Gozitan author and MCAST academic Dr Charles Daniel Saliba recently paid a courtesy call on the President of the European Parliament, Dr Roberta Metsola.

During the meeting, Saliba spoke about the teaching of Maltese as a foreign language locally and abroad. He referred to institutions abroad where Maltese is taught to students studying Semitic languages for comparative purposes.

He also mentioned the recent Polyglot Conference 2024, organised in Valletta by Mr Richard Simcott, world-renowned polyglot and founder of the Polyglot Conference.

Saliba noted the ongoing scholarly interest in certain aspects of the Maltese language, such as proverbs. In fact, he stated that he was invited by the President of the International Association of Paremiology, Professor Rui João Baptista Soares, to the Interdisciplinary Colloquium on Proverbs in Tavira, Portugal, the ‘City of Proverbs,’ twice (2011, 2016), where on both occasions he presented a keynote speech on Maltese proverbs.

In 2022, Saliba and Soares co-authored Provérbios Europeus/European Proverbs/Proverbji Ewropej, a trilingual book (Portuguese, English and Maltese) listing equivalent proverbs in the three languages, which was published by the International Association of Paremiology.

During their meeting, Saliba presented to Dr Metsola a copy of Provérbios Europeus/European Proverbs/Proverbji Ewropej as well as the Maltese for Foreigners series, a collection of 22 books to teach Maltese as a foreign language to adults.

He also presented her with the new children’s series entitled Maltese as a Foreign Language for Juniors, consisting of Learning Maltese 1 and Learning Maltese 2. These books are part of a collection of publications by Dr Saliba which focus on the teaching of Maltese as a foreign language to different audiences.

For more information, please visit: www.charlesdanielsaliba.com

Photo: Dr Roberta Metsola and Charles Daniel Saliba

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