Description:

Maltese Social Studies Series No. 19

Malta’s position at the centre of the Mediterranean attracted various settlers and coquerors through the ages, with the result that many languages have been spoken and written in the islands. Carthaginians, Romans, Byzantines, Muslims, Normans, Swabians, Aragonese, Castilians, the polyglottie Knights of St. John, the Rench and Great Britain left their mark on the Maltese language which is now intriguing fusion of Arabic, Sicilian, Italian and English words.

This book tells the story of how this blend came about. It focuses on Maltese and explains how contact with the high languages helped the local tongue keep pace with social development. It also describes how the process of standardization led to its achieving official status in Malta in 1934 and its recognition as an official language of the European Union in 2003, a fact which is envied by many of the larger regional languages of Europe.

Product Details:

ISBN 9789993273431
Year 2011
Author Joseph M. Brincat  
Cover Hardback
Size16cm x 24cm
Pages 498 pages
Weight 965 gr.