Sicilian is a Romance language. Its dialects comprise the Italiano Meridionale-estremo language group, which are spoken on the island of Sicily and its satellite islands; in southern and central Calabria ; in the southern parts of Apulia, the Salento Sicilian ' onMouseout='HidePop("7774")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/French_language">French
French is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
,
SpanishSpanish or Castilian is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that originated in northern Spain and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile, evolving into the principal language of government and trade in the Iberian peninsula...
and Italian. From 1800 onwards these were largely supplanted by English. The Maltese language is today heavily overlaid with
RomanceThe Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family comprising all the languages that descend from Latin, the language of ancient Rome...
and English influences as a result.
According to Prof. Oliver Friggieri:
Maltese writers developed an uninterrupted local "Italian" literary movement which went on up to about four decades ago, whereas Maltese as a literary idiom started to coexist on a wide scale in the last decades of the 19th century. Whilst Maltese has the historical priority on the level of the spoken language, Italian has the priority of being the almost exclusive written medium, for the socio-cultural affairs, for the longest period. The native tongue had only to wait for the arrival of a new mentality which could integrate an unwritten, popular tradition with a written, academically respectable one.
The emergence of Maltese literature
The oldest known literary text in the Maltese language is
Pietru Caxaro'sPietru Caxaro was a Maltese poet who died in 1485. Caxaro was a philosopher, orator, and public notary. He currently rests in the chapel of Our Lady of Help at the Dominicans Church at Rabat, Malta.-Early years:...
poem,
CantilenaIl Cantilena is the oldest known literary text in the Maltese language. It dates from the 15th century but was not found until 1966 or 1968 by Prof. Godfrey Wettinger and Fr. M. Fsadni . The poem is attributed to Pietru Caxaro, and was recorded by Caxaro's nephew, Brandano, in his notarial...
(circa 1470 to 1485) (also known as
Xidew il-Qada), followed by Gian Francesco Bonamico's sonnet of praise to
Grand Master Nicolò CotonerFra Nicolas Cotoner , succeeded his brother Fra Raphael Cotoner as Grand Master of the Knights of St. John in 1663. During his reign Fra Mattia Preti worked on the decoration of St John's Co-Cathedral. He is buried in the Chapel of Aragon in the Co-Cathedral. He was succeeded by Fra Gregorio Carafa...
,
Mejju gie' bl'Uard, u Zahar (The month of May has arrived, with roses and orange blossoms), circa 1672. The earliest known Maltese dictionary was written by Francois de Vion Thezan Court (circa 1640). In 1700, an anonymous Gozitan poet wrote
Jaħasra Mingħajr Ħtija (Unfortunately Innocent). A Maltese translation of the
Lord's PrayerThe Lord's Prayer, also known as the Our Father or Pater noster, is perhaps the best-known prayer in Christianity. On Easter Sunday 2007 it was estimated that 2 billion Catholic, Protestant and Eastern Orthodox Christians read, recited, or sang the short prayer in hundreds of languages...
appeared in Johannes Heinrich Maius's work
Specimen Lingua Punicæ in hodierna Melitensium superstitis (1718), demonstrating the formerly wide-held belief that the language had a Punic heritage. A collection of religious sermons by a certain Dun Ignazio Saverio Mifsud, published between 1739 and 1746, is regarded as the earliest known example of Maltese prose.
An anonymous poem entitled
Fuqek Nitħaddet Malta (I am talking about you, Malta), was written circa 1749, regarding an uprising of slaves. A few years later, in 1752, a
catechismA catechism is a summary or exposition of doctrine, traditionally used in Christian religious teaching from New Testament times to the present...
entitled
Tagħlim Nisrani ta' Dun Franġisk Wizzino (Don Francesco Wizzino's Christian Teachings) was published in both Maltese and Italian. The occasion of
CarnivalCarnival has had an important place on the Maltese cultural calendar for just under five centuries, having been introduced to the Islands by Grand Master Piero de Ponte in 1535...
in 1760 saw the publication of a collection of
burlesqueBurlesque is a humorous theatrical entertainment involving parody and sometimes grotesque exaggeration. In 20th century America, the form became associated with a variety show in which striptease is the chief attraction.-Etymology and early history:...
verses under the heading
Żwieġ la Maltija (Marriage, in the Maltese Style), by Dun Feliċ Demarco.
A child of the
RomanticRomanticism is a complex artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe, and gained strength during the Industrial Revolution...
movement, Maltese patriot
Mikiel Anton VassalliMikiel Anton Vassalli was a Maltese writer and linguist. He studied oriental languages at the University of Rome, and went on to publish important Maltese language books, including a Maltese-Italian dictionary, a Maltese grammar book and, towards the end of his life, a book on Maltese...
(1764-1829) hailed the emergence of literary Maltese as "one of the ancient patrimonies...of the new emerging nation" and saw this nascent trend as: (1) the affirmation of the singular and collective identity, and (2) the cultivation and diffusion of the national speech medium as the most sacred component in the definition of the patria and as the most effective justification both for a dominated community's claim to be a nation and for the subsequent struggle against foreign rulers.
Between 1798 and 1800, while Malta was under the rule of Napoleonic France, a Maltese translation of
L-Għanja tat-Trijonf tal-Libertà (Ode to the Triumph of Liberty), by Citizen La Coretterie, Secretary to the French Government Commissioner, was published on the occasion of
Bastille DayBastille Day is the French national holiday, celebrated on 14 July each year. In France, it is called Fête Nationale in official parlance, or more commonly le quatorze juillet ....
.
The first translation into Maltese of a biblical text, the Gospel of St. John, was published in 1822 (trans. Ġużeppi Marija Cannolo), on the initiative of the Bible Society in Malta. The first Maltese language newspaper,
l-Arlekkin jew Kawlata Ingliża u Maltija (The Harlequin, or a mix of English and Maltese) appeared in 1839, and featured the poems
l-Imħabba u Fantasija (Love and Fantasy) and
Sunett (A Sonnett).
The first epic poem in Maltese,
Il-Ġifen Tork (The Turkish CaravelThis article is about the Caravel boat. For the carvel type of boat building, see Carvel .A caravel is a small, highly maneuverable, two- or three-masted lateen-rigged ship, created by the Portuguese and used by them as well as by the Spanish for long voyages of exploration from the 15th...
), by Giovanni Antonio Vassallo, was published in 1842, followed by
Ħrejjef bil-Malti (Legends in Maltese) and
Ħrejjef u Ċajt bil-Malti (Legends and Jokes in Maltese) in 1861 and 1863 respectively. The same author published the first history book in the Maltese language entitled
Storja ta’ Malta Miktuba għall-Poplu (The People's History of Malta) in 1862.
1863 saw the publication of the first
novelA novel is a long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
in Maltese,
Elvira jew Imħabba ta’ Tirann (Elvira, or the Love of a Tyrant) by the
NeapolitanNeapolitan may refer to:* Neapolitan--of, or pertaining to the city of Naples, Italy and sometimes its wider Duchy or Province of Naples*Previously a nationality, during the time of the Kingdom of Naples or the Neapolitan Republics* Neapolitan cuisine...
author, Giuseppe Folliero de Luna. Anton Manwel Caruana's novel
Ineż Farruġ (1889), the first Maltese novel, was modelled on traditional Italian historical novels, such as
Manzoni'sAlessandro Francesco Tommaso Manzoni was an Italian poet and novelist.He is famous for the novel The Betrothed, one of the major works of Italian literature.-Biography:...
I promessi sposi and has been the subject of recent scholarly attention.
Notable Maltese writers
- Rużar Briffa
Rużar Briffa was a Maltese poet and dermatologist, and a major figure in Maltese literature.“I never thought of publishing these poems in a book. Some were written in hard times, others in moments of joy...
- Anton Buttigieg
Anton Buttigieg [IPA: antɔn butigi:g] was a Maltese political figure and poet. He served as the second President of Malta from 1976 until 1981.-Early Life:...
- Ray Buttigieg
Ray Buttigiegis a poet and musician born on Gozo, the second largest island of the Maltese Islands on May 1, 1955.He attended Qala primary school, then the Lyceum in Victoria, Gozo. He then moved to the United States and continued his studies in New York, where he settled permanently...
- Pietru Caxaro
Pietru Caxaro was a Maltese poet who died in 1485. Caxaro was a philosopher, orator, and public notary. He currently rests in the chapel of Our Lady of Help at the Dominicans Church at Rabat, Malta.-Early years:...
- Ninu Cremona
Anthony Cremona also known as Ninu Cremona and Is-Sur Nin was a Maltese writer.He was the son of Feliċ and Margaret nee Pace. He was born in Victoria Gozo...
- Francis Ebejer
Francis Ebejer was a Maltese dramatist and novelist. Ebejer studied medicine at the University of Malta between 1942 and 1943 before abandoning the course to work as an English-Italian interpreter with the 8th Army of the British Forces in Tripolitania, North Africa...
- Achille Mizzi
- Oliver Friggieri
- Alfons Maria Galea
- Ġuzè Galea
Guzè Galea was a doctor and a Maltese author. He produced newspaper articles as well as novels. Some of his books include:*Zmien L-Ispanjoli*San Gwann*Ragel bil-Ghaqal...
- Herbert Ganado
Herbert Ganado was a Maltese lawyer, president of Catholic Action, editor, politician and author.Born in tal-Furjana on 7 April 1906 on the island of Malta, Ganado studied at the Lyceum and University of Malta and graduated as a lawyer in 1931. He was active at university and shortly after became...
- Gioacchino Navarro
Gioacchino Navarro , was the Conventional Parish Priest of the Order of St. John, Malta. He studied both Latin and Greek. He is known in Malta for It-Tliet Għanjiet bil-Malti , that come to public for the first time by F. E. G...
- Ġużè Bonnici
- Ġorġ Pisani
- Dun Karm Psaila
Dun Karm was a Maltese writer and poet, sometimes called 'the bard of Malta' He was educated at the Seminary between the years 1885 and 1894 and then proceeded to study philosophy in 1888 and theology in 1890 the University of Malta.He was ordained priest in 1894...
- Ġużè Cassar Pullicino
- Frans Said
Frans Henry Said is a Maltese broadcaster and author, born on 16 September 1932.His best known work is in Children’s Programmes, and Christmas activities for needy children.-Early life:...
- Frans Sammut
Frans Sammut is considered to be one of Malta's foremost literary persons. He studied at the Zebbug Primary School, St Aloysius College, St Michael's Teacher Training College, the University of Malta Frans Sammut (Malta, 1945 - ) is considered to be one of Malta's foremost literary persons. He...
- Mikiel Anton Vassalli
Mikiel Anton Vassalli was a Maltese writer and linguist. He studied oriental languages at the University of Rome, and went on to publish important Maltese language books, including a Maltese-Italian dictionary, a Maltese grammar book and, towards the end of his life, a book on Maltese...
- Trevor Żahra
- Godfrey Wettinger
The Cantilena
The
CantilenaIl Cantilena is the oldest known literary text in the Maltese language. It dates from the 15th century but was not found until 1966 or 1968 by Prof. Godfrey Wettinger and Fr. M. Fsadni . The poem is attributed to Pietru Caxaro, and was recorded by Caxaro's nephew, Brandano, in his notarial...
is the oldest written text known to exist in
MalteseMaltese is the national language of Malta, and a co-official language of the country alongside English,while also serving as an official language of the European Union, the only Semitic language so distinguished. Maltese is descended from Siculo-Arabic...
, dating from no later than 1485, the death of
Pietru CaxaroPietru Caxaro was a Maltese poet who died in 1485. Caxaro was a philosopher, orator, and public notary. He currently rests in the chapel of Our Lady of Help at the Dominicans Church at Rabat, Malta.-Early years:...
, the author it is attributed to. It wasn't rediscovered until 1966 or 1968 by Prof. Godfrey Wettinger and Fr. M. Fsadni in the Valletta Notarial Archives.
List of Books in Maltese
- Taħt Tliet Saltniet
- Zmien L-Ispanjoli
Zmien l-Ispanjoli is a novel written by Guze Galea....
- IL-Gagga
- Samuraj
- Il-Holma Maltija
- Paceville
Located west of St. Julian's, Malta, Paceville is the name given to an informal district heavily populated with nightclubs, bars, pubs and restaurants, and is considered to be Malta's nightlife capital. Paceville is located between Spinola Point and Dragonara Point, delimiting Spinola Bay and St...
External links