History has seen Malta be occupied by literally hundreds of civilizations and empires. Perhaps not surprisingly, the languages of Malta display this quite well, with the languages being some of the most diverse in Europe (and that’s saying something!)
For the most part, the languages spoken in Malta are among the most spoken in the world, whilst others are indigenous to Malta, likely being languages that are so strange and obscure that you’ve never heard of them…
Official Languages of Malta
According to the Constitution of Malta, there are two official languages of Malta, with a third language serving as a semi-official “cultural” language. These are:
Maltese
Historically, Malta has been inhabited by Semitic peoples, who migrated to Malta from the Middle East and North Africa after the Byzantine (Eastern Roman Empire) withdrawal from the island in the late ninth century AD.
Settling in modern-day Malta, these Semitic peoples spoke hundreds of different dialects of Sicilian Arabic, which soon merged into one language, Maltese.
Over the course of Maltese history, the island has been occupied by many foreign powers, such as France, Italy and Britain, with their languages all leaving a distinct mark on the Maltese language.
You see, over time, Maltese has picked up numerous Italian, French and English words, to compliment the Arabic words the language was based on, to the point where linguists generally agree roughly 52% of the language’s words are derived from Latin!
Currently, Maltese is the most spoken language in Malta by far, being spoken by roughly 475,000 in the country (95% of the country’s population), mostly as a first language (roughly 400,000 people) but also as a secondary language (75,000 people).
Due to this, most of the country’s media is done in Maltese, with nine out of the country’s 14 major newspapers being in Maltese, with most radio and local TV stations also being in Maltese too!
English
Between 1814 and 1964, Malta was a part of the British Empire. As such, English (the official language of the empire) was the official language of trade and business in Malta, alongside Maltese.
Despite the British having granted Malta their independence in 1964, their legacy remains in the form of English, more specifically, British English, as one of the two official languages of the country.
Although standard British English is the official dialect of English spoken in Malta, most people tend to speak a dialect of English called Maltese English, which is essentially standard British English with a lot of Italian and Maltese loan words.
Maltese English also has a lot of Italian pronunciation of the French/Latin words in English, which as a non-Maltese English speaker can occasionally get quite hard to understand!
Despite this, you may actually hear Received Pronunciation (the upper-class dialect of English that you typically think of when you think of a British accent), usually among well-educated and/or rich Maltese individuals.
According to the most recent government surveys, English spoken by around 450,000 people in the country (90% of the country’s population), including 45,000 people who speak it as a first language.
For the most part, the language is taught as the main secondary language in Maltese schools, which see most young Maltese people become fluent in the language before they begin learning a third language at school.
Italian
Whilst not one of the two official languages of Malta, Italian does act like one.
For centuries, Malta was controlled by Italians, who often spoke one of the many dialects of Italian now spoken in Italy. As such, many in the upper and middle classes in Malta learned Italian to gain favor with their Italian overlords.
Over time, however, Italians lost control of Malta, first to the French, and later to the British. Despite this, Italian was still a major language, often spoken more than French and English were.
Under British rule, however, most Maltese Italian speakers began to stop speaking Italian in favor of English, but many would continue to use Italian as the language they spoke at home.
Much like the English spoken in Malta, the Italian spoken in Malta has picked up a large amount of English and Maltese vocabulary, forming what is known as Maltese Italian, which (apparently) sounds quite strange to a native Italy Italian speaker!
As can be expected, Italian is actually taught in Malta as a second language, with Maltese students having the ability to learn it formally from the age of 11, up until the age of 18 (although many can speak it to a basic level beforehand anyway).
Currently, it is estimated that around 33% of the Maltese population (roughly 165,000 people) can speak Italian, either as their first language, or as a second language.
Immigrant Languages of Malta
Despite there being two official (and one semi-official) languages of Malta, the country is also home to a large number of immigrants, who’ve often brought their languages to the country too!
Russian
One of the things you may not know about Malta, is that it sells economic citizenship. In a nutshell, this means that if you’re rich enough, and you’re willing to invest in Maltese property and live there for a short amount of time, you can get citizenship there.
Considered by many to be a tax haven, coupled with the fact that Malta is a member of the EU (when Russia isn’t), has made Malta a popular destination for insanely rich Russian businessmen looking to do business in the EU.
Whilst not always the case, these Russian billionaires tend to move Malta from Russia and pass all the necessary economic tests to become a Maltese citizen, before receiving their Maltese citizenship.
Although many leave for places like London and Paris, many choose to stay in Malta, with the tiny island being called home by many of Russia’s elites, even if they do split their time between Malta and Russia.
Yet it isn’t just Russian billionaires who are moving to Malta. Indeed, many ordinary Russians are also moving to Malta, some for work, others for better weather, whilst others have moved simply for a better life.
Regardless, there are now roughly 25,000 native Russian speakers in the country, or roughly 0.5% of the population.
In fact, Russian has become such a common immigrant language in Malta, that it has actually begun to be taught in schools, usually in Form III (between the ages of 13 and 18).
French
During his time as emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte would set about trying to conquer all of Europe. Although Napoleon would only be partly successful in this venture, he would conquer Malta in 1800.
From 1800, until Napoleon’s defeat in 1814, French would be the official language of Malta, having a French governor, and French-speaking troops occupy the region. After Napoleon’s defeat, Malta would become a British territory.
Due in part to the historical significance of the language on Malta, as well as French formerly being the world’s Lingua Franca, many school children in Malta learn the language from the age of 11 onwards.
Although many Maltese people forget some of the other languages taught at school, French is one that they usually don’t, with it still being an essential language for business (usually when English and Italian won’t suffice).
Malta has also seen an increase in rich Frenchmen move to the country in the hopes of avoiding French taxes (as neighboring Monaco signed a treaty with France meaning any French citizens in Monaco need to pay French taxes).
These factors combined sees roughly 7.3% of Malta’s population (around 36,500 people) speak French, mostly as a second language, but also as a first language too (mostly being French speakers from France, but also a few from Belgium too).
German
Today, Germany is known for many things. Primarily, it is known for being extremely business-friendly, encouraging many young Germans to start their own businesses or find other ways to become millionaires and billionaires. Whilst many of these rich Germans have stayed in Germany, just as many have left.
As Germany isn’t well known for its sun, many of these wealthy Germans have headed south.
Whilst many have settled in tax-friendly places the Bahamas, Cayman Islands and Bermuda, quite a few have simply moved to the south of Europe, so they can continue to run their company without the time zone differences.
Thanks to Malta still being a part of the EU (having joined in May 2004), a large amount of these wealthy Germans have moved to Malta.
Although most of Malta’s German speakers are from Germany, the island’s business-friendly policies have seen a number of well-to-do Austrians and Swiss move to the tiny island nation too.
While mostly decentralized, there is actually quite a passionate German-speaking community in Malta!
Indeed, this community is so large, that Malta has begun teaching German at school, where it is mostly taught in areas with high numbers of German immigrants (mostly in and around the Maltese Capital of Valetta).
To date, the Maltese government estimates that roughly 1.5% of Malta’s population (around 7,500 people) are native German speakers (be it from Germany, Switzerland or Austria) whilst a further 0.5% (roughly 2,500 people) have learned German as a second language.
Japanese
For the most part, the immigrant languages spoken in Malta are from countries with cultural or historical ties with Malta itself. Yet, Japanese has neither, with it being common for richer Japanese people to move to Malta early on.
Unlike their German counterparts however, this isn’t a permanent move.
You see, these wealthy Japanese are often quite young, mostly inheriting their money, choosing to live in Malta for a few years, before returning to Japan to have and raise children.
Despite most of the Japanese expat community in Malta being on the wealthier side of things, there are quite a few non-wealthy Japanese expats in Malta too, most of whom have moved to Malta to work in their famed financial services industry.
Although nothing is official yet (as of the time of writing anyway), a select few Maltese schools have begun to offer Japanese from the age of 13 onwards (although this is extra, as they don’t need to offer Japanese like they need to offer other languages like English).
To date, roughly 0.47% of the Maltese population (around 2,350 people) are native Japanese speakers, with the overwhelming majority being located in and around the town of Sliema, in the northcentral part of the island of Malta.
Arabic
Historically speaking, Arabic speakers have controlled Malta. First it was the many Semitic peoples that moved from the Middle East and North Africa to Malta after the Byzantines withdrew from the island, before Arabic-speaking Ottomans conquered the island in 1565.
Whilst several centuries have passed since then, Arabic is still spoken in the island nation, albeit in a vastly different format. Historically, the Arabic speakers on Malta have spoken Sicilian Arabic, itself a dialect of Maghrebi Arabic.
Today, however, there are multiple different dialects of Arabic spoken on Malta.
However, there are two main ones. The first is Maghrebi Arabic, mostly spoken by Arabic-speaking immigrants from North Africa. The other is standard Arabic, usually spoken by immigrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh who use the language for religious reasons.
Arabic is also a common language taught in Maltese being taught in both Form I (from the ages of 11 until 13) and Form III (13 until 18), however, Arabic is usually a language chosen by the Maltese student themselves.
According to the most recent government studies, Arabic is spoken by roughly 0.8% of the Maltese population, or roughly 40,000 people.
Maltenglish
Ok! Ok! I know!
Technically speaking, Maltenglish isn’t really an immigrant language, but I didn’t really know where else to put it.
You see, much of the Maltese population is bilingual, speaking both English and Maltese to incredibly high standards. Without knowing it, many young Maltese people have begun to speak a mixture of English and Maltese at home and at school.
Nicknamed “Maltenglish” by the Maltese press and international media alike, the language is based on standard Maltese (which naturally contains some English anyway) and is then heavily anglicized, with many Arabic-based Maltese words being replaced by English ones.
Whilst Maltenglish is despised by many ultra-nationalist groups in Malta, who’d prefer everybody to be using standard Maltese, many young Maltese people have begun to use it in favor of both Maltese and English!
And it’s more common than you’d think! According to the most recent studies, Maltenglish is used regularly by around a third of the population, with it being most common in the Northern Harbour District in the northcentral part of the island of Malta.
Whilst the Northern Harbour District is where Maltenglish is the most spoken, it is by no means the only place, with all three of the islands that make up Malta (including the island of Malta) having large populations of Maltenglish speakers.
You may also hear some older members of Maltese society use the term “Maltenglish” to describe the many anglicisms of Maltese words, such as attur becoming “actor” and televiżjoni becoming “television”.
Which are your favorite languages of Malta? Do you speak any of them (except English of course)? Tell me in the comments!