THE MALTA ENGLISH ACCENT
If you have the opportunity to travel to Malta or meet a Maltese person, you will see that their accent is very characteristic and can be easily recognized. This is because English has been influenced by Maltese, which is the native language of the island. And since Maltese has influences from Arabic and Italian, these are also transmitted to English.
With ABA English you can learn to understand the Malta English accent easily and enjoyably, as the course includes access to many resources that will help you in your learning.
MALTA ENGLISH ACCENT
As we said before, this accent originates from the influence of Maltese on English, but in reality, it won’t be too difficult to understand because Maltese people articulate well and don’t speak too fast. However, you will notice that the sounds do vary from American or British English.
On the other hand, Malta is a destination that many choose to learn to speak English. But whatever your interest in knowing the Maltese accent, you have come to the right place. Here we explain the main characteristics so you can understand the English of Malta.
HOW IS THE MALTA ACCENT PRONOUNCED?
As in other accents, the th sound /θ/ as in birth/bɜrθ/ is pronounced as strong as a /t/, that is /bɜrt/. And the th sound /ð/ is pronounced /d/. For example, in the /ði/ Maltese people pronounce /di/.
On the other hand, Maltese speak more slowly than a native English or American speaker. Also, understandably, they have a strong influence of Italian and Arabic, and this is also reflected in the intonation of sentences.
And although there are no special grammatical structures in Maltese English, you can find some very common colloquial expressions, like the use of ‘taaa!’ which means ‘right?’
And finally, it is also necessary to talk about body language. Maltese tend to use some physical expressions, such as passing their hand on the neck, first with a fist and then with the fingers, to indicate that something is not right. This is typical of their body language but mixes with the way they communicate in English.
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