What kind of language is Maltese?

Semitic
Maltese, a language of Semitic origin written in the Latin script, is the national language of Malta. Over the centuries, it has incorporated many words derived from English, Italian and French. Italian is also widely spoken. The Maltese language is a source of fascination to both visitors and linguists.

Do you need to learn Maltese?

You only need to learn Maltese under these 3 conditions: You want to converse with your friends better even though the Maltese are quite happy to have entire conversations in English. You want to learn Maghrebi Arabic but the alphabet is hard so you use Maltese as a stepping stone.

Why is the Maltese language important?

The Maltese language is probably the only factor that today distinguishes us and gives us our identity. It is the national language as entrenched in our Constitution, while both Maltese and English are official languages. Maltese literature also plays an important part in the role of identity and diversity.

Why does Maltese sound Arabic?

Maltese is descended from Siculo-Arabic, a Semitic language within the Afroasiatic family, that in the course of its history has been influenced by Sicilian and Italian, to a lesser extent French, and more recently English.

Is Maltese language easy?

The truth is that Maltese is a tricky language to learn, especially when it comes to the verbs. For speakers of Latin based languages, it’s a difficult concept and makes it hard to pick up the language from listening or reading without a fair amount of study.

Is Maltese similar to Spanish?

Maltese is a dialect of Arabic and has roughly 450,000 native speakers in the island of Malta and Gozo. Maltese is the only surviving language of the Arabic dialects that were spoken in Spain and Sicily in the Middle Ages. Maltese is also the only Semitic language written in the Latin script.

Is Malta Arabic?

Malta is not, and never has been an Arab country. The Maltese language was not originally derived from Arabic, but from the ancient Phoenician language. Phoenician was an ancient Central Semitic language, related to Hebrew and Aramaic.