Malta’s accession to the EU, and the recognition of the Maltese Language as an official language of the EU, has increased the interest in learning the Maltese language for different reasons.

This has led to a demand for Maltese-language courses and resources for foreigners to learn Maltese.

For this reason, between 2013 and 2017, Gozitan author Charles Daniel Saliba published a Maltese/English book series entitled Maltese for Foreigners, consisting of 14 books, three syllabi and audio files. In 2018, Saliba has translated Level A1 of the Maltese for Foreigners series into a Maltese-Italian version entitled Maltese per Stranieri.

The author explained that since Maltese is a Semitic language, it has been taught in German universities for comparative purposes.

“A case in point is The Malta Centre at the University of Bremen, headed by Professor Thomas Stolz, which since 2014, offers practical Maltese language courses. For this reason, I have translated Level A1 of the Maltese for Foreigners series into a Maltese-German version entitled Maltesisch für Ausländer,” Dr Saliba said.

The three books found in this level (Anfänger-Grundstufe) are Meine ersten 750 Wörter auf Maltesisch, Grundlagen der maltesischen Grammatik im Kontext 1 and Maltesisch sprechen 1.

Dr Saliba said that, “they are perfect for beginners and suitable for individuals, groups or in a school setting. Thus, these resources could be a helpful tool to organise Maltese-language courses in German speaking countries such as Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Luxembourg.”

Saliba received a doctor of philosophy degree from the University of Sheffield in 2015, specialising in teaching Maltese as a foreign language. His study was sponsored by the Malta Government Scholarship Scheme Grant (MGSS).

For more information about each book, please visit www.charlesdanielsaliba.com or www.bdlbooks.com

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