Fluent Yorkshire
Fluent Greek (Worked in Crete many years)
Semi fluent Maltese (Lived there 5 years
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Fluent Yorkshire
Fluent Greek (Worked in Crete many years)
Semi fluent Maltese (Lived there 5 years
Quick questions Ludlow: What is the most common second language in Malta?Quote:
Originally Posted by Ludlowmiller
I know that English is frequently spoken as a second language in Europe but is it common to find that there are some locals dealing with the public who speak only Maltese and are thus uni-lingual?
English is widely spoken and is the official 2nd language of the country. The youngster's English is nigh on perfect without a hint of a malti accent...HOWEVER...there is sustained support, especially amongst the elder folk, to maintain the old 2nd langauge, being Italian.
Rather embarrassingly, the older folk are intent on promoting Italian over English..and very often resort to 'Italian' out of ignorance hoping that the Brits will not understand...most of the time they are right about that of course!
Only the farmers etc in the very rural areas are mono lingual...just a sort of throaty malti is all they speak...it's very dialected depending on village and location...2 or 3 miles apart can almost create an insurmoutable language barrier because the dialect is SO pronounced
Thanks for the feedback, Ludlow, I've always had a sort of fascination with foreign languages, but must admit French was my weakest subject in school (usually the recipe was finding a French girlfriend).
I have always been a terrible singer, my Tettenhall father-in-law once told me, in a semi-joking manner, that my singing sounded like an elephant pulling its foot out of the mud...he wasn't far wrong! Perhaps the key is being able to develop an ear for picking up a language...I can speak French better than I can understand it...thus my struggle to master any 'second' language...or sing!!
I'd have to say urdu tho not very good at it...and now just the odd word or two...my ex was asian we were together 15 years, he left 6 years ago now so have no reason to use it...I understood more than I let on (to his family) lol and I would let them know if I caught them talking about me ha ha.
Schoolboy French which gets you by , touch of Spanish by just adding and o to words , works wonders !
Did a wee bit of French at school but it was all Greek to me.
I'm surprised at that, when I visited Malta (many years ago), I got the feeling the older Maltese and Italian tourists didn't get on, when I asked the barman in the hotel about it, he said it was because of the war and the batttering Malta took. :?Quote:
Originally Posted by Ludlowmiller
I speak reasonably good Spanish , having lived and worked there for a little over a year .I am also trying to learn French .
Can get by at French, would love to learn Spanish (and that's gonna be essential for my plans)