Search results for 'tag:British English tag:Malta' matching tags 'British English' and 'Malta'

English spoken in Malta

LulÃº — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 18:29:23 GMT

Hello,

I'm studying English and I'm especially interested in the linguistic situation of Malta. Can we find any linguistic differences between British English and the English spoken in Malta? If so, what kind of differences, exactly? I mean, can we find, for instance, differences in pronunciation, vocabulary or even syntax? I'd really appreciate it if someone who lives or has ever been there could give me some examples or tell me his opinion.

What I wonder is: we talk about British, Irish, or Australian English, but can we also talk about Maltese English?

Thanks in advance!

Re: Will English be the global language in the future?

monfrancom — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 16:45:48 GMT

Mike In Japan wrote:
When one considers that the countries on the following list, and a multitude of other countries, have deep historical if not current connections with Britain and British English, I think it is quite likely that the use of Bitish English is far more widespread and popular than one might think at first glance.
Aden (Yemen)
Ascension Island
Anguilla
Australia
Bahamas
Bahrain
Barbados
Basutoland (Lesotho)
Bechuanaland (Botswana)
Bermuda
British Cameroon
British Guyana (Guyana)
British Honduras (Belize)
British Somaliland (Somalia)
British Solomon Islands
Brunei
Burma (Myanmar)
Canada
Cayman Islands
Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
Cook Islands
Cyprus
Falkland Islands and dependencies
Egypt
Fiji
Gambia
Gibraltar
Gilbert and Ellice Islands (Kiribati & Tuvalu)
Gold Coast (Ghana)
Grenada
Hong Kong
India (included Pakistan & Bangladesh)
Iraq
Ireland
Jamaica
Kenya
Kuwait
Malaya (West Malaysia)
Maldive Islands
Malta
Mauritius
Montserrat
Newfoundland (Canada)
New Hebrides (with France) Vanuatu
New Zealand
North Borneo (Sabah)
Nyasaland (Malawi)
Oman
Papua New Guinea
Palestine (Falestin/Israel)
Pitcairn Island
Qatar
Rhodesia (Zimbabwe and Zambia)
Sarawak (East Malaysia)
St Helena
St Kitts
St Lucia
St Vincent
Seychelles
South Africa
Swaziland
Tanganyika (Tanzania)
Tonga
Transjordan (Jordan)
Trinidad
Tristan Da Cunha
Trucial Oman (United Arab Emirates)
Turks and Caicos Islands
Uganda
Western Samoa
Zanzibar (Tanzania) Aden (Yemen)
Ascension Island
Anguilla
Australia
Bahamas
Bahrain
Barbados
Basutoland (Lesotho)
Bechuanaland (Botswana)
Bermuda
British Cameroon
British Guyana (Guyana)
British Honduras (Belize)
British Somaliland (Somalia)
British Solomon Islands
Brunei
Burma (Myanmar)
Canada
Cayman Islands
Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
Cook Islands
Cyprus
Falkland Islands and dependencies
Egypt
Fiji
Gambia
Gibraltar
Gilbert and Ellice Islands (Kiribati & Tuvalu)
Gold Coast (Ghana)
Grenada
Hong Kong
India (included Pakistan & Bangladesh)
Iraq
Ireland
Jamaica
Kenya
Kuwait
Malaya (West Malaysia)
Maldive Islands
Malta
Mauritius
Montserrat
Newfoundland (Canada)
New Hebrides (with France) Vanuatu
New Zealand
North Borneo (Sabah)
Nyasaland (Malawi)
Oman
Papua New Guinea
Palestine (Falestin/Israel)
Pitcairn Island
Qatar
Rhodesia (Zimbabwe and Zambia)
Sarawak (East Malaysia)
St Helena
St Kitts
St Lucia
St Vincent
Seychelles
South Africa
Swaziland
Tanganyika (Tanzania)
Tonga
Transjordan (Jordan)
Trinidad
Tristan Da Cunha
Trucial Oman (United Arab Emirates)
Turks and Caicos Islands
Uganda
Western Samoa
Zanzibar (Tanzania)

I note your reference to britain and british english in your opening remark. Canada is in your list, but United States isn't. Why is that? Canadian spoken english is no more british than united statesan english.

Re: Will English be the global language in the future?

Mike in Japan — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 07:53:57 GMT

When one considers that the countries on the following list, and a multitude of other countries, have deep historical if not current connections with Britain and British English, I think it is quite likely that the use of Bitish English is far more widespread and popular than one might think at first glance.
Aden (Yemen)
Ascension Island
Anguilla
Australia
Bahamas
Bahrain
Barbados
Basutoland (Lesotho)
Bechuanaland (Botswana)
Bermuda
British Cameroon
British Guyana (Guyana)
British Honduras (Belize)
British Somaliland (Somalia)
British Solomon Islands
Brunei
Burma (Myanmar)
Canada
Cayman Islands
Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
Cook Islands
Cyprus
Falkland Islands and dependencies
Egypt
Fiji
Gambia
Gibraltar
Gilbert and Ellice Islands (Kiribati & Tuvalu)
Gold Coast (Ghana)
Grenada
Hong Kong
India (included Pakistan & Bangladesh)
Iraq
Ireland
Jamaica
Kenya
Kuwait
Malaya (West Malaysia)
Maldive Islands
Malta
Mauritius
Montserrat
Newfoundland (Canada)
New Hebrides (with France) Vanuatu
New Zealand
North Borneo (Sabah)
Nyasaland (Malawi)
Oman
Papua New Guinea
Palestine (Falestin/Israel)
Pitcairn Island
Qatar
Rhodesia (Zimbabwe and Zambia)
Sarawak (East Malaysia)
St Helena
St Kitts
St Lucia
St Vincent
Seychelles
South Africa
Swaziland
Tanganyika (Tanzania)
Tonga
Transjordan (Jordan)
Trinidad
Tristan Da Cunha
Trucial Oman (United Arab Emirates)
Turks and Caicos Islands
Uganda
Western Samoa
Zanzibar (Tanzania) Aden (Yemen)
Ascension Island
Anguilla
Australia
Bahamas
Bahrain
Barbados
Basutoland (Lesotho)
Bechuanaland (Botswana)
Bermuda
British Cameroon
British Guyana (Guyana)
British Honduras (Belize)
British Somaliland (Somalia)
British Solomon Islands
Brunei
Burma (Myanmar)
Canada
Cayman Islands
Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
Cook Islands
Cyprus
Falkland Islands and dependencies
Egypt
Fiji
Gambia
Gibraltar
Gilbert and Ellice Islands (Kiribati & Tuvalu)
Gold Coast (Ghana)
Grenada
Hong Kong
India (included Pakistan & Bangladesh)
Iraq
Ireland
Jamaica
Kenya
Kuwait
Malaya (West Malaysia)
Maldive Islands
Malta
Mauritius
Montserrat
Newfoundland (Canada)
New Hebrides (with France) Vanuatu
New Zealand
North Borneo (Sabah)
Nyasaland (Malawi)
Oman
Papua New Guinea
Palestine (Falestin/Israel)
Pitcairn Island
Qatar
Rhodesia (Zimbabwe and Zambia)
Sarawak (East Malaysia)
St Helena
St Kitts
St Lucia
St Vincent
Seychelles
South Africa
Swaziland
Tanganyika (Tanzania)
Tonga
Transjordan (Jordan)
Trinidad
Tristan Da Cunha
Trucial Oman (United Arab Emirates)
Turks and Caicos Islands
Uganda
Western Samoa
Zanzibar (Tanzania)

Re: Why American English??

Guest — Wed, 16 Mar 2005 13:29:25 GMT

American English is only really spoken in America! Of course a few Japanese and Koreans try hard too - but generally speaking the English spoken in Britain, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Hong Kon, Malaysia, Singapore, Malta, Pakistan etc. etc., is far closer to BrE (British English).
There is no doubt that if you want to compare the two, BrE wins out hands down! Of course American Film and T.V. productions are prevalent in many of the abovementioned countries, so it is possible this situation will change - but for the foreseeable future there is little or no doubt that BrE is far more widespread and popular (and dare I say a lot more accurate).

Re: Is American English lazy English?

Mike in Japan — Tue, 09 Sep 2003 01:33:05 GMT

Thanks Pemmican for your well thought out comments. You strike me as a diligent language scholar, so I greatly appreciate what you have to say.

Of course only a fool would argue that the popularization of American English should or could be reversed, so do you think we may see the day where American English is regarded as the international standard, and British is regarded as classical English?
As a teacher I am concerned as to whether it is more appropriate to teach British English, American English or both. When teaching professional people and academics, I always lean toward British English, whilst for regular folk interested in English for travel, entertainment etc, I probably lean toward American English.

The English speaking media is now dominated by American productions, and so many non native English speakers are influenced by American English, but internationally, who have the weight of numbers - British style language users or American style users? I would hazard a guess that it's the Brit. style users. When one considers that the countries on the following list and a multitude of other nations have deep historical if not current connections with Britain and British English, I think it is quite likely that the use of Bitish English is far more widespread and popular than one might think at first glance.
Aden (Yemen)
Ascension Island
Anguilla
Australia
Bahamas
Bahrain
Barbados
Basutoland (Lesotho)
Bechuanaland (Botswana)
Bermuda
British Cameroon
British Guyana (Guyana)
British Honduras (Belize)
British Somaliland (Somalia)
British Solomon Islands
Brunei
Burma (Myanmar)
Canada
Cayman Islands
Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
Cook Islands
Cyprus
Falkland Islands and dependencies
Egypt
Fiji
Gambia
Gibraltar
Gilbert and Ellice Islands (Kiribati & Tuvalu)
Gold Coast (Ghana)
Grenada
Hong Kong
India (included Pakistan & Bangladesh)
Iraq
Ireland
Jamaica
Kenya
Kuwait
Malaya (West Malaysia)
Maldive Islands
Malta
Mauritius
Montserrat
Newfoundland (Canada)
New Hebrides (with France) Vanuatu
New Zealand
North Borneo (Sabah)
Nyasaland (Malawi)
Oman
Papua New Guinea
Palestine (Falestin/Israel)
Pitcairn Island
Qatar
Rhodesia (Zimbabwe and Zambia)
Sarawak (East Malaysia)
St Helena
St Kitts
St Lucia
St Vincent
Seychelles
South Africa
Swaziland
Tanganyika (Tanzania)
Tonga
Transjordan (Jordan)
Trinidad
Tristan Da Cunha
Trucial Oman (United Arab Emirates)
Turks and Caicos Islands
Uganda
Western Samoa
Zanzibar (Tanzania) Aden (Yemen)
Ascension Island
Anguilla
Australia
Bahamas
Bahrain
Barbados
Basutoland (Lesotho)
Bechuanaland (Botswana)
Bermuda
British Cameroon
British Guyana (Guyana)
British Honduras (Belize)
British Somaliland (Somalia)
British Solomon Islands
Brunei
Burma (Myanmar)
Canada
Cayman Islands
Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
Cook Islands
Cyprus
Falkland Islands and dependencies
Egypt
Fiji
Gambia
Gibraltar
Gilbert and Ellice Islands (Kiribati & Tuvalu)
Gold Coast (Ghana)
Grenada
Hong Kong
India (included Pakistan & Bangladesh)
Iraq
Ireland
Jamaica
Kenya
Kuwait
Malaya (West Malaysia)
Maldive Islands
Malta
Mauritius
Montserrat
Newfoundland (Canada)
New Hebrides (with France) Vanuatu
New Zealand
North Borneo (Sabah)
Nyasaland (Malawi)
Oman
Papua New Guinea
Palestine (Falestin/Israel)
Pitcairn Island
Qatar
Rhodesia (Zimbabwe and Zambia)
Sarawak (East Malaysia)
St Helena
St Kitts
St Lucia
St Vincent
Seychelles
South Africa
Swaziland
Tanganyika (Tanzania)
Tonga
Transjordan (Jordan)
Trinidad
Tristan Da Cunha
Trucial Oman (United Arab Emirates)
Turks and Caicos Islands
Uganda
Western Samoa
Zanzibar (Tanzania)
Is this relevant? I think to English teachers it is. There are now more non-native English speakers than native ones. This trend will continue. Will the 2-3 hundred million Americans (and a few tens of millions of non-native Am. Eng. users) popularize American English at the expense of the British English which is now spoken by a VASTLY larger number of people? Would it be an improvement?

Re: Does an accent mean bad things?

hitchhiker — Mon, 26 May 2003 00:34:35 GMT

English is used so widely now accents are almost totally expected, and even considered an asset in certain industries!! (take the French and fashion/film/design/style) etc.

Pronunciation is sometimes an issue, but thatâs easily overcome; best idea would be to watch British tv and films (if you can take the dry humour). Itâs a simple way to improve your pronunciation and also watch weird documentaries.

Here's a quote from Chris, which talks about the problems ENGLISH people have understanding other ENGLISH accents!

On the same note, I believe that the English spoken in Malta is far more understandable than most British regional dialects. I've lived in Geordie England (Newcastle) and living there is like living on another planet when it comes to understanding what people are saying.

Similarly, East End cockney, Birmingham Brummy, Scouse Liverpool, Mancunian English and most regional English dialects are extremely difficult for non British English speakers to grasp.

Re: Phrasal Verb of the day

chris — Sun, 25 May 2003 20:49:13 GMT

which makes Mallorca the perfect place to study Spanish!

On the same note, I believe that the English spoken in Malta is far more understandable than most British regional dialects. I've lived in Geordie England (Newcastle) and living there is like living on another planet when it comes to understanding what people are saying.

Similarly, East End cockney, Birmingham Brummy, Scouse Liverpool, Mancunian English and most regional English dialects are extremely difficult for non British English speakers to grasp.

My mother is Scottish and I can't understand half of what comes out of her mouth!