Why go
For readers, it adds depth to the Maltese language heard across the islands. The surviving Cantilena of Pietru Caxaro and later religious texts show early literary use, while nineteenth-century publishing brought newspapers, history and fiction into Maltese. Its development was shaped by the coexistence of Maltese, Italian and English rather than by one uninterrupted national tradition.
The full story
The oldest surviving literary text in Maltese is Pietru Caxaro's Cantilena, also known as Xidew il-Qada. Early writing included poetry, a dictionary, religious translations and sermons, showing that Maltese was used in print long before it became fully established in public literary life. Italian held considerable cultural prestige, and later English became another important language, creating a multilingual environment often described as diglossia. In the nineteenth century, Maltese-language newspapers, poems, a history and novels broadened the readership and forms available to writers. A translation of a French revolutionary ode appeared during the French occupation, while a Maltese translation of the Gospel of John followed in 1822. These works make the language's literary history inseparable from Malta's changing political and cultural ties. It remains useful when reading Maltese words in public.