Why Maltese is the most fascinating language you probably know nothing about
Let’s start with a little quiz. What do you think these are?
Kejk
Kexx
Habbkapp
Mowbijl
Here’s a clue. The words are all English, co-opted into Maltese. The answers are at the bottom of the article*
Maltese is an extraordinary language. Like this Mediterranean island nation’s food and culture, it is a fusion of the influences that have passed this way in the last millennium – and there have been many. Anyone who was anyone in the Mediterranean region wanted Malta’s deep, safe harbours, from Phoenicians to Arabs, medieval European monarchs to the British Royal Navy.
Maltese, or Malti, has Arabic syntax and pronunciation, but it’s the only Semitic tongue to be written in Roman script, and more than half its vocabulary comes from Europe. For centuries it has picked up words from neighbouring Sicily and from the pan-European Knights of St John (the Knights of Malta), who ruled here for 250 years until the British took over in 1800 bringing the next linguistic twist.
Malta is bilingual – Maltese and English are both official languages. Day-to-day, they mix like milk and cereal – and yes, it occasionally gets a little soggy.
Watching Maltese TV I understand about one word in eight, English words bobbing in the Maltese: “… anyway …dance … about him … OK”. No matter that it could all be said perfectly well in either one of the languages; it is much more fun to fraternise.
This mashup is known as Manglish. You might hear a mother dropping her child at the school gate say, “tiha kiss il-mummy” (“Give mummy a kiss”) or a friend ask his mate: “Tigi mieghi, niehdu drink il-lejla?” (“Will you join me for a drink this evening?”).
Britons visiting Malta do not need to learn Maltese; everyone speaks English. But having a rough idea how to pronounce it can be useful. It helps with saying where you are going – perhaps to Mnajdra and Ħaġar Qim (a neighbouring pair of Malta’s unique Neolithic temples, older than Stonehenge) pronounced ‘Imnaiydra and Haja Eem’. Or maybe to the south coast of Gozo and pretty little Xlendi Bay – pronounced ‘Shlendi’.
There can still be confusion, especially when you aren’t sure which language is leading. Now you know ‘x’ is said ‘sh’, you might wonder about the ħaxix van that calls regularly at the village square, or what is happening in the xita. You may be relieved – or disappointed – to know that ħaxix means vegetables and xita is rain.
Manglish even gave Malta the name of its favourite beer. Mega-rich Maltese banker John Scicluna, owner of a mini Versailles, Palazzo Parisio, that still stand in Naxxar (Nasshar, first introduced cheques to Malta. As a result he earned the nickname ‘Cisk’ (pronounced chisk), a mangling of ‘cheques’. When he later opened a brewery he called his product Cisk, and it remains the best-selling lager in the land.
So let’s raise a glass to Maltese, English and Manglish – long may they mingle. ‘Saħħa” (health), Cheers!
* cake, cash, hubcap, mobile
Read more: The best hotels in Malta
