Dizzjunarju.mt: Qed jinbena d-Dizzjunarju Nazzjonali tal-Malti

Fid-19 ta’ Ġunju 2026, id-Dipartiment tal-Malti nieda proġett ambizzjuż għall-ilsien Malti: Dizzjunarju.mt, id-dizzjunarju nazzjonali tal-Malti fuq l-internet. Il-Malti se jkollu dizzjunarju diġitali, miftuħ u bla ħlas, maħsub għal min jikteb, jaqra, jittraduċi, jgħallem jew jitgħallem il-Malti, jew sempliċiment għal min taqbdu l-kurżità kelma xi tfi sser, kif tispelliha, kif tlissinha, jew kif tista’ tgħidha bl-Ingliż.

Bis-saħħa ta’ esperti mill-oqsma tal-lessikografi ja, il-lingwistika, il-lingwistika tal-korpus, u t-teknoloġija tal-informatika, qed jinbena dizzjunarju li jagħti d-defi nizzjoni bil-Malti, l-ekwivalenti bl-Ingliż, tagħrif grammatikali u gwida għat-tlissin, eżempji bbażati fuq l-użu naturali tal-lingwa, l-idjomi u l-frażijiet, u n-nisel tal-kliem.

Il-proġett tfassal għal fi rxa wiesgħa ta’ nies: minn kelliema nattivi sa studenti tal-Malti bħala lsien barrani, minn għalliema sa tradutturi, minn ġurnalisti u xandara sa riċerkaturi. Għalhekk, Dizzjunarju.mt huwa ġabra ħajja li tikber id f’id mal-lingwa, spazju miftuħ għal kulħadd, fejn il-kliem tal-bieraħ jiltaqa’ mal-kliem tal-lum waqt li jwitti t-triq għall-Malti t’għada.

Waqt is-serata, li ttellgħet bis-sehem artistiku tal-mużiċist Daniel Cauchi, l-attur Bradley Cachia, u l-kittieb Prof. Michael Spagnol, saru wkoll għadd ta’ diskorsi. L-atmosfera fi l-post offriet esperjenza unika bl-użu kreattiv tal-kliem.

L-edituri ġenerali, il-Prof. Michael Spagnol u s-Sur Dwayne Ellul, taw stampa tal-istorja tad-dizzjunarji Maltin u spjegaw kif jaħdem is-sit, li hu ddisinjat mill-artist Julian Mallia (Julinu). Dan il-proġett qed isir mid-Dipartiment tal-Malti fl -Università ta’ Malta bl-għajnuna ta’ Sketch Engine, Lexical Computing, Dictionary Express, RIDT, Times of Malta, u MaltaDaily.


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Dizzjunarju.mt: Building the National Dictionary of Maltese

On 19 June 2026, the Department of Maltese at the University of Malta launched an ambitious new project for the Maltese language: Dizzjunarju.mt, the National Dictionary of Maltese online. Maltese will now have a free, open-access digital dictionary designed for anyone who writes, reads, translates, teaches, or learns Maltese, as well as for those who are simply curious about the meaning of a word, its spelling, pronunciation, or English equivalent.

Drawing on the expertise of specialists in lexicography, linguistics, corpus linguistics, and language technology, Dizzjunarju.mt is being developed as a comprehensive reference work. It provides definitions in Maltese, English equivalents, grammatical information, pronunciation guidance, examples based on authentic language use, idioms and phrases, as well as information on the origins of words.

The project has been conceived for a broad range of users: from native speakers to learners of Maltese as a foreign language, from teachers to translators, and from journalists and broadcasters to researchers. Dizzjunarju.mt is therefore a living resource that grows alongside the language itself — an open space for everyone, where the words of yesterday meet the words of today, while paving the way for the Maltese of tomorrow.

The launch event featured artistic contributions by musician Daniel Cauchi, actor Bradley Cachia, and writer Prof. Michael Spagnol, alongside a number of speeches. Through the creative use of language, the evening offered attendees a unique and immersive experience.

General Editors Prof. Michael Spagnol and Mr Dwayne Ellul outlined the history of Maltese dictionaries and demonstrated how the website works. The platform was designed by artist Julian Mallia (Julinu). The project is being led by the Department of Maltese at the University of Malta, with the support of Sketch Engine, Lexical Computing, Dictionary Express, RIDT Foundation, Times of Malta, and MaltaDaily.