Akkademja tal-Malti was the prime regulatory body responsible for the Maltese language

Maltese language

Maltese is the national language of Malta, and a co-official language of the country alongside English,while also serving as an official language of the European Union, the only Semitic language so distinguished. Maltese is descended from Siculo-Arabic...

 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

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

, 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

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

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

Guzè Muscat Azzopardi

Ġużè Muscat Azzopardi was born in Ħal Qormi, on September 1, 1853. He studied in the Mdina Seminary, and in the University of Malta, where he graduated as a lawyer in 1875. Muscat Azzopardi died on August 4, 1927, Valletta...

 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

National Council for the Maltese Language

The National Council for the Maltese Language was founded in April 2005 with the enactment of the Maltese Language Act in the Maltese Parliament. Its work is to regulate new words coming into Maltese and promote the standard Maltese language in education and other new sectors...

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
• http://www.akkademjatalmalti.com