Maltese in the SEA-EU University Alliance

The Department of Maltese played an active role in two major international events at the Valletta Campus, organised by SEA-EU, the alliance of universities from coastal cities, by organising three language interactive sessions and a lecture on the development of the Maltese language.

During the international week dedicated to Equity and Inclusion held in February 2026, Department lecturers Kirsty Azzopardi and Justine Somerville led a "Maltese Language Crash Course." After providing a general overview of the language by sharing linguistic and cultural facts, the alphabet, and basic vocabulary, participants practised pronouns and country names by introducing themselves. Given the week's theme, the lecturers highlighted expressions, idioms, and proverbs centered on unity and friendship. The session concluded with a themed song, allowing participants to further appreciate the unique sounds and rhythms of Maltese.

The "Maltese Language Crash Course" returned in April during Multilingualism Week. In addition to the previous activities, this session focused on idioms and proverbs specifically related to language and the tongue. During the same week, lecturer Dwayne Ellul hosted a "Maltese Language Café" in which participants focused on spoken Maltese, introducing themselves and exchanging greetings, and then turned to food and favourite dishes. Participants also discussed the similarities they observed between Maltese and the languages they knew.

For the April events, the Department also invited Prof. Joseph M. Brincat, Senior Fellow at the University of Malta and author of Maltese and Other Languages (Midsea, 2021), to deliver a lecture about "Maltese in Multilingual Malta." Prof. Brincat provided a historical overview of written and spoken languages in Malta from the Temple period to the Byzantine era. He explained how a Maghrebi dialect, also spoken in Sicily until the Norman period, evolved over a millennium to keep pace with demographic and social progress through contact with Sicilian, Italian, and English. He further detailed the standardisation process over the last three centuries and the lexical stratigraphy of modern Maltese, referencing the current sociolinguistic situation as analysed in the 2021 report by the National Council for the Maltese Language, Il-Qagħda tal-Ilsien Malti.

Prof. Godfrey Baldacchino, lead of the expert group on multilingualism, noted that international participants “greatly enjoyed the interventions regarding the Maltese language during the international Multilingualism week. What stood out most was the unique blend of Maltese from Siculo-Arabic, Italian, and English, and the reality that a living language is one that strives to welcome and integrate words from other tongues."

Ms Maria Grima Calleja from the SEA-EU office at the University of Malta thanked the Department for its participation in these International Weeks. “It is greatly appreciated and contributed significantly to the success of the weeks!"

The Department of Maltese congratulates colleagues from other departments who participated and thanks the SEA-EU Alliance leadership for these important initiatives. Special thanks to Prof. Godfrey Baldacchino for his energy, to Maria Grima Calleja for her coordination, and to Prof. Michael Spagnol for his contribution to SEA-EU on behalf of the Department.

[MT]

Il-Malti fl-alleanza tal-universitajiet SEA-EU

Permezz ta’ sessjonijiet interattivi u taħdita dwar l-iżvilupp tal-Malti, id-Dipartiment tal-Malti ħa sehem attiv f’żewġ avvenimenti internazzjonali importanti fil-Valletta Campus u li ġew organizzati minn SEA-EU, l-alleanza ta’ universitajiet li jmissu mal-baħar.

Fil-ġimgħa internazzjonali ta’ attivitajiet dwar l-Ekwità u l-Inklużjoni li saret fi Frar tal-2026, il-letturi tad-Dipartiment Kirsty Azzopardi u Justine Somerville mexxew “Maltese Language Crash Course.” Wara li taw ħarsa ġenerali lejn il-Malti billi qasmu mal-parteċipanti ftit fatti lingwistiċi u kulturali u daru l-alfabett u xi vokabolarju, il-letturi talbu lill-parteċipanti jipprattikaw il-pronomi u l-ismijiet tal-pajjiżi billi jintroduċu lilhom infushom u jgħidu minn fejn ġejjin. Minħabba l-ġimgħa ddedikata għall-inklużjoni u l-ekwità, il-letturi semmew espressjonijiet, idjomi u qwiel li juru l-għaqda u l-ħbiberija. Is-sessjoni ngħalqet b’kanzunetta b’tema addattata biex il-parteċipanti japprezzaw iżjed il-ħsejjes u r-ritmi tal-ilsien Malti.

Is-sessjoni interattiva tal-“Maltese Language Crash Course” li saret fil-ġimgħa ta’ attivitajiet dwar il-Multilingwiżmu f’April tal-2026, minbarra l-attivitajiet li saru fi Frar, iffukat fuq espressjonijiet, idjomi u qwiel li jintrabtu mal-lingwa jew mal-ilsien. Fl-istess ġimgħa tal-Multilingwiżmu, il-lettur Dwayne Ellul mexxa “Language Café” tal-Malti li fih l-parteċipanti ffukaw fuq it-taħdit bil-Malti u kellhom l-opportunità jintroduċu ruħhom ma' xulxin bil-Malti u jsellmu lil xulxin. Il-parteċipanti tħaddtu wkoll dwar l-ikel u l-platti favoriti tagħhom u ddiskutew ix-xebh li raw bejn il-Malti u lingwi oħra li jafu.

Għall-ġimgħa f’April, id-Dipartiment tal-Malti talab lill-Prof. Joseph M. Brincat, Senior Fellow fl-Università ta’ Malta u l-awtur tal-istorja lingwistika ta’ Malta, Maltese and Other Languages (Midsea, 2021), biex jagħmel taħdita lill-parteċipanti fuq “Maltese in Multilingual Malta”. Il-Professur Brincat ta ħarsa ħafifa lejn il-lingwi miktuba u mitkellma f’Malta minn żmien it-Tempji sal-ħakma Bizantina, u spjega kif id-djalett Magrebin, li kien mitkellem ukoll fi Sqallija sa żmien in-Normanni, f’elf sena kiber biex iżomm il-progress demografiku u soċjali bil-kuntatt mal-Isqalli, mat-Taljan u mal-Ingliż. Spjega l-proċess tal-istandardizzazzjoni fl-aħħar tliet sekli u l-istratigrafija lessikali tal-Malti tal-lum, u semma s-sitwazzjoni soċjolingwistika preżenti kif tidher mill-analiżi li għamel il-Kunsill Nazzjonali tal-Ilsien Malti fl-2021, Il-Qagħda tal-Ilsien Malti.

Il-Prof. Godfrey Baldacchino, li jmexxi l-grupp ta’ esperti fuq il-multilingwiżmu, qal li l-parteċipanti internazzjonali “ħadu pjaċir ħafna bl-interventi li saru dwar l-ilsien Malti fil-Ġimgħa Internazzjonali dwar il-Multilingwiżmu. Naħseb spikkat l-għaġna tal-Malti mis-Sikulo Għarbi, it-Taljan u l-Ingliż. Spikka wkoll kif ilsien ħaj huwa wieħed li jitħabat ħalli jilqa' u jaċċetta fi ħdanu kliem minn ilsna oħra.”

Is-Sa Maria Grima Calleja, mill-uffiċċju tas-SEA-EU fl-Università ta’ Malta, irringrazzjat lid-Dipartiment għas-sehem tiegħu f’dawn il-ġimgħat internazzjonali. "Apprezzajna ħafna s-sehem tad-Dipartiment li għen ħafna biex dawn il-ġimgħat ikunu suċċess!"

Id-Dipartiment tal-Malti jifraħ lill-kollegi f’dipartimenti oħrajn li ħadu sehem ukoll, u jirringrazzja lit-tmexxija tal-alleanza SEA-EU ta’ dawn l-inizjattivi importanti, lill-Prof. Godfrey Baldacchino tal-enerġija, lil Maria Grima Calleja tal-kordinazzjoni, u lill-Prof. Michael Spagnol tas-sehem tiegħu fis-SEA-EU f’isem id-Dipartiment.