04.02.11

Size doesn't matter

If you like my story below, please, vote for it at Tongue Stories competition!

On one hand, I do not have a talent for learning languages. On the other hand, I simply LOVE languages and learning new words - although I tend to forget them soon afterwards as well.

When I moved to the tiny Mediterranean island, called Malta, I thought that the life there will be simple. After all, not only Maltese, but also English is an official language there, therefore it should be easy to communicate with locals and have a life there, right?

The beginning was promising. I learnt a few basic words in Maltese and was very proud to use them in e-mails or conversations with my Maltese friends (e.g., thanks a lot - grazzi hafna, hello - merhba, good night - il-leljl it-tajjeb). Malta is one of the smallest European countries with only 400 000 inhabitants, so I thought that the fact that somebody know even a few words should make both sides very happy. And it was so!

But then... It turned out not to be enough. Even while having me around, Maltese tended to switch from English to Maltese in their meetings and informal chats. Several jokes couldn't be translated to English and some words neither, so sometimes I felt excluded and left outside. Furthermore, while most of the information in the country was available in English, several things were only in Maltese as well.

So I learnt that it makes a difference to learn even a language of a small country. Yes, you might not use it outside the country or very often, but it will help to integrate in the local community!

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