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Maltese Language Interpreters and Translators

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Maltese Interpreters And Translators

CIT offers Maltese interpreters and translators with legal, medical and specialty experience, including criminal and civil matters, employee meetings, engineering, patent cases, labor disputes, immigration and more.

Although based in Los Angeles, CIT offers comprehensive Maltese language services including interpretation, translation and transcription, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, worldwide. Our interpreters and translators are native speakers who have been screened, certified, have provided credentials, field tested, and kept up to date with developments in both English and the Maltese language through means such as lectures, conferences, and travel. CIT’s Maltese language interpreters and translators possess in-depth knowledge of the Maltese language, as well as of the culture and history of the Maltese people, allowing them to provide informed and complete interpretation and translation.

The Maltese Language

The Maltese language is spoken by about 420,000 speakers in Malta, Gozo and Comino. It is a Central Semitic language and comes from the Siculo-Arabic, which was developed in both Sicility and Malta between 800-1300. The first recording of Malta having its own language is from 1364. The first recorded text in Maltese was from 1485. It was written by Pietro Caxaro. In Malta, there are two official languages: Maltese and English. The alphabet used today was established in 1924 and is written in a Latin script.

There are six recorded dialects of Maltese, besides Maltese. They are Gozo, Port Maltese, Rural Central Maltese, Rural East Maltese, Rural West Maltese and Zurrieq. There are five short vowels, six long vowels and seven diphthongs. The stress of a word is usually on the second to the last syllable.

History of Malta and Maltese

A prominent theory of the origination of the Maltese language is that it came from Carthaginian or Punic, which was languages of Carthage and a form of Phoenician. In a book written between 1594 and 1602 by Giacomo Bosio titled, “The History of the Sacred Religion and Illustrious Militia of St. John of Jerusalem,” this theory is discussed. In 1649, the first Maltese dictionary was published.

Malta had been occupied by the Norman starting in 1090. Before that, the Arab had begun settling Malta starting in 870 AD. Between 1530 and 1798, the Knights Hospitaller of St. John had occupied Malta. They spoke French, Italian, Latin, German, Portuguese and Spanish. When Malta became a British colony in 1800, the British tried to have English as a local language in place of Italian. Because of this, about 20% of the Maltese vocabulary comes from English whereas about 50% of the vocabulary comes from Sicilian and Italian. There are also several words in Norman and French.

When Malta gained its independence in 1964, English and Maltese both reach official status and are the official languages of Malta today. Both languages are used for public life including lawmaking, religion such as church, media and conversation. English is the preferred language to be used in schools, particularly in higher education.

Interesting Facts about Malta

  • Calypso Cave in Malta is said to be the cave Homer wrote about in The Odyssey
  • On Gazo, an island of Malta, its capital, Victoria is also known as Rabat.
  • The size of Malta is about 121 square miles
  • The capital of Malta, Valetta is one of the most historical areas of the world
  • Maltese sounds very close to Arabic

CIT By The Numbers

12,000 +

Worldwide Linguists

250 +

Languages

1,350,000 +

Translations

12,000 +

Clients Served

12,000 +

Worldwide Linguists

250 +

Languages

1,350,000 +

Translations

12,000+

Clients Served

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No matter what your needs may be, we can and are ready to assist you now. We have translators and interpreters standing by 24/7.

Contact us now at 888.737.9009 for a quote or any other questions.
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