The Maltese Language
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Maltese is a Semitic based language that is spoken by the people of Malta and Gozo and some expatriates living in Australia and other parts of the world.
Although less than 500,000 people worldwide speak the language, it's history takes us back thousands of years.
Many historians disagree on how exactly the Maltese language developed however many of them point to the fact that it could have had its origins from when
the Arabs invaded and occupied Malta in 870 AD. Others would argue the fact that St. Luke chronicled in the 'Acts of the Apostles' that the Islands inhabitants were
"Barbarians" a term used in Roman times to identify non Latin or Greek speaking people. So some kind of Maltese dialect could have already been spoken back in 60 AD when
St. Luke was shipwrecked on the Island together with St. Paul.
Some would also argue the fact that in the Island of Gozo a different dialect is spoken and is due to the fact that the Arabs stayed on the Island of Gozo longer than in Malta.
Many words used in Malta have been Italianised over the years, eg. the word for Village in pure Maltese is "Rahal" however the term "Villag" is used by many.
Malta as occupied by the French speaking Normans in 1090 AD and then between 1530 and 1798 Malta was under the control of the Knights of St. John who spoke Latin and Italian.
When the Islands became a British colony in 1800 there was an attempt to replace Italian with English as the local language.
After the Islands' independence in 1964 both English and Maltese were given official legal status however Maltese became the national language of Malta. Today Maltese is used in most sectors
of public life, including parliament, the church, the press and other media and in general conversion. English however remains the preferred language in the educational system as most text
books are in imported from the UK. It is also interesting to point out that none of the 19th or 20th century inventions have Maltese words for them, Telephone is Telefon, Computer is Kompujter, Television is Television etc.
The first known literary text in Maltese "Il Cantilena" appeared during the 15th century.
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