Exhibition showcases the Maltese language’s long road towards official recognition

The National Museum of Archaeology in Valletta saw the launch of an espresso exhibition that gives an account of the Maltese language’s long road towards official recognition and honours those who worked incessantly for Maltese to be duly acknowledged.

Entitled Il-Malti: Il-Mixja sal-Għarfien Uffiċjali, the exhibition was inaugurated by His Excellency the President of Malta and is the result of a joint effort by Heritage Malta and L-Akkademja tal-Malti, which was founded in 1920 and was originally known as L-Għaqda tal-Kittieba tal-Malti. The exhibition runs until the end of April.

The exhibition is spread across ten themes and covers the history of the Maltese language from its Semitic roots until it was declared Malta’s national language in 1964 and one of the European Union’s official languages in 2004.

Through documents, books and information panels, the exhibition provides insight into Pietru Caxaro’s Kantilena, Ignazio Saverio Mifsud’s sermons in Maltese, works by Agius de Soldanis and Vassalli, the only edition in Maltese of the newspaper L’Arlecchin in December 1838, the Language Question, the setting up of L-Għaqda tal-Kittieba tal-Maltin, as well as monumental accomplishments such as the translation of the Bible by Pietru Pawl Saydon and Ġużè Aquilina’s dictionary.

In conjunction with this exhibition, Dr Mario Cassar will be delivering a public lecture about the Maltese language during the rule of the Order of St John (1530 – 1798). The lecture will be held at the National Museum of Archaeology this Friday at 6.30pm. Admission is free of charge and no pre-booking is required.

Speaking at the exhibitions’ inauguration, President George Vella noted that this exhibition demonstrates that the journey to keep our language alive is still ongoing and must continue. It also demonstrates the fact that our language has proven over the years that it has solid foundations, is resilient, and is able to adapt to different times and challenges. Our language, said the President, besides forming part of our culture and identity, is a strong element that unites us as a nation. Therefore he called for a continuous update that respects both the roots and the structure and use of the language with the aim of keeping our language alive and active.

“It is a pity that the use of Maltese among us is decreasing”, stated the President while mentioning that Maltese is being increasingly influenced by elements of the English language. He also mentioned that the Maltese language is gradually being lost among the thousands of Maltese living abroad. “It is due to these considerations that my Office has always sought to work closely with the Maltese language organisations with the aim of identifying concrete measures that will help us use the Maltese language properly, as well as correctly”, added the President while referring to the ‘Il-Malti għal Qalbi’ campaign organised as a collaboration between the Office of the President and seven Maltese language organisations.

Minister for the National Heritage, the Arts and Local Government, Owen Bonnici, said that this exhibition attests to a century of perseverance for the sake of the Maltese language. Every language has its own unique characteristics which must be preserved in the best way possible to keep each country’s identity alive. Such exhibitions are an important element of Maltese identity. Thanks to their language, the Maltese people have expressed their ambition towards their identity, the Minister said.

Heritage Malta’s Chairman, Mr Mario Cutajar, said that the Maltese language forms part of our national heritage and as such it has been entrusted to us to protect it and to leave it to our successors as a means of distinguishing themselves from other nations. This exhibition, said Mr Cutajar, has three main aims, namely that we acknowledge the lengthy struggle of those who strove to give our language the dignity it deserves; that we fully realise that the Maltese language is our heritage and should be treasured; and that, guided by the past, we learn to appreciate our language and look after it well. If we keep these aims alive, we will be honouring those who dedicated their lives to our language because they understood it to be part of our identity, even when others chose to shun it.

Mr Joseph Borg, Secretary of L-Akkademja tal-Malti, spoke of how Heritage Malta and L-Akkademja tal-Malti have been working closely on this exhibition since 2015. Their collaboration started with a lecture on the 450th anniversary of the Great Siege and continued through various publications, including Agius de Soldanis’ Damma in 2016 and Storja tal-Ilsien u l-Letteratura Maltija – kronoloġija by Dr Mario Cassar in 2021. Mr Borg added that the exhibition was originally planned to coincide with the centenary of the establishment of L-Għaqda tal-Kittieba tal-Malti in 2020 but those plans were disrupted by the pandemic. However, preparations continued and the plan was eventually brought to fruition. Mr Borg expressed satisfaction that the exhibition has now coincided with the campaign ‘Il-Malti għal Qalbi’ – an excellent initiative by HE the President of Malta organised jointly with Maltese language associations.