This semester I have taken a couple of really important steps in enhancing the strength of my language learning. I am working closely with my language partner (Karen) to improve my pronunciation and speaking abilities in Maltese because I identified these elements as potential areas of improvement last semester. Additionally, my language partner was able to give me recommendations for three very helpful resources in self-studying: a textbook from the University of Malta, beginner audio disks, and an overview book for the Maltese language.
During the first two practice sessions, Karen and I focused heavily on pronunciation. She provided me with an overview of different dialects that exist on mainland Malta versus the other smaller islands. Karen's family is from Gozo- the same region that I believe my ancestors were from- so I am choosing to learn her dialect. An important feature of the Maltese dialects, though, is that the dialects are similar enough across islands for all people to understand. In comparison to a language like Spanish, the linguistic differences are very subtle. For example, in Maltese, the letter q is not pronounced on Gozo or the Mainland, but certain villages on the other islands sound q as a -k sound. Most of the lesson was actual pronunciation practice, but this cultural element is very important to my learning because Maltese resources are so scarce. When I listen to various clips online, I noticed these differences and have trouble identifying the correct way to say things. Listening to Karen speak is helping me to keep a consistent dialogue.
To begin working together, we worked through pronouncing the sample phrases and words from my new Maltese textbook. I read a word, then Karen would repeat the word in the correct accent. I could not move on to the next word until I correctly pronounced the letters in each word. This exercise helped me to learn that the Maltese b is pronounced very soft, like an English p. Additionally, I learned that the letter u is pronounced very long, as in Kung Fu. Another mistake I identified was how I pronounce the letter i. I was previously saying "-ee" like in Italian, but the letter functions more like the English letter i - typically it is soft, but can occasionally take on the "-ee" sound. Another important element of pronunciation is knowing where to put the inflection on words. I marked these inflection points in my notes as we went along.
In regard to practicing this week, Karen and I agreed it would be helpful to independently review the pronunciation of the word sets we went over. In addition, I suggested that I could memorize the definitions and quiz myself on the meanings of the vocabulary.
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