Dr Charles Daniel Saliba, senior lecturer at the Malta College of Arts, Science & Technology, Gozo Campus, was recently invited to speak at the inaugural edition of Linguist Talks, a distinguished lecture series hosted by École Normale Supérieure de Tunis (ENS), Université de Tunis (Tunisia).

In his presentation, titled ‘The Semitic Element of the Maltese Language,” Dr Saliba explored the historical development of the Maltese language, with particular emphasis on its Semitic element. His lecture examined the language’s lexicon and morphology and highlighted notable similarities between Maltese and Tunisian Arabic.

Linguist Talks is a new academic initiative that aims to examine the intricate connections between language, culture, and cognition. Organised by Professor Lilia Ben Mansour of the Department of English Language, Literature, and Civilisation and hosted by ENS – one of Tunisia’s foremost academic institutions known for training future educators and scholars – it brought together renowned linguists from across the globe.

Reflecting on the experience, Dr Saliba commented, “it was a privilege to participate in the launch of this intellectually vibrant series. Engaging with students, educators, and researchers in such a dynamic setting was truly inspiring. It was especially meaningful to discuss the Maltese language in Tunisia, where the local dialect shares many linguistic features with our own.”

The event featured several eminent speakers:

Professor Jean-Marc Dewaele, Birkbeck, University of London, United Kingdom – ‘Emotion in Intercultural Communication’;

Dr Seyyed Hatam Tamimi Sa’d, Indo-American Center, Chicago, USA – ‘Theories of Language Origins and Evolution’;

Dr Zhongfeng Tian, Rutgers University-Newark, USA – ‘Cultivating Sustainable Translanguaging Pedagogy in Chinese Immersion Classrooms’;

Dr Natalia V. Parker, University College London (UCL), United Kingdom – ‘Cognitive Processing in a Language Classroom and How to Make Language Instruction More Processable’; and

Dr Anna Dillon, Emirates College for Advanced Education, United Arab Emirates – ‘Reading with Young Children in Multilingual Families: Community, Collaboration and Cosiness’.

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Photo: Dr Charles Daniel Saliba together with Professor Lilia Ben Mansour

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