The teaching and learning of Italian in Malta : toward a new dimension

In talking about the presence of Italian in Malta one needs to look at the linguistic influence of a succession of many foreign rulers. After the Arabic domination (870-1092) that marked the semitic base of the Maltese language, the Normans who took over Malta in 1091 introduced Latin as the administrative language. From around 1400 onwards the official language used between the local Maltese government and the Central government in Sicily was not only Latin but also the Sicilian dialect (Wettinger 1993). The taking over of the Maltese Islands by the Knights of the Order of St. John and their long domain (1530-1798) marks a fundamental stage in Maltese linguistic history. The Tuscan dialect adopted by the Knights as their official language became the language of culture on the Islands. From the second half of the XVI century, official documents were written in Italian. This, however, did not hamper Maltese writers from making use of other Italian dialects, especially Sicilian and Neapolitan (Eynaud 1979). The brief period of French rule (1798-1800) does not entail important changes from a linguistic point of view. However, the primacy of the Italian language is put in jeopardy during the English domain (1800-1964). After the relative calmness of the first years, the English rulers started to make reservations against the use of the Italian language, perceived with suspicion following the Unification ofltaly. These events brought about the much discussed issue of The Language Question that characterised the socio-political history of Malta up to the Second World War. The year 1934 was decisive: the Constitution of Malta was modified so that the Maltese language became an official language alongside Italian and English. At a successive stage the Italian language was ousted from the University and the law courts. The definite degrading of Italian from official language came about in the month of May 1936. The subsequent entrance of Italy in the war of 1940 closes definitely the Language Question. The 1964 Maltese Constitution elevates the status of the Maltese language, promoting it to National Language, with English as the other Official language. Paradoxically the Italian language again gains position, at least, as to the number of Italian speakers in Malta. Today, all political controversies of the first half of this century are forgotten, and Italy has become the greatest partner of the island, not only in the political and economic fields but also in the cultural spheres. The diffusion of television programmes by RAJ and other private Italian networks has rendered the Maltese viewers almost completely dependent on Italian television, at least until the recent arrival of cable television. As a consequence, the young generation not only absorb and reproduce Italian modes of saying, but look up to Italy as a way of life to admire and imitate.peer-reviewe

Sicilia e Malta nelle relazioni di viaggio del secolo diciassettesimo

For 18th century intellectuals, travelling to Europe meant a fundamental moment of cultural formation in their lives. Their favourite countries, besides Italy and its south, were Northern Europe, the Balkans, Russia and Spain. In their travel accounts the reader finds fascinating descriptions of cities, landscapes, famous and common people, traditions. Diaries and travel accounts become, therefore, the first studies of a sociological nature. This article will focus on the travel accounts written by European writers, such as Rezzonico, Byrdone and Denon, who included Malta in their itineraries. The Maltese intellectuals of that epoch, such as Leonardo A be la, Domenico Magri and Francesco Buonamico, have also left interesting accounts of their travels especially to Africa, Northern Europe and the Middle East.peer-reviewe

L'analisi degli errori e l'insegnamento dell'Italiano (Ricerca condotta su discenti maltesi)

L'insegnamento delle lingue straniere non e una cosa nuova, pen) e soltanto negli ultimi anni che si cerea di dare a questo studio una base piu scientifica e piu efficace. L'analisi contrastiva e uno di questi nuovi metodi scientifici nella didattica linguistica e si porie come scopo principale di rinnovare i metodi di insegnamento e riprogram- mare il materiale didattico nella speranza di ottenere migliori risultati.peer-reviewe

Translations and interpretation : building connections for a changing world

The technological revolution which accelerated so rapidly with the advent of the Internet, combined the increased mobility of populations, has brought about great changes in international communication. This has led to an increasing demand for translation and for greater intercultural understanding, which in turn has resulted in a proliferation of translator-training programmes. Translators and interpreters are needed to facilitate international exchanges, both commercial and political, and at the same time ever more sophisticated machine-translation programmes are being developed to cope with the growing body of material that requires translation. Unquestionably the role of the translator is changing and the confusion around the terminology of translation reflects growing discomfort with the traditional concept of translation as interlingual transfer.peer-reviewe

Malta : language, literacy and identity in a Mediterranean island society

Available documentation for the early modern period indicates that the Malta harbor towns achieved literacy earlier than the countryside. The Maltese townsmen lived on a trading route, and it was necessary for them to learn the lingua franca, as the language of trade in the Mediterranean. The educated elite were able to acquire fluent speaking knowledge, as well as the ability to write, Tuscan (a dialect then in the process of becoming standard Italian), while continuing to employ their local Maltese ‘dialect’ on numerous occasions. By and large, the erosion of the position of Maltese as the subordinate language was an inevitable by-product of this development. The Maltese language was able to attain the function of a literary language in the nineteenth century but it had no standard orthography until 1931 and was only adopted as Malta’s official language in 1964.peer-reviewe

Fludarabine, cytarabine, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, and idarubicin with gemtuzumab ozogamicin improves event-free survival in younger patients with newly diagnosed aml and overall survival in patients with npm1 and flt3 mutations

Purpose To determine the optimal induction chemotherapy regimen for younger adults with newly diagnosed AML without known adverse risk cytogenetics. Patients and Methods One thousand thirty-three patients were randomly assigned to intensified (fludarabine, cytarabine, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, and idarubicin [FLAG-Ida]) or standard (daunorubicin and Ara-C [DA]) induction chemotherapy, with one or two doses of gemtuzumab ozogamicin (GO). The primary end point was overall survival (OS). Results There was no difference in remission rate after two courses between FLAG-Ida + GO and DA + GO (complete remission [CR] + CR with incomplete hematologic recovery 93% v 91%) or in day 60 mortality (4.3% v 4.6%). There was no difference in OS (66% v 63%; P = .41); however, the risk of relapse was lower with FLAG-Ida + GO (24% v 41%; P < .001) and 3-year event-free survival was higher (57% v 45%; P < .001). In patients with an NPM1 mutation (30%), 3-year OS was significantly higher with FLAG-Ida + GO (82% v 64%; P = .005). NPM1 measurable residual disease (MRD) clearance was also greater, with 88% versus 77% becoming MRD-negative in peripheral blood after cycle 2 (P = .02). Three-year OS was also higher in patients with a FLT3 mutation (64% v 54%; P = .047). Fewer transplants were performed in patients receiving FLAG-Ida + GO (238 v 278; P = .02). There was no difference in outcome according to the number of GO doses, although NPM1 MRD clearance was higher with two doses in the DA arm. Patients with core binding factor AML treated with DA and one dose of GO had a 3-year OS of 96% with no survival benefit from FLAG-Ida + GO. Conclusion Overall, FLAG-Ida + GO significantly reduced relapse without improving OS. However, exploratory analyses show that patients with NPM1 and FLT3 mutations had substantial improvements in OS. By contrast, in patients with core binding factor AML, outcomes were excellent with DA + GO with no FLAG-Ida benefit

The Italian Detective Novel : The Literary and Cinematic Giallo

The detective novel in Italy had known its second boom in the seventies. From 1966 onwards the Milanese detective novels of Scerbanenco had acquired success both in Italy and abroad. In 1972 it was the turn of Fruttero and Lucentini who considered their novel to be Literatenliteratur; in '73 the Felisatti and Pitorru series – novels set in Italy and typical Italian. Other detective novel writers of this period include Enzo Russo, Renato Olivieri, Giuseppe Bonura, Giuseppe Pontiggia, Attilio Veraldi. Besides the novel one must not forget detective stories for television and the cinema. It is not therefore exaggerated to affirm that the detective novel had not only become a genre but also its themes, schemes and characters had become household names in the cultural heritage of many countries: Holmes, Padre Brown, Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, Maigret and others to quote but a few. But what was the critics' position who definitely could not ignore the popularity of this genre? It is in the late seventies that such denominations as para-literature, marginal literature, popular literature, literature of the masses, literature of consumption, "Trivialliteratur" were attributed to the detective novel in the hot debate of those days on the function and nature of "Literature"

Malta and Mazzini

La vicenda degli intellettuali italiani nel corso del XIX secolo appare strettarnente collegata, in rnisura molto maggiore rispetto ad altri mornenti storici. aIrevoluzione delle circostanze politiche, sociali e istituzionali che caratterizzarono questo periodo e che influenzarono il comportamento del ceto intellettuale, l' andamento del gusto, Ie scelte del mercato editoriale. Nell'arco di pochi decenni si susseguono senza soluzione di continuita la Rivoluzione francese e il triennio giacobino (1797-1799), Ie guerre napoleoniche, la Restaurazione e il ritomo degli Austriaci; Ie ondate rivoluzionarie del '21, del '30 e del 1848; Ie guerre risorgimentali e l'unita nazionale; il difficile percorso di ammodemamento e di fonnazione del paese reale (infrastrutture. mercati, questioni sociali). Questo periodo puo essere suddiviso in almena tre momenti principali: la prima fase coincide con la prima meta del secolo, nella quale si assiste all' affermazione della cultura romantica; la seconda fase si coagula attomo al 1848 e agli sviluppi intellettuali del Risorgirnento; la terza fase, infine, si articola attomo alle tematiche sociali dell'ltalia post-unitaria.peer-reviewe