The Akkademja tal-Malti was the prime regulatory 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 recognised languages of the EU.
Initially known as L-Għaqda tal-Kittieba tal-Malti (Association of Writers of Maltese), Malta's oldest literary society whose earliest activities go as far back as the early 1920s, led by literary figures including Dun Karm, Ġużè Muscat Azzopardi and Ninu Cremona, it spearheaded the cause of the Maltese language. The Akkademja was mainly responsible for major linguistic and literary development of the Maltese language during the past century, developing linguistic academic initiatives which culminated in the national recognition of a standard written Maltese.
In 2005 the National Council for the Maltese Language was set up through a law by the Maltese Parliament. This council is currently the main regulatory body of the Maltese language, replacing the L-Akkademja tal-Malti.
Maltese is a Semitic language derived from late medieval Sicilian Arabic with Romance superstrata spoken by the Maltese people. It is the national language of Malta and the only official Semitic and Afro-Asiatic language of the European Union. Maltese is a latinised variety of spoken historical Arabic through its descent from Siculo-Arabic, which developed as a Maghrebi Arabic dialect in the Emirate of Sicily between 831 and 1091. As a result of the Norman invasion of Malta and the subsequent re-Christianisation of the islands, Maltese evolved independently of Classical Arabic in a gradual process of latinisation. It is therefore exceptional as a variety of historical Arabic that has no diglossic relationship with Classical or Modern Standard Arabic. Maltese is thus classified separately from the 30 varieties constituting the modern Arabic macrolanguage. Maltese is also distinguished from Arabic and other Semitic languages since its morphology has been deeply influenced by Romance languages, namely Italian and Sicilian.
Valletta is an administrative unit and the capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 was 6,444. According to the data from 2020 by Eurostat, the Functional Urban Area and metropolitan region covered the whole island and has a population of 480,134. Valletta is the southernmost capital of Europe, and at just 0.61 square kilometres (0.24 sq mi), it is the European Union's smallest capital city.
Anton Buttigieg, was a Maltese political figure and poet. He served as the second president of Malta from 1976 until 1981.
Il-Kantilena is the oldest known literary text in the Maltese language. It dates from the 15th century, but was not found until 1966 by historians Godfrey Wettinger and Mikiel Fsadni. The poem is attributed to Pietru Caxaro, and was recorded by Caxaro's nephew, Brandano, in his notarial register. It is preserved at the Notarial Archives in Valletta.
The Central Bank of Malta is the central bank of the Republic of Malta. It was established on 17 April 1968. In May 2004, when Malta joined the European Union, it became an integral part of the European System of Central Banks. Until 2008, the bank was responsible for the former national Maltese currency, the liretta. It became a part of the Eurosystem when it adopted the euro on 1 January, 2008.
Frans Sammut was a Maltese novelist and non-fiction writer.
The National Council for the Maltese Language was founded in April 2005 with the enactment of the Maltese Language Act in the Maltese Parliament. Its work is to regulate new words coming into Maltese and promote the standard Maltese language in education and other new sectors. The council consists of five committees which are: Media, Education, Language Research, Translations and Terminology and the Development of Maltese in the Information and Technology Sector. The council's aim is the language planning and promotion of the Maltese language, and thus to improve it by modernising its structures.
Ninu "Anthony" Cremona, colloquially known as Is-Sur Nin, was a Maltese writer and health inspector.
Taħt Tliet Saltniet is a novel in Maltese by Ġużè Aquilina, published for the first time in 1938, then published again in 1945, 1969, 1978, 1997 and in 2003.
Maltese literature is any literature originating from Malta or by Maltese writers or literature written in the Maltese language.
Ġużè Muscat Azzopardi was a Maltese lawyer, poet, novelist and social commentator. He studied in the Mdina Seminary, and in the University of Malta, where he graduated as a lawyer in 1875. He was married to Tonina Fenech, and had three sons Ivo and Ġino, who were both writers, and Anton, a composer.
Oliver Friggieri was a Maltese poet, novelist, literary critic, and philosopher. He led the establishment of literary history and criticism in Maltese while teaching at the University of Malta, studying the works of Dun Karm, Rużar Briffa, and others. A prolific writer himself, Friggieri explored new genres to advocate the Maltese language, writing the libretti for the first oratorio and the first cantata in Maltese. His work aimed to promote the Maltese cultural identity, while not shying from criticism: one of his most famous novels, Fil-Parlament Ma Jikbrux Fjuri, attacked the tribalistic divisions of society caused by politics. From philosophy, he was mostly interested in epistemology and existentialism.
Mary Meilak was a Maltese poet.
The Conspiracy of the Slaves was a failed plot by Muslim slaves in Hospitaller-ruled Malta to rebel, assassinate Grand Master Manuel Pinto da Fonseca and take over the island. The revolt was to have taken place on 29 June 1749, but plans were leaked to the order before it began; the plotters were arrested and most were later executed.
Emanuel Benjamin Vella, also known as E. B. Vella, was a Maltese schoolteacher and writer. He was born in Mosta on 20 June 1898 to Clement Vella and his wife Carmela née Azzopardi. He was a member of the Maltese Writers Association. He died in Mosta on 2 May 1946. A primary school in Mosta is named after him.
Reginald Vella Tomlin was born in Malta to E.B. Vella and Precedes Tomlin.
Doreen Micallef was a Maltese poet and playwright. She has been cited as an example of Malta's post World War II emergence of female authors and poets. Micallef's work has also been noted for introducing poetry into Maltese plays. In 2011, Micallef's home in Valletta was restored by the Maltese Academy, an organization that promotes the use of the Maltese language in Malta. Upon the completion of the restoration, the home became the organization's headquarters.
Pietru Pawl Saydon, was a Roman Catholic priest and scholar of the Maltese language, other semitic languages and the Bible. He was President of the Maltese Language Society (Ghaqda tal-Malti) at the University of Malta. He is most noteworthy for his contributions to the Maltese language, and the translation of the Bible from the original Hebrew to Maltese.
Mikiel Fsadni was a Maltese Dominican friar and historian. He is best known for the discovery of Il-Kantilena, the oldest known text in the Maltese language, together with Godfrey Wettinger in 1966.
Lina Brockdorff is a Maltese author, playwright and radio broadcaster.
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