Maltese grammar books

Someoen asked me off-list what books I recommedn for Maltese. This is a
survey of my collection:



Kelmet il-Malti (Gulf), Kaptan Pawlu Bugeja, 1982, 536 pp
Not the best dictionary in the world, as the Maltese entries do not include
part of speech. Designed mainly for Maltese people learning English.

Dizzunarju, (Colour Image), E Cassar & D Calleja, 1998, 557 pp, isbn
99909-84-05-0
Currently teh best dictionary that I have seen, although I have seen some
howlers from the intense reading it has received. I am currently
transcribing this one into shoebox.

Pocket Dictionary & Phrase Book, (Palprint), Capt Paul Bugeja, 1990, 153pp
About as concise a grammar as you are likely to find, although it doesn't
explain the detaisl very well. A good starter anyway. It cost me LM 1.50.

Merhba Bik, (Colour Image), A Camilleri, 1997, 162 pp, isbn 99909-84-02-6
The only one that I have seen that includes a CD (I have seen none with
tapes). This is designed in the same style as modern TEFL students' books.
It could make an effective intriduction to Maltese if you work at it. Highly
recommended.

The Maltese Language for all Ocassions, (Interprint), V Filipovich & CE
Filipovich, 1998, 87 pp, isbn 99909-990-0-7
Your basic phrase book for tourists. It cost me GBP 6.60. Its one saving
grace is that it uses IPA instead of 'imitated pronunciation'.

Maltese Linguistic Surveys, (Univ of Malta), J Aquilina, 1976, 216 pp
A collection of academic articles on the language. Fascinating, highbrow,
but not good for beginners. Some articles are written in Italian. It cost me
GBP 15.95

Maltese - how to read and speak it, (Aquilina), Paul Bugeja, 1979, 165 pp
An old style grammar reference with a seriers of lessons tagged on. A so-so
grammar reference, and a poor coursebook. It cost me LM 2.25

Learn Maltese - why not?, (Valetta publishing), J Vella, 1993, 215pp, isbn
99909-58-02-5
An old-style coursebook, but it has the best grammar reference I have seen
so far. The principle drawback is that the grammar isn't particularly well
indexed, and is split throughout teh chapters. Nonetheless, highly
recommended. It cost me LM 2.95 from Sapienzas in Valetta.

Teach Yourself Maltese, (English univ Press), J Aquilina, 1965, 240pp
This is a first edition of the book in the classic series. Some of the
information, like teh detaisl on native Maltese weights and measures, are
very obsolete. I don't know whether the latest editions have been updated.

Folklore of an Island, (PEG ltd), T Zarb, 1998, 360pp
Nothing to do with grammar. This book is choc-ful of parrallel bilingual
texts, as well as being a fascinating lok into Malta of 100 years ago. It
cost me LM 4.75



Incidentally, [Kaptan/Captain] [Pawlu/Paul] Begeja virtually invented the
bussiness of creating Maltese dictionaries and grammar books.

A note on prices: I have only included prices where I bought them within the
last couple of years and I still have prices. For teh exchange rates, try
<www.currencyconverter.co.uk>.