Postgraduate Diploma in Translation and Interpreting ATS 5011 Translation in native language from active/passive foreign language Dr Sandra

Vella 1. Choose twenty place names in any European country. 2. Ask a native speaker of the language chosen to read out the place names. 3. Give: (a) the orthographic transcription of the place names chosen; (b) the transcription of the native speakers pronunciation; (c) give general comments. Kenneth Grima

Contents

1. Introduction 2. Analyses of Maltese and German consonants repertoires 3. Analyses of Maltese and German vowel system

3 3 5 7 23 24

4. Analyses of the pronunciation of twenty place names 5. Conclusion 6. Bibliography

Introduction
Throughout this assignment I shall: (a) outline basic information regarding the German language phonology; (b) indicate twenty place names in the Nordrheinwestfalen region in West Germany (the Lower Rhine Area); (c) ask a German native speaker to read out the chosen place names; (d) attempt an International Phonetic Transcription (IPA) of these place names based on (c); (e) formulate the closest pronunciation a native speaker of the Maltese language and alien to the German language can produce. Since most Maltese speakers are also acquainted with the English writing system, it is very likely that the former are influenced by both English and Maltese writing systems as far as pronunciation of the selected place names is concerned. 1. Analyses of Maltese and German consonants repertoires
Bilabial Plosive Labio Dental Alveolar Postalveolar Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal

Nasal

Fricative

Affricative

Retroflex Approximant Lateral

Table 1: Chart of German & Maltese Consonants Phonemes

Table 1 above depicts Maltese and German consonants (phonetic notations) and shows across (a) place of articulation and down (b) manner of articulation. Note that: (a) voiceless consonants are shown on the left whilst voiced consonants appear on the right; (b) most consonants in both German and Maltese have the same place and manner of articulation (refer to table 2); (c) IPA phonemes shown in bold indicate consonants which form part of the German language with no direct correspondence in the Maltese language consonant system. Thus a Maltese speaker alien to the German sound system may encounter difficulties in pronouncing selected phonemes (refer to table 3);
3

(d) Shaded parts indicate phonemes, which are typical to the Maltese language phonetic repertoire but have no direct phoneme correspondence in the German language.

Table 2: Complete correspondence between Maltese & German consonant sounds

Phonetic symbol

German example [passe] [Ba] [Tasse] [das] [Kasse] [Gasse] /gas/ [beeiden] // [Masse] [nasse] [Ding] /di/ [fasse] [Welt] /vlt/ [reie] [Base] /baz/ [Masche] /ma/ [Genie] /eni/ [hasse] [ja] /ja/ [lallt ] /lalt/

Remarks Like Maltese [pipa] Like Maltese [bieb] Like Maltese [tazza] Like Maltese [dak] Like Maltese [kaxxa] Like Maltese [gass] Like Maltese [baqra] Like Maltese [massa] Like Maltese [nar] Like Maltese [bank] Like Maltese [farka] Like Maltese [vara] but less friction Like Maltese [sar] but with a sharper hiss Like Maltese [\ejt] Like Maltese [xatt] but with more lipprotrusion Like Maltese [xbin] but with more lipprotrusion Like Maltese [abib] Like Maltese [jara] Like Maltese [lira]

Table 3: Non-correspondence between German and Maltese consonants

Phonetic symbol

German example [rauchen] //

Remarks Not directly equivalent to a Maltese consonant. It is similar to the Scottish ch in [loch]. Occurs after high & mid back vowels. // occurs after low back vowels. // occurs after high & mid back vowels. Maltese /r/ is alveolar retroflex. The (a) [rot] /ot/ German // can be produced in three (b) [Heer] /he/ different ways: (a) rolled or flapped, with the (c) [Wasser] uvula or with the tip of the tongue; (b) mostly /vas/ weak uvular fricative after long vowels in final position or before consonant; (c) very weak uvular fricative in // in final position or before consonant. Also pronouned as //. [Frauchen] / Not directly equivalent to a Maltese consonant. It can be made by unvoicing a f/ fricative [j]. Likely to occur after front vowels and consonants within the same morpheme as well as morpheme initially as in the example given.
4

2. Analyses of Maltese and German vowel system FRONT

close

BACK

FRONT
close half-close

BACK

half-close half-open

open Table 4:

half-open

open

Table 5: The Cardinal Vowel Diagram of German Monophthnogs

The Cardinal Vowel Diagram of Maltese Monophthnogs

(a) Maltese has six orthographic vowels: [a], [e], [i], [ie], [o] and [u] that can be long or
short. The cardinal vowel diagram above (table 4) indicates the auditory values of the Maltese vowels (11 in all).

(b) German has eight different orthographic vowels, which are [], [a], [e], [i], [o], [], [u],
[]. The cardinal vowel diagram above (table 5) indicates the auditory values of the main German vowels (16 in all). However, there are up to 25 different vowel auditory values of which eight are nasalised vowels. Table 6 shows the auditory values of German vowels and their equivalence to Maltese. (c) Note that: due to the wide range of the auditory values of the German vowels, a Maltese nonnative speaker of German will definitely encounter difficulties in vocalising certain vowels. One notices immediately the vast range of vowel auditory values in German that have no direct correspondence to a Maltese vowel (or to an English vowel); shaded parts indicate a vowel sound that does not have a direct corresponding sound in the Maltese vowel system. in table 6, reference is also made to the German diphthongs:

Table 6: Auditory values of German vowels & diphthongs

Phonetic symbol German example [Vieh] /f/ [binr] /bin/ Remarks Like Maltese // in [ried] Not direct correspondence to Maltese. Short, otherwise like //
5


Phonetic symbol

[mit] /mt/ German example [Weh] /v/ [Tenor] /teno/ [Zhne] /tsn/ [wenn] /vn/ [zahle] /tsal/ [Dse] /d z/ [Physik] /fyzik/

Like Maltese // in [ridt] Remarks Not direct correspondence to Maltese. Long resembles the first sound in English [ay] e.g. [day] // but somewhat closer Not direct correspondence to Maltese or English. Short, otherwise like /e/ Like Maltese [dehra] Like Maltese [belt] Not direct correspondence to Maltese. Short, resemble English [a] in [ago], but closer than this. Not direct correspondence in Maltese. Long resembles French [u] in [muse]. Not direct correspondence to Maltese ([i] + [u] together) or English. Short, otherwise like // Not direct correspondence to Maltese or English. Short, opener than // Not direct correspondence to Maltese or English. Long, resembles French [eu] in [trieuse] Not direct correspondence to Maltese or English. Short, otherwise like // Not direct correspondence to Maltese or English. Short but opener than // Like Maltese [mur] Not direct correspondence to Maltese or English. Short, otherwise like // Like Maltese [surmast] but closer and more retracted than this Like Maltese [bott] Like Maltese [goob].

Table 6: Auditory values of German vowels & diphthongs (continues)

[Htte] /ht/ [bse] /b/ [dem] /dem/ [Hlle] /h/ [gut] /gt/ [Musik] /mzik/ [Bulle] /bl/ [Ro] // [Wallstreet] / / [Vokativ] // [Lohn] // [Base] /bz/ [hatte] /ht/ [Teint] /t/ [Interieur] // [Parfum] /paf/

Not direct correspondence to Maltese or English. It is a back close-mid vowel sound between // and // Not direct correspondence to Maltese or English. Longer than // Not direct correspondence to Maltese. Long resembles English a in [father], but more advanced than this Not direct correspondence to Maltese or English. Short, otherwise like // Not direct correspondence to Maltese or English. Long, nearly nasalized [] Not direct correspondence to Maltese or English. Short, otherwise like // Not direct correspondence to Maltese or English. Long nasalized //
6

Table 6: Auditory values of German vowels & diphthongs (continues)

Phonetic symbol German example

Remarks [Lundist] /ldst/ Not direct correspondence to Maltese or English. Short nasalized // Not direct correspondence to Maltese [Fond] /f/ or English. Long nasalized /o/, but opener than this. Not direct correspondence to Maltese [Fondue] /fdy/ or English. Short, otherwise like // [Gourmand] / Not direct correspondence to Maltese or English. Long nasalized /a/ gm/ [Mont] // [Brei] // [kaum] // [Queiros] // [Leute] // Not direct correspondence to Maltese or English. Long nasalized [o] Slightly different from Maltese diphthong // as in [tiegi] Slightly different from Maltese diphthong // as in [tiegu] Like Maltese diphthong // in [tiegi] Like Maltese [oj]

3. Analyses of the pronunciation of twenty place names

In the following section, I will: (a) give the orthographic writing of the German place name chosen;

(b) attempt to give the transcription of such place names according to the pronunciation
by Dr. Hans Helmut Frei Ph.D. (refer to tape enclosed); (c) Give the closest pronunciation a Maltese non-native speaker of German can give to the original German pronunciation. Remarks will then follow. Place name no.1 Orthographic writing of place names Korschenbroich International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) Transcription (attempt): Closest Maltese pronunciation in IPA Transcription

Remarks 1. Orthographic level: (a) no [c] in Maltese. The closest to it is [`]; (b) no [ch] in Maltese but available in English; (c) no four consonants standing next to each other in Maltese or English like in the above example [rsch];
7

(d) in Maltese two vowels standing next to each other is rare and limited to [oe]: [poeta]; [ea]: [Ewropea]; [eo]: [teoloija]; [ao]: [kaos]. This is common in English e.g.: [neutral]; (e) [nbr] is rare and limited in Maltese e.g.: [inbramt], [inbraxt]. 2. Pronunciation level: (a) no //, // and // in Maltese. Closest phonemes: // and /h/ respectively, the latter less harsh; (b) a Maltese speaker is likely to associate [ch] to Maltese [`] followed by a mute [h] eventhough final [h] in Maltese is pronounced as /h/. However, a Maltese speaker who is familiar with the English writing system will probably be influenced by such knowledge whereby [ch] following a vowel is pronounced as // as in [such], [pouch]. May I just point out that both pronunciations will be wrong since in this word, [ch] is pronounced as // or /x/ (similar to Scottish [ch] in [loch] /l/); (c ) no schwa // in Maltese (common in English but still very difficult for a Maltese nonnative speaker of English to produce such a vowel sound). Closest pronunciation: //; (d) [h] in Maltese has no sound except at the end of a word were it is pronounced as /h/; (e) [nb] like [nbid] is pronounced as // in Maltese (assimilation of [n]); ( f ) no // in Maltese vowel system. Closest pronunciation: //; (g) therefore, a Maltese speaker influenced by both the Maltese and English orthographic systems, is likely to pronounce this place name as // or //. 3. Closest Maltese pronunciation of //

is //. Place name no.2 Orthographic writing of place names Neureth Remarks 1. Orthographic level: (a) no [eu] in Maltese but common in English (refer to place name no.1, 1d); (b) no word in Maltese ends with [th]. This is common in English e.g.: [truth], [south]. The closest letter in Maltese is [t]. 2. Pronunciation level:
8

International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) Transcription (attempt):

Closest Maltese pronunciation in IPA Transcription

(a) [h] in Maltese has no sound except at the end of a word where it is pronounced as /h/; (b) a Maltese speaker familiar to the English orthographic and phonetic system, is likely to read [th] as // in /p/ [path] even though this sound may be somewhat difficult for a Maltese non-native speaker of English. Hence, the closest sound a Maltese may produce is that of // as in [art]; (c ) since [eu] is non-existent in the Maltese writing system, a Maltese familiar to the English writing system is likely to pronounce this combination of vowels as /ju/ or // as in [neutral] (//), [neural] (//) respectively. [eu] is pronounced in German as //, a diphthong common also in the Maltese diphthongs system as in [oj] in the example [oj hemm xi trid!]; (d) no // in Maltese. Closest phoneme: // ; (e) the second vowel [e] (pronounced as //) in the word, is likely to be read and pronounced by a Maltese as //; ( f ) no /a/ in Maltese vowel auditory value. Closest pronunciation is //; (g) therefore, a Maltese speaker influenced by both the Maltese and English orthographic systems, is likely to pronounce this place name as //. 3. Closest Maltese pronunciation of // is //. Place name no.3 Orthographic writing of place names Hrth Remarks 1. Orthographic level: (a) no word in Maltese ends with [th] (refer to place name no.2, 1b); (b) [] is non existent in Maltese or in English. The closest letter in Maltese and English is [u]; 2. Pronunciation level: (a) the letter [h] in Maltese is a mute [h] (refer to place name 2, 2d).
(b) [th] pronounced as // or // although the latter is extremely difficult for Maltese non

International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) Transcription (attempt):

Closest Maltese pronunciation in IPA Transcription

native speakers of English (refer to place name 2, 2a);

(c) // is a non-existing vowel sound neither in Maltese nor in English. It is a front

closed [u] sound. The closest sound a Maltese can achieve is // as in [surmast]; (d) no // in Maltese. Closest phoneme: // ;
9

(e) therefore, a Maltese speaker influenced by both the Maltese and English orthographic systems, is likely to pronounce this place name as // or //. 3. Closest Maltese pronunciation of // is //. Place name no.4 Orthographic writing of place names Castrop-Rauxel International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) Transcription (attempt): Closest Maltese pronunciation in IPA Transcription

k k

Remarks 1. Orthographic level: (a) 3 consonants next to each other [str] is very common in Maltese e.g.: [stramb], [stra]na ...; (b) no [c] in Maltese. The closest to it is [`] (refer to place name 1, 1a). Common in English; (c) no [au] in Maltese (refer to place name no.1, 1d);
2.

Pronunciation level: but does exist in the English writing system as pointed above, it is likely that [c] is either pronounced as /k/ (as in English [cast] (/k/);) or as [t] (as in Maltese [ass] //);

(a) since the orthographic symbol [c] does not exist in the Maltese orthographic system,

(b) in the Maltese orthographic system, [x] is pronounced as [].

In German, this

orthographic symbol is pronounced the same as it is in the English word [approximate]. Hence, a Maltese speaker is likely to pronounce [x] either as // (Maltese writing system) or as /ks/ (English writing system); (c ) no // in Maltese. Closest phoneme: //; (d) // is pronounced as // as in the Maltese word [tieg]u] /t/; (e) final [l] very slightly pronounced; ( f ) no /a/ in Maltese. Pronounced as // (refer to place name no.2, 2g); (g) no schwa // in Maltese. Pronounced as // (refer to place name no.1, 2c) (h) therefore, a Maltese speaker influenced by both the Maltese and English orthographic systems, is likely to pronounce this place name as // or

// or //.

or

even

//

10

3.

Closest

Maltese

pronunciation

of

/k/

is /k/. Place name no.5 Orthographic writing of place names Aachen Remarks 1. Orthographic level: (a) no [c] or [ch] in Maltese (refer to place name no.1, 1a & 1d); (b) no [aa] in Maltese or English (refer to place name no.1, 1c). Double vowel clusters in Maltese are common only to words such as [ikkoordina], [ikkoopera], therefore [oo]. In English double same vowel are also limited (e.g.: [feel], [need], [goose]).
2.

International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) Transcription (attempt):

Closest Maltese pronunciation in IPA Transcription

Pronunciation level: acknowledge the need to lengthen the vowel [a] (like what happens in Maltese words where the vowel [a] follows the historical phoneme [g]] e.g.: [g]amel] //). Dr Frei told me that double same vowel standing next to each other is very rare in the German orthographic system except for proper nouns);

(a) although [aa] is non-existent in Maltese orthographic system, the speaker is likely to

(b) [h] in Maltese has no sound except at the end of a word were it is pronounced as /h/ (refer to place name no.1, 2d);
(c) [ch] is either pronounced as / or as // (refer to place name no.1, 2b);

(d) no // in Maltese. Closest pronunciation is /h/, therefore a glottal sound rather than an uvular sound; (e) final /n/ slightly pronounced (in the Maltese language sound system, we tend to well pronounce final consonants); ( f ) no schwa // in Maltese (refer to place name no.1, 2c);
(h) German /a/ is longer than // in Maltese or // in English words; (i) therefore a Maltese speaker influenced by both the Maltese and English orthographic

systems, is likely to pronounce this place name as //.

3.

Closest Maltese pronunciation of // is //.

11

Place name no.6 Orthographic writing of place names Stetternich International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) Transcription (attempt): Closest Maltese pronunciation in IPA Transcription

or

Remarks 1. Orthographic level: (a) no [ch] in Maltese but common in English (refer to place name no.1, 2b);
2.

Pronunciation level: preceeding a consonant or is final). Maltese orthographic system, unlike that of

(b) [er] seems to be pronounced either as // or as // (this happens when [r] is either

English ([father], [bar], [pair]) or of German (in this case), is such that nearly each sound is represented by one individual grapheme, and all sounding in the word are fully pronounced;
(c) in Maltese orthographic system, a long consonant is well pronounced e.g.: [bott]

(//) whereas in English and in German, a double consonant does not automatically imply a long consonant e.g. [butter] (//) and [hatte] (//) respectively. long /t/;
(d) because of what I have pointed out in (a), a Maltese speaker will pronounce [st] as /s/

Hence, a Maltese speaker is likely to pronounce the

and /t/ respectively whereas in German, this combination of phonemes is pronounced as // such as in [xtara]; (e) [h] in Maltese has no sound except at the end of a word were it is pronounced as /h/ (refer to place name no.1, 2d);
(f)

[ch] is either pronounced as / or as // (refer to place name no.1, 2b);

(g) // does not exist in the Maltese sound system. The closest to it is //; (h) in Maltese the orthographic symbol [e] is pronounced as // like it is in German.

However, in this place name, the second [e] is pronounced as // in German, which is just slightly opener than // in Maltese. However, the tendency is for the Maltese to pronounce it as [e] due to its orthography;
(i) the German pronunciation of // is closer than it is pronounced in Maltese words such

as [ridt] (/rt:/);
(j) therefore, a Maltese speaker influenced by both the Maltese and English orthographic

systems, is likely to pronounce this place name as // or as //.

12

3.

Closest

Maltese

pronunciation

of

//

is //. Place name no.7 Orthographic writing of place names Rdingen Remarks 1. Orthographic level: (a) [] is non existent in Maltese or in English (refer to place name no.3, 1b);
(b) [ng] is not a difficult consonant cluster for a Maltese speaker to pronounce as seen in

International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) Transcription (attempt):

Closest Maltese pronunciation in IPA Transcription

the following words: [ingwent], [ingravata], [ingwanti], [Ingli\].

2.

Pronunciation level:

(a) Maltese /r/ is alveolar-retroflex whereas German // is uvular-fricative; (b) a Maltese speaker aware of the Maltese orthography system is likely to pronounce the

[e] in the final syllable as //. In this German place name, the final [e] is a schwa // which in Maltese in non-existent (refer to place name no.1, 2c); (c) since the Maltese writing system is nearly completely phonetic, (refer to place name no.6, 2a), a Maltese speaker will not leave out the [g] after the [n] as it is done in the pronunciation of place name no.7;
(d) // pronounced as // (refer to place name no. 3, 2b); (e) therefore, a Maltese speaker influenced by both the Maltese and English orthographic

systems, is likely to pronounce this place name as //.

3.

Closest Maltese pronunciation of // is //.

Place name no.8 Orthographic writing of place names Mnchen-Gladback International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) Transcription (attempt): Closest Maltese pronunciation in IPA Transcription

Remarks 1. Orthographic level:

13

(a) no [] (//) in Maltese or English. Hence, this vowel is likely to be replaced by [o];

(b) no [c] in Maltese (refer to place name no.1, 1a);

(c) in Maltese [ch] as in [Mnchen] and [ck] as in [Gladback] are non-existent (refer to

place name no.1, 1b). However, a Maltese speaker of English is very likely to associate the grapheme [ch] with [ch] in the English word [cherry] and the consonantal cluster [ck] to the English words [back], [truck], [lock]; (d) the cluster [db] is found in the Maltese e.g.: [dbabar], [dbiba], [dbieben]; (e) [gl] is a common cluster in Maltese e.g.: [glorja]; [iglu]; [gloj];
2.

Pronunciation level:

(a) [ch] is either pronounced as / or as // (refer to place name no.1, 2b);

(b) [h] in Maltese has no sound except at the end of a word were it is pronounced as /h/ (refer to place name no.1, 2d);
(c) [ck] is likely to be pronounced as // if the speaker were to apply the Maltese

orthographic system. On the other hand, if the speaker is familiar with the English writing system, he is likely to pronounce it as // as in [black], [truck];
(d) no // in Maltese. Closest pronunciation is /h/ (refer to place name no.5, 2c); (e) since // is non-existent in Maltese (neither it is in English) the closest pronunciation

will be that of // which in reality, is less open than the German pronunciation //;
(f) a Maltese speaker aware of the Maltese orthography system is likely to pronounce the

[e] in the final syllable of [Mnchen] as //. In this German place name, this [e] is a schwa // which in Maltese in non-existent (refer to place name no.1, 2c);
(g) no /a/ in Maltese; pronounced as // (refer to place name no.2, 2g); (h) therefore, a Maltese speaker influenced by both the Maltese and English orthographic

systems,

is

likely

to

pronounce

this

place

name

as /tk/ or /tk/.
3.

Closest

Maltese

pronunciation

of

//

is //. Place name no.9 Orthographic writing of place names Moers Remarks 1. Orthographic level:
14

International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) Transcription (attempt):

Closest Maltese pronunciation in IPA Transcription

(a) no [oe] in Maltese writing system (refer to place name no.1, 1c);
(b) [rs] is a common consonant cluster in Maltese e.g.: [ors], []ars]. It is also available in

English spelling system e.g.: [bars], [tours].

2.

Pronunciation level:

(a) in German, [oe] is pronounced the same as //, hence long. It is a non-existent

vowel sound in Maltese or in English. The closest would be / / which is slightly closer;
(b) Maltese /r/ is alveolar-retroflex whereas German // is uvular-fricative; (c) Therefore, a Maltese speaker influenced by both the Maltese and English orthographic

systems, is likely to pronounce this place name as //.

3.

Closest Maltese pronunciation of // is //.

Place name no.10 Orthographic writing of place names Huchem-Stammeln International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) Transcription (attempt): Closest Maltese pronunciation in IPA Transcription

Remarks 1. Orthographic level: (a) no [ch] in Maltese but common in English writing system (refer to place name no.1, 1b); (b) [st] and [ln] as two separate consonant clusters and double [m] are not a problem for a Maltese speaker since they are all to be found in the Maltese orthographic system: [storja], [stqarr], [ilna], [kilna] and [sammar], [xammem] respectively;
2.

Pronunciation level: (refer to place name no.1, 2d);

(a) [h] in Maltese has no sound except at the end of a word were it is pronounced as /h/
(b) [ch] is either pronounced as / or as // (refer to place name no.1, 2b); (c) in Maltese orthographic system, [mm] indicates a long consonant: /m/, which is not

the case in the pronunciation of this German place name (refer to place name 6, 2b); (d) [st] pronounced as /s/ and /t/ respectiveley (refer to place name no.6, 2c);
(e) problem with both [e]s.

In this word, both [e]s are shwas therefore pronounced

as //. Schwa // is non-existent in Maltese though it is common in English but still very difficult for a Maltese non-native speaker of English to produce such vowel sound.
15

Closest pronunciation in Maltese is // (refer to place name no.1, 2c) but a Maltese speaker will associate the orthographic symbol [e] with the sound in Maltese //;
(f) German /a/ is longer than // in Maltese or // in English words; (g) Therefore, a Maltese speaker influenced by both the Maltese and English orthographic

systems, as

is

likely

to

pronounce

this

place or

name as

//

// or as /
3.

Closest

Maltese

pronunciation

of

//

is //. Place name no.11 Orthographic writing of place names Weyer International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) Transcription (attempt): Closest Maltese pronunciation in IPA Transcription

or

Remarks 1. Orthographic level: (a) no [y] in Maltese orthographic system but very common in the English writing system e.g.: [youth], [year], [bay], [flay], [layout], [layer], [saying].
2.

Pronunciation level: approximant). In the German writing system, [w] is pronounced as /v/;

(a) in Maltese orthographic system, [w] is a semivowel pronounced as /w/ (bilabial

(b) final [r] pronounced as // or as // (refer to place name no.6, 2a); (c) a Maltese speaker is likely to pronounce the first [e] as // since Maltese orthography

is phonetic type and hence, nearly each and every phoneme in the Maltese writing system is represented by one particular grapheme (refer to place name no.6, 2a);
(d) German /a/ is longer than // in Maltese or // in English words; (e) Therefore, a Maltese speaker influenced by both the Maltese and English orthographic

systems, is likely to pronounce this place name as //.

3.

Closest Maltese pronunciation of // is //.

16

Place name no.12 Orthographic writing of place names Niederkrchten International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) Transcription (attempt): Closest Maltese pronunciation in IPA Transcription

Remarks 1. Orthographic level: (a) [ie] is not a problem in the Maltese orthographic system. All Maltese speakers are fully aware of the long pronunciation of such vowel as in words such as [bierek], [riedet], [mietet] as opposed to short [i] as in [ridt], [biss]; (b) no [ch] in Maltese orthographic system (refer to place name no.1, 2b); (c) [rk] is a common cluster of consonants in Maltese orthography e.g.: [rkejjen], [barkiet], [tarka], [farka], [Tork]; (d) [] is non existent in Maltese or in English. The closest letter in the Maltese writing system is [u] (refer to place name no.3, 1b). 2. Pronunciation level: (a) [h] in Maltese has no sound except at the end of a word were it is pronounced as /h/ (refer to place name no.1, 2d);
(b) [r] preceding a consonant pronounced as // or as // (refer to place name no.6,

2a);
(c) no // in Maltese sounding system. /r/ is the normal pronunciation of [r]; (d) [ch] is either pronounced as / or as // (refer to place name no.1, 2b); (e) a Maltese speaker aware of the Maltese orthography system is likely to pronounce the

[e] in the final syllable as //. In this German place name, the final [e] is a schwa // which in Maltese in non-existent (refer to place name no.1, 2c);
(f) therefore, a Maltese speaker influenced by both the Maltese and English orthographic

systems,

is

likely

to

pronounce

this

place

name

as // or as //.
3.

Closest

Maltese

pronunciation

of

//

is //. Place name no.13

17

Orthographic writing of place names Neuss Remarks 1. Orthographic level:

International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) Transcription (attempt):

Closest Maltese pronunciation in IPA Transcription

(a) no problem in Maltese with final double consonant e.g.: []ass], [`ass], [rass];

(b) no [eu] in Maltese but available in English (refer to place name no.1, 1d).
2.

Pronunciation level: English writing system is likely to pronounce this combination of vowels as /ju/ or // as in [neutral] (//), [neural] (//) respectively. [eu] is pronounced in German as //, a diphthong common also in the Maltese diphthongs system (refer to place name no.2, 2c);

(a) since [eu] is non-existent in the Maltese writing system, a Maltese familiar to the

(b) Maltese lengthens double consonants e.g.: []ass] (//), [`ass] (//),

[rass] (//). This, however, is not the case in the pronunciation of the above German place name (refer to place name no.6, 2b);
(c) Therefore, a Maltese speaker influenced by both the Maltese and English orthographic

systems, is likely to pronounce this place name as // or //.

3.

Closest Maltese pronunciation of // is //. This is the only example in the whole list where a Maltese pronunciation is fully equivalent to the original German pronunciation.

Place name no.14 Orthographic writing of place names Gressenich Remarks 1. Orthographic level: (a) [gr] is a common consonant cluster in Maltese writing system e.g.: [Grieg], [gravi], [grawnd]; (b) [ss] is commonly found in Maltese words (refer to place name no.13, 2b); (c) no [ch] in Maltese orthographic system (refer to place name no.1, 2b).
2.

International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) Transcription (attempt):

Closest Maltese pronunciation in IPA Transcription

Pronunciation level:
18

(a) [h] in Maltese has no sound except at the end of a word were it is pronounced as /h/ (refer to place name no.1, 2d);
(b) no // in Maltese sounding system. /r/ is the normal pronunciation of [r]; (c) // does not exist in the Maltese sound system. The closest to it is //; (d) [ch] is either pronounced as / or as // (refer to place name no.1, 2b); (e) Maltese lengthens double consonants e.g.: []ass] (//), [`ass] (//); (f) Therefore, a Maltese speaker influenced by both the Maltese and English orthographic

systems, is likely to pronounce this place name as // or

//.
3.

Closest Maltese pronunciation of // is //.

Place name no.15 Orthographic writing of place names Garzweiler International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) Transcription (attempt): Closest Maltese pronunciation in IPA Transcription

or

Remarks 1. Orthographic level: (a) [rz] is a common consonant in Maltese e.g.: [arzella], [arzell], [parzjali]; (b) [rzw] seems to be unavailable in Maltese; (c) no [ei] in Maltese writing system (refer to place name no.1, 1d).
2.

Pronunciation level:

(a) no // in Maltese sounding system. /r/ is the normal pronunciation of [r] in Maltese;

(b) [w] is pronounced as /w/ in Maltese, whereas in German is pronounced as /v/;

(c) final [r] pronounced as // or as // (refer to place name no.6, 2a); (d) a Maltese speaker aware of the Maltese orthography system is likely to pronounce the

[e] in the final syllable as //. In this German place name, the final [e] is a schwa // which in Maltese is non-existent. Although very common in English, it is still very difficult for a Maltese non-native speaker of English to produce such vowel sound perfectly. In this example, the closest pronunciation possible by a Maltese is // not // as in the previous examples;

19

(e) the German [a] is lower than the Maltese counterpart. Hence, the nearest possible

pronunciation by a Maltese for /a/ is //;

(f) [ei] is a diphthong in German pronounced as // which is also common in Maltese

but with a slightly different pronunciation for /a/ as for example [tieg]i] /t/;
(g) therefore, a Maltese speaker influenced by both the Maltese and English orthographic

systems, is likely to pronounce this place name as //.

3.

Closest

Maltese

pronunciation

of

//

is // or //. Place name no.16 Orthographic writing of place names Jlich Remarks 1. Orthographic level: (a) no [ch] in Maltese but common in English (refer to place name no.1, 1b); (b) [] is non existent in Maltese or in English. The closest letter is [u] (refer to place name no.3, 1b).
2.

International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) Transcription (attempt):

Closest Maltese pronunciation in IPA Transcription

Pronunciation level: (refer to place name no.1, 2d);

(a) [h] in Maltese has no sound except at the end of a word were it is pronounced as /h/
(b) [], pronounced as // in this example, therefore similar to Maltese [jum], [jurta]

(refer to place name no.3, 2b);

(c) [ch] is either pronounced as / or as // (refer to place name no.1, 2b); (d) // does not exist in the Maltese sound system. The closest to it is //; (e) therefore, a Maltese speaker influenced by both the Maltese and English orthographic

systems,

is

likely

to

pronounce

this

place

name

as

//

or //.
3.

Closest Maltese pronunciation of // is //.

Place name no.17 Orthographic writing of place names International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) Closest Maltese pronunciation in IPA
20

Transcription (as in dictionary): Kln

Transcription

21

Remarks 1. Orthographic level:

(a) no [] (//) in Maltese. Hence, this vowel is likely to be replaced by [o]; (b) the cluster [ln] is common in Maltese e.g.: []allna], [tbag]lna], [kilna], [kollna]. 2.

Pronunciation level: German pronunciation, the likelihood is for a Maltese speaker to pronounce such place name as //.

(a) since [] (//) in Maltese is likely to be replaced by [o] (//), which deviates from the

3.

Closest Maltese pronunciation of // is //.

Place name no.18 Orthographic writing of place names Dursburg Remarks 1. Orthographic level: (a) No problems at this level.
2.

International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) Transcription (attempt):

Closest Maltese pronunciation in IPA Transcription

Pronunciation level:

(a) no // in Maltese sounding system. /r/ is the normal pronunciation of [r] in Maltese; (b) Maltese people will devioice the final /g/ in /k/ as in the following examples:

[plagg] //;
(c) no // in Maltese sounding system. The closest would be //; (d) therefore, a Maltese speaker influenced by both the Maltese and English orthographic

systems, is likely to pronounce this place name as //.

3.

Closest Maltese pronunciation of // is //.

Place name no.19 Orthographic writing of place names International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) Transcription (attempt): Closest Maltese pronunciation in IPA Transcription

Steinstra

22

Remarks 1. Orthographic level: (a) no [ei] in Maltese (refer to place name no.1, 1d); (b) no [] in Maltese. It stands for [ss], which is common in Maltese (refer to place name no.13, 2b).
2.

Pronunciation level: name no.6, 2a & c);

(a) [st] pronounced as // whereas in German it is pronounced as // (refer to place

(b) [ss] pronounced as // such as [massa], [ass], [rass]; (c) the German [a] is lower than the Maltese counterpart. Hence the nearest possible

pronunciation by a Maltese for /a/ is //;

(d) [ei] is a diphthong in German pronounced as // which is also common in Maltese

but with a slightly different pronunciation for /a/ as for example [tieg]i] (/t/);
(e) therefore, a Maltese speaker influenced by both the Maltese and English orthographic

systems, is likely to pronounce this place name as / /.

3.

Closest

Maltese

pronunciation

of

//

is //. Place name no.20 Orthographic writing of place names International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) Transcription (attempt): Closest Maltese pronunciation in IPA Transcription

Schnecken
Remarks 1. Orthographic level:

(a) no [ch] and [c] in Maltese writing system but common in English (refer to place name no.1, 2a & b);
(b) no [] (//) in Maltese vocalic repertoire orthographic symbol. Hence, this vowel is

likely to be replaced by [o] (refer to place name no.17, 1a).

2.

Pronunciation level: (refer to place name no.1, 2d);

(a) [h] in Maltese has no sound except at the end of a word were it is pronounced as /h/
(b) [ch] is either pronounced as / or as // (refer to place name no.1, 2b); (c) [ck] is likely to be pronounced as // or as // (refer to place name no.8, 2c); 23

(d) a Maltese speaker aware of the Maltese orthography system is likely to pronounce the

[e] in the final syllable as //. In this German place name, the final [e] is a schwa // which in Maltese is non-existent. Although very common in English, it is still very difficult for a Maltese non-native speaker of English to produce such vowel sound perfectly. In this example, the closest pronunciation possible by a Maltese is //;
(e) since no [] (//) occurs in Maltese orthographic system, it is likely to be replaced by

[o] and therefore pronounced as // as in //;

(f) therefore, a Maltese speaker influenced by both the Maltese and English orthographic

systems, is likely to pronounce this place name // or // or //.

3.

Closest Maltese pronunciation of /- / is / - /.

4. Conclusion
Throughout this study, I have tried to describe possible pronunciation errors Maltese speakers may make when referring to the selected place names, and to provide the closest pronunciation a Maltese speaker may achieve to the original German pronunciation. Moreover, such an exercise has helped me to acquire a better understanding of orthographic difficulties and the relationship of spelling to the spoken language. Furthermore, this has enabled me to become acquainted with a foreign accent.

5. Bibliography
Aquilina, J. (1988). The Structure of Maltese: A Study in Mixed Grammar and Vocabulary. Malta: Malta University Press. Betteridge, H. T. (1995). London: Cassell & Co. Ltd. Cassells German-English; English-German Dictionary.

Borg, A. & Alexander-Azzopardi, M. (1997). Maltese. London: Routledge. Cattford, J.C. (1990). A practical introduction to Phonetics. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Springer, O. (1974). Langenscheidts Encyclopaedic Dictionary of the English & German languages. Part 2: German-English 2nd vol. L-Z. Berlin: Langenscheidt.

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