Bollocks. That's all gibberish talk. If you think it isn't, then don't read on. Instead, we urge you to close this page.
These islands, or rather their inhabitants, are incredibly proud to have English as an official language. This is further emphasised by the fact that all the people are perfectly capable of speaking it.
Children don't need to go to school to learn it, for all Maltese are born bilingual. If some aren't, they pick up the language at home, alongside Maltese. Yes, that's how it all happens.
As a matter of fact, when children reach Junior 1, they are already able to grasp the arcana of the language, hence mastering it to perfection. Don't you believe us? Oh, you should have a word with the teachers teaching in primary schools. They would simply love to let you in on a couple of surprises. Although we don't really wish to let on too much, we believe you deserve to know that a good number of them feel practically useless in that classroom when it comes to teaching The Language. So much so that many of them have decided to refund part of their salary, because in reality they don't teach English, at all. They don't have to.
Yes, the Maltese are perfect speakers of the language. Why have we drawn such a conclusion? Again, that is elementary, Watson.
If one were to sit for the MATSEC Advanced Level English exam, they can do so without having a clue about how to speak it, because you see, a language shan't be spoken. God forbid and Heaven forfend that ever were to happen.
That's precisely why many foolish ones believe that all the Maltese are able to speak English without any difficulty. Yes, because by not letting them speak they have the chance to ignore the catastrophic level of spoken English. They may know the language well on paper (not quite) but they certainly leave much to be desired in their speaking skills.
"You have a spexjal trawser today" - as one teacher of English, colleague of ours, once told us - is merely an example. So are the infamous "stuwdyints", "tenk yuw", "haaam bergerrr", "orrajjt" and many, many more.
The same people speaking in this manner might impress the examiners with very (pedantic) flowery language, but that certainly cannot substitute for a sheer lack of fluency.
To cut a long story short, those who, for example, make 'tree' and 'three' sound like the exact same word should, uhmm, what's the word for it? Ah yeah: they should be failed in this section of the exam.
Speaking is - and we hope you see eye to eye with us on this one - a pivotal part of a language, hence it should be tested like any other aspect of a language. What's more is that it should have the same weight as any other componenet of the exam.
The sheer disregard of such crucial assessment has led Malta to this sorry state of affairs with which we now have to contend.
And we had better make it quick, or we will no longer be able we take pride in "Inglixx iz maj lengwicc".
Thank Goodness, somebody on the MATSEC board has finally had an epiphany and come to realise that speaking is actually one of the four skills to be mastered when learning a language. (Yes, only two of those skills are regarded at the moment) 2013 is the year when speaking will start to be tested at Advanced level. Will it have a drastic effect on the general level of English in Malta? Certainly not, yet it's a start.
thenkss god you written dis i has hate how they speaking these people ... i has have to spend all day listening to these peoples insomma keep it up ehhh prosittt...
ReplyDeleteJiddispjacini ha nindahal fiha. Imma intom ghala tipretendu li l-Maltin jitghallmu l-Ingliz tajjeb hafna meta huma ghandhom ilsien taghhom li huwa l-Malti? Huwa tajjeb li jkollhom konoxxenza tal-lingwa Ingliza, però m'hemmx ghala nkunu perfetti. It-Taljani u l-Francizi ma tantx jidhru li jikkuppaw hafna u xorta l-lingwa taghhom jitghallmu sew u jitkellmu. Naraha naqra zejda din li tipretendu li l-Maltin ghandhom ikollhom Ingliz tajjeb zgur.
ReplyDeleteProsit tal-blog imma.
Mid-dehra ma tafx li, b'differenza ghal Franza u l-Italja, f'Malta, l-Ingliz huwa lingwa ufficjali. Ghal din ir-raguni, l-Ingliz u l-Malti ghandhom l-istess importanza fil-gzejjer Maltin. Il-problema hi li hafna nies jinjorawh dan il-fatt.
DeleteI'm partly English and for the most part Gozitan. I've spoken English at home ever since I can remember, and it was the first language I learned properly. Whilst I no longer have such a strong English accent, at least I do not have the appalling accent, if I can dare call it that, that the Maltese and some very rare Gozitans have. I'm not that GOOD at speaking Maltese myself, but when I can I try to use it. I do not understand why the majority of people shun speaking in Maltese, and speak in the horrifying language that they call English. It is a pain to listen to, and gets on my nerves. However, when I start speaking in English properly, for the most part they have the nerve to tell me that we speak Maltese in this country. Yes. I am aware. Then, if you do not mind, why don't you talk in Maltese again, and teach your children to do the same, if you can not speak it properly. And no just because you can hold a conversation in English does not mean you have great English, especially since your English is full of disgustingly bad grammar, and pronunciation. Sorry for the long comment, but this is just one of those things that highly irritate me.
ReplyDeleteWe cannot but love your comment! :)
Delete