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What’s with this “Wren” thing?
The oldest extant version of the fable
we
are presenting here appeared in 1913 in the first volume of a two-volume anthology
of Low
Saxon folktales (Plattdeutsche
Volksmärchen “Low German Folktales”)
collected by Wilhelm Wisser (1843–1935). Read
more ...
Maltese
Malta,
home of an Arabic language variety that survived
numerous
occupations and has been transformed by
influences
from Italian and
other
languages.
Language information:
Maltese is the first language of most Maltese people. In Malta, it is the national
language, official besides Italian and English. Maltese is used in other countries
as well, particularly in Australia, Canada, Italy, Tunisia, the United Kingdom,
and the USA, being used as a broadcasting language for instance in Australia.
The history and
composition of Maltese is highly complex. Its basis is North African Arabic,
and it has retained most of this specific Semitic structure despite numerous
other influences.
Because of its strong Arabic base, Maltese is often referred to as “Maltese Arabic.” However, Maltese uses an augmented version of the Roman alphabet rather than
a Semitic script.
Having been inhabited
since about 5200 B.C.E., what
is
now
the
country of Malta—consisting of the main islands Malta and Gozo—has been a crossing point for numerous nations and cultures for many centuries.
Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, North African Arabs,
Sicilian Normans, Aragonians, the militant Order of Knights of the Hospital
of St. John of Jerusalem, France and Great Britain have occupied it at one time
or another. With this came the strong establishment of Roman Catholic Christianity
and numerous cultural and linguistic influences, the strongest among them being
Sicilian, Italian,
French and English.
Most Maltese people
are proficient in English, and many of them speak Italian as well. Their multicultural
and multilingual background as well as their nation’s history of occupations makes them, generally speaking,
very
adaptable
and
open-minded. This will be very helpful for this new and smallest member nation
in playing an important role within the European Union.
Genealogy: Afro-Asiatic > Semitic > Central > South > Arabic > Maltese
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