Francesco Vella (1793-1868) : an unsung protagonist of Maltese language development : with a rare book written by him

Abstract

Francesco Vella deserves much more recognition than what he has received to date. His multi-faceted intellectual activity ranges from that of grammarian to lexicographer; philosopher of education to alphabetarian"; to writer of children's books with moral aim. Now that we have at our disposal a much more comprehensive overview of Verta's life and works, ·e can clearly state that his role in the forging of our national language and in creating the necessary awareness in favour of a national culture should be re-evaluated. Francesco Vella, born in 1793, is not only a chronological trait d'union between M.A. Vassalli, who was born in 1764, and G. A. Vassallo, born in 1817; he is actually the person who, through his works, acted as an ideal go-between between the linguist Vassalli an d the creative writer Vassallo.

Time is today ripe for the Maltese nation to recognize as well Francesco Vella's great merits in the promotion of what is today Malta's national language. Today, at the beginning of 2003 and 210 years after the birth of Francesco, Malta is on the eve of joining the European Union, and in a few months' time our national language, the Maltese language, will be elevated to the status of official language of the European Un ion. Such feat would have never been achieved had it not been for the indefatigable work of a number of people including the three Maltese intellectuals of the 18th -1 9th centuries, i.e. Vassalli, Vella and Vassallo.