If this "ħ" is not an h (with a slash, hopefully), then try these in order:
<utf-8> <Tornado> <Times> <Plain Text> <iso-8859-3>

Confused? Click Here.

GRANDPA (NANNU) KARM'S MALTESE LANGUAGE CHILDREN'S CORNER.

Hello boys and girls, I'm Nannu Karm and I am going to teach you Maltese and also tell you a few stories about Malta. There is also a competition. I was born in Malta but I live in Australia now.

1. Maltese language lesson

First I am going to teach the days of the week in Maltese. Now notice that there is a word in bracket next to the Maltese word. The word in (brackets) tells you how to pronounce the word in English. Now notice boys and girls that most of the time the letter 'għ' is silent. Thus we write Erbgħa but say Erba and the letter 'd' at the end sounds like a 't' so we say "Ħadd" but we pronouce it "Ħatt".

2. Stories of Nannu Karm - Stejjer (Steyyer) tan-Nannu Karm.

Well now it's time to relax. Gather around me while I'll light my pipe. Are you ready now? Once upon a time there was a boy called Toni (Tony). Toni's father was the best pastry cook in Malta. Toni's father was Ġużi (Joseph) Borġ. Mr. Borġ was a very hardworking man and he tried very hard to make sure that his clients were happy. One day, one of his best clients, Mr. Muscat, rang him and ordered a cake for his daughter. Now the client lived in Valletta while Toni and his family lived in Sliema.

Now, Mr.Borġ worked till the early hours of the day to make and decorate the cake. Now, when it was finished, he called Toni and asked him to deliver the cake. Mr.Borġ gave Toni strict instructions and told him to be very careful. Toni was very happy. Toni boarded the ferry boat (il-lanċa - pronounced lancha) and went to Valletta. Now while he was on the lanċa, Toni put the cake next to him and he decided to collect used lanċa's tickets. He used to collect them. Toni forgot all about the cake. When he finished he went to see down and guess where he sat! He sat on the cake! Poor Toni. He was really terrified.

Toni went back to his father's shop and told him the whole story. Honesty is the best policy. Toni's dad was very upset and also very sad. However, he just rolled up his sleeves and made another cake and this time he took a karrozzin (karrotsin) and delivered it himself. A karrozzin is a horse driven carriage.

So you see boys and girls it is very important to concentrate on the task at hand. Saħħa.

3 Professor Kangaroo Word Laboratory.

One of my friends is Professor Kangaroo, Professor Kangaroo has a laboratory and in this laboratory he has many test-tubes filled with letters. He puts them in a machine and this machine produces words. It produces words in Maltese. Professor Kangaroo would love to learn Maltese too. He has called me because his machine has produced some words and Professor Kangaroo can't figure out what they mean. Vocabulary

Here is a harder one:

That means:

Il-ħmaril-magħkusdargħalihid-dubbien.
The donkeywho is weakwasattackedby the flies.
That's a very old Maltese proverb. Sometimes you come across a man who is very powerful and famous. People gather round him and praise him, However, when that same man loses his position perhaps through sickness or for whatever other reason, the same people start saying nasty things about him.!

4. Competition.

Now I want you to write something about Malta. Maximum fifty words and you can send it to me. The closing date is ........................

Please send it to me karatt@ozemail.com.au and don't forget to send me your address. The best entry will get a beautiful book in the mail Don't forget to send me your address. Saħħa

Nannu Karm

srl@monkey.sbay.org

[counter] [ Back ] to srl's homepage or [ Maltese Homepage ]