Libary collection studies Maltese as a unique linguistic bridge

The island nation of Malta between North Africa and Europe has long been coveted as a strategic location and bridge between two worlds, whether by the Romans, Phoenicians, Fatimids, or British. Now the Universität Bremen has established a Maltese Library dedicated to this unique language, with its significant history.

St. Elmo Fort, Malta. An historical reenactment

Honorary General Consul to Malta, Thomas Stöcker opened the center in a celebration March 18 before an audience which included many linguists.

The language of Maltese is a unique Semitic language similar to the Siculo-Arabic that developed in Sicily under Arab Rule. It shares words with the Sicilian dialect, Italian and to a smaller extent French, while its central vocabulary is Semitic and its alphabet Latin. Since the country’s entry into the EU in 2004, Maltese became the only Semitic language that is also an official language of the European Union.

With 375 volumes of Maltese literature, the library will hold the largest collection of such work outside Malta. The State and University Library Bremen also has older acquisitions from Malta, raising Bremen’s collection of titles to more than 500.

With its entry into the EU, the research interest in Maltese has grown. As a language related to Arabic, it was traditionally studied in relation to Arabic or Middle East Studies.

According to linguistics professor Thomas Stolz from the Faculty of Languages and Literature Sciences, this special collection is, “further progress in the development of the role of Maltese in research and teaching at the Bremer Universität. With this special consideration of Maltese, we in Germany are unique, and also from the European perspective we are exceptional in the academic endeavors about Malta, and are without competition.”

It is then no coincidence that the Universität Bremen will for the second time host the international network for Maltese linguistics in connection with the Festival of Languages.

www.festival.uni-bremen.de
www.uni-bremen.de