The Akkademja tal-Malti was the prime regulatory body responsible for the

Maltese language Maltese ( mt, Malti, links=no, also ''L-Ilsien Malti'' or '), is a Semitic language derived from late medieval Sicilian Arabic with Romance superstrata spoken by the Maltese people. It is the national language of Malta and the only offici ...

from the early 20th century up to the end of the millennium, when a Government sponsored law was passed to protect issues related to the national language. On joining the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

, Maltese became one of the recognised languages of the EU - no mean achievement for a language spoken by less than half a million people. Initially it was known as ''L-Għaqda tal-Kittieba tal-Malti'' (Association of Writers of Maltese),

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

's oldest literary society whose earliest activities go as far back as the early nineteen twenties, led by literary giants like

Dun Karm Carmelo Psaila, better known as Dun Karm (Żebbuġ, 18 October 1871 – 13 October 1961) was a Maltese priest, writer and poet, sometimes called 'the bard of Malta'. He is widely recognised as the Maltese national poet. Life He was ed ...

Ġużè Muscat Azzopardi Ġużè Muscat Azzopardi (1 September 1853 – 4 August 1927) was a Maltese lawyer, poet, novelist and social commentator. He studied in the Mdina Seminary, and in the University of Malta, where he graduated as a lawyer in 1875. He was married to ...

and Ninu Cremona, it spearheaded the cause of the Maltese language. The Akkademja was mainly responsible for all the major linguistic and literary development of the Maltese language during the past century, developing linguistic academic initiatives which culminated in the national recognition of a standard written Maltese. In 2005 the

National Council for the Maltese Language The National Council for the Maltese Language ( mt, Il-Kunsill Nazzjonali tal-Ilsien Malti) was founded in April 2005 with the enactment of the Maltese Language Act (Att dwar l-Ilsien Malti) (Chap. 470) in the Maltese Parliament. Its work is to regu ...

was set up through a Law by the Maltese Parliament. This Council is nowadays the main regulatory body of the Maltese language instead of the L-Akkademja tal-Malti.

External links

*http://www.kunsilltalmalti.gov.mt *https://akkademjatalmalti.org *https://web.archive.org/web/20180807223014/http://akkademjatalmalti.com/ Learned societies of Malta Language regulators Maltese language {{Malta-stub