English
It is estimated that English loanwords, which are becoming more commonplace, make up 20% of the Maltese vocabulary, although other sources claim amounts as low as 6%. This percentage discrepancy is due to the fact that a number of new English loanwords are sometimes not officially considered part of the Maltese vocabulary; hence, they are not included in certain dictionaries. English loanwords are generally transliterated, although standard English pronunciation is virtually always retained. Below are a few examples:
| Maltese | English |
|---|---|
| futbol | football |
| baskitbol | basketball |
| klabb | club |
| lift | lift/elevator |
| friġġ | fridge |
Read more about this topic: Maltese Language, Vocabulary
Famous quotes containing the word english:
“The boneless quality of English conversation, which, so far as I have heard it, is all form and no content. Listening to Britons dining out is like watching people play first-class tennis with imaginary balls.”
—Margaret Halsey (b. 1910)
“The English did not come to America from a mere love of adventure, nor to truck with or convert the savages, nor to hold offices under the crown, as the French to a great extent did, but to live in earnest and with freedom.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The English winter—ending in July,
To recommence in August.”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)