Monday, November 19, 2012

Speaking Maltese - Lesson 1 - Maltese Pronounciation

Maltese (Malti)


Maltese is a Central Semitic language spoken by about 350,000 people on the Mediterranean islands of Malta and Gozo. The Maltese language developed from the Siculo-Arabic or Sicilian Arabic, a form of Arabic that developed in Sicily and Malta between the 9th and 14th centuries. Siculo-Arabic was extinct in Sicily by about 1300, but continued to be spoken in Malta and evolved into Maltese. The first reference to Malta having a distinct language dates from 1364, and the language is first referred to as lingua maltensi in the will of a certain Pawlu Peregrino from 1436.

There is also a theory that Maltese developed from Carthaginian or Punic, the language of Carthage, which was a form of Phoenician. This theory was endorsed by Giacomo Bosio in his book, Dell'Istoria della Sacra Religione et Illustrissima Militia di San Giovanni Gierosolimitano (The History of the Sacred Religion and Illustrious Militia of St John of Jerusalem), written between 1594 and 1602. As Carthaginian and Arabic are both Semitic languages that developed from the same roots, it is difficult to be sure whether Maltese words arrived via Carthaginian or Arabic.
The first known literary text in Maltese, II Cantilena, appeared during the 15th century, the first Maltese dicitonary was published in 1649.

As well as the Arabs who began taking over Malta in 870 AD, Malta was occupied by Norman-speaking Normans from 1090, and between 1530 and 1798 by the Knights Hospitaller of St John who spoke French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Latin and German. In 1800 Malta became a British colony and the British tried to replace Italian with English as the local language. As a result, about half of the vocabulary of Maltese comes from Sicilian and Italian, and a fifth comes from English. Maltese also contains quite a bit of vocabulary from Norman and French.

After Malta become independent in 1964 both English and Maltese were given official status and Maltese became the national language of Malta. Today Maltese is used in most sectors of public life, including parliament, the church, the press and other media, and in general conversation. English is generally the preferred medium of instruction in schools, especially at the higher levels of the educational system.


Maltese alphabet  
A a B bĊ ċ  D d  E e  F fĠ ġG g    Għ għ H h
a  be  ċe  de  e  ef   ġe ge    ajn   akka
Ħ ħI i  Ie ie J j  K k L l M mN n O oP p
ħe  i  ie  je  ke  elle   emme enne    o   pe
Q q R rS s T t U u  V v W wX x Ż żZ z
qe  erre  esse  te  u  ve   we exxe    że  ze

A recording of the Maltese alphabet  FROM
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheHuSkY1984








Maltese pronunciation

Maltese pronunciation

Notes

  • is silent but pharyngealizes and lengthens vowels
  • h has a simliar function to
  • and h at the end of a word are both pronounced as ħ
  • għh = ħħ
  • Final consonants are devoiced: b = [p], d = [t], ġ = [ʧ], g = [k], v = [f], ż = [s]
  • i before għ, h, ħ or q = [iː]
  • m followed by a consonant at the beginning of a word is pronounced im, e.g. mnejn = [imnejn]

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Coastal Towers of the Knights of Malta (Part 2)


This is the second part of the series about coastal towers erected by the Knights of Malta. The first part dealt with the towers built during the reign of Grand Masters Wignacourt and Lascaris. 1658-59 saw the construction of Grand Master Martino De Redin's famous set of 13 coastal watch-towers that were designed to send early warning signals along Malta's coast to Valletta. De Redin completed the set in 1660 with the tower at Mġarr ix-Xini on Gozo's southern coast. See also Ta' Sopu Tower built by Grand Master Cottoner in 1667 in the vicinity of San Blas and Daħlet Qorrot in Gozo.

Music by Arthur Sullivan: Macbeth Overture, Cello Concerto 3rd Movement (extract).

Posted on You Tube by http://youtu.be/-oY-cSBqLgk

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Coastal Towers of the Knights of Malta (Part 1)



A tour of the towers erected around the coasts of Malta and Gozo by Grand Masters Wignacourt and Lascaris during the period 1609 to 1652. Wignacourt's towers are massive structures that were armed with heavy artillery and strong garrisons. By contrast, Lascaris's towers were smaller affairs that served mostly as watchtowers (one notable exception being St. Agatha's Tower, or Red Tower, in Mellieħa that guarded the Malta/Comino channel as well as Għadira Bay). Lascaris's towers were the predecessors for De Redin's towers that were used to send early warning signals along Malta's coast to Valletta. De Redin's towers are featured in Part 2.


Video provided by http://youtu.be/Kijap5L8pbg

Friday, November 16, 2012

THANK YOU - Archdiocese of Malta for Digitizing the Maltese Microfilms !!!!


From Microfilms to Digital Media


The Hill Museum & Manuscript Library began microfilming the archival collections of the Cathedral of Mdina, Malta, in 1973 under the direction of Mgr John Azzopardi. Filming concluded in 1989 after 8,229 books and manuscripts had been filmed. The microfilming project at the cathedral also included books, music manuscripts, and archival materials from other ecclesiastical institutions and private collections in Malta and Gozo. The contents of the materials filmed date from the eleventh to the twentieth century.
Among the various manuscripts microfilmed in Malta we find the Archives of the Archbishop's Curia in Floriana.

The Archives of the Archbishop of Malta, located in Floriana, contain the diocesan records from 1531 to 1898, along with some miscellaneous items dating from 1450 to 1928. These documents are housed in Floriana.

The Archdiocese of Malta has transferred all its microfilms into digital media to make them available over the internet.  This will enable the Archives to be more reachable by researchers and the casual visitor alike. 
The Archives of the Archbishop of Malta hold more than is being published here.  Researchers and visitors are more than welcome to visit and do research at the Archives of the Archbishop at the Archbishop's Curia in Floriana Malta.
This is an ongoing project and the Archdiocese of Malta is still digitizing Manuscripts found especially in the Mater Dei and Sancte Laurenti Archives.


Your way through this website

http://archives.maltadiocese.org/Home.aspx

 


Thursday, November 15, 2012

Australian Visit Oct/Nov 2012



Australia has never been better.  The Business Class over from 

Los Angeles was a perfect way to travel to Sydney, Australia.  

After a couple of glasses of wine and a good nights rest, I 

arrived in Sydney at 6 am.  I was, first off, and through 

customs and immigration.  I had a list a mile long of things I 

wanted to do and didn't waste any time.

WELCOME!

Welcome to BACK to MALTA blog!

There are more Maltese outside the Maltese Islands than there are citizens residing in the country itself. The Maltese outside Malta are either emigrants or descendents of emigrants. The countries which have most traditionally hosted the Maltese diaspora are Australia, Canada, the U.S.A., and Britain. Nevertheless, there are Maltese living in virtually every country around the world and this blog will travel the world in hopes of bringing the Maltese back to Malta.

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