkom, oqogħdu attenti ħafna ('Please be very careful'), is tagged formal.
Sources
- Aquilina, Joseph (1965). Maltese. Teach Yourself Books, Hodder and Stoughton — p.223, Conditional Sentences: jekk 'if'