Languages in Malta

Maltese is the national language of Malta, and an official language of the European Union. Descended from Maghrebi Arabic, though is not considered to be an Arabic dialect. It is the only Semitic language written in the Latin alphabet in its standard form.

Apart from its phonology, Maltese bears considerable similarity to urban varieties of Tunisian Arabic and other North African Arabic dialects. In the course of history, the language has adopted numerous loanwords, phonetic and phonological features, and even morphological and syntactic patterns from Sicilian and Italian, while many words (some with their plural forms) are also borrowed from English.

Maltese became an official language of Malta in 1936, alongside English. Today, there are an estimated 371,900 Maltese speakers, mostly residing in Malta, although a number of Maltese emigrants in Australia, the United States, Canada and Gibraltar can still speak the language.

Malta has two official languages, Maltese and English, with the exception of Italian widely used. The origin of English language here dates back to 160 years of British colonisation of Malta.

Italian, too, is widely spoken and understood among the younger generation, particularly due to the television programs which are transmitted from nearby Italy.

The basis of Maltese is Semitic, though has an Italian framework (Romance), also possessing rudiments of Anglo-Saxon (English). Familiarity with a few phrases in Maltese is quite helpful.

Il Cantilena is the oldest known literary text in the Maltese language. It dates from the 15th century but was not discovered until 1966 or 1968 by Prof. Godfrey Wettinger and Fr. M. Fsadni (OP). Il Cantilena is a poem attributed to Pietru Caxaro. It was recorded by Caxaro's nephew, Brandano, in his notarial register (Dec. 1533 -- May 1563). For centuries, Maltese was nearly exclusively a spoken language, with writing being done in Arabic, or later, Italian.

Akkademja Tal-Malti was the prime authoritarian body responsible for the Maltese language from the early 20th century up to the end of the millennium, when a Government sponsored law was passed to protect issues related to the national language. On joining the European Union, Maltese became one of the renowned languages of the EU. Originally, it was known as L-Ghaqda tal-Kittieba tal-Malti (Association of Writers of Maltese), Malta's oldest literary society whose earliest activities go as far back as the early nineteen twenties, led by literary giants like Dun Karm, Guze' Muscat Azzopardi and Ninu Cremona, it became the cause of the Maltese language. The Akkademja was mainly liable for all the major linguistic and literary development of the Maltese language during the past century, developing linguistic academic initiatives which terminated in the national recognition of a standard written Maltese.

In 2005 the National Council for the Maltese Language was set up. This Council is currently the main regulatory body of the Maltese language instead of the L-Akkademja tal-Malti.

The Maltese language consists of 30 letters, usually Semitic in sound, with short vowels and also long vowels.

Maltese is the national language of Malta, and an official language of the European Union. It is descended from Maghrebi Arabic, but is not considered to be an Arabic dialect. It is the only Semitic language written in the Latin alphabet in its standard form. There have been some claims that it is descended not from Arabic but Phoenician, but this view has no support among linguists.

Apart from its phonology, Maltese bears considerable similarity to urban varieties of Tunisian Arabic and other North African Arabic dialects. In the course of history, the language has adopted numerous loanwords, phonetic and phonological features, and even morphological and syntactic patterns from Sicilian and Italian, while many words (some with their plural forms) are also borrowed from English.

Maltese became an official language of Malta in 1936, alongside English. Today, there are an estimated 371,900 Maltese speakers, mostly residing in Malta, although a number of Maltese expatriates in Australia, the United States, Canada and Gibraltar can still speak the language. In 2007 it was reported that Maltese is still spoken by Maltese descendants in Tunisia.

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