Spell checking for the Maltese language

Abstract

This study presents the development of a Grammar Error Correction (GEC) system for the Maltese language. A GEC system, or spell checking system, improves writing quality by identifying and correcting spelling and grammar errors in text. Modernspell checkers are able to improve writing across various contexts, ranging from casual text messages to formal documents. As a low‐resourced and under represented language in the digital world, Maltese lacks a robust digital presence, highlighting the urgent need for a dedicated spell‐checking system. This research seekstocontributetothedevelopmentofaspellcheckerfortheMalteselanguage. A key issue identified through previous efforts for GEC systems for Maltese is the lack of data available. Therefore, the creation of a larger, more representa tive dataset was necessary. A data collection campaign was launched to gather authentic human errors. The errors collected were statistically analysed, and used to inform the creation of a synthetic dataset. As a result, two distinct datasets— containing authentic human errors, synthetic errors, and a hybrid of both—were developed and used to train the system. The created system consisted of a trans former basedimplementation, inwhichpre‐trained Malteselanguagemodelswere implementedforboththeencoderanddecodercomponents. Thefinalsystemout performed previous spell‐checking systems, setting a new benchmark in Maltese GEC. The final system created consistently corrected errors related to capitalisation andMaltese‐specificcharacters, indicatingastronglevelofcontextualunderstand ing. Despite these advancements, thesystem’s overall performance remains below that of widely used commercial spell checkers. Nonetheless, the resources created and the findings of this study provide a foundation for future research in Maltese GEC.