Maltese Translations

If you want to foster a good relationship and establish sound communication with your audience, then it goes without saying that you have to speak to them in the language which they hold most dear – their mother tongue. Maltese is the national language of Malta and the overwhelming majority of the citizens consider Maltese to be their first language. Many Maltese native speakers would appreciate the effort to cater to their language needs and preferences. In addition, your message will appeal more and have more resonance with your customer if it is communicated in Maltese.

In 2004, Maltese was officially recognised as one of the 24 EU languages. To honour the EU’s policy of multilingualism, many institutions, agencies and companies which operate within the EU are required by law to translate their documents into Maltese to ensure that every Maltese citizen enjoys the same rights of participation, transparency and democracy that are enjoyed by every other EU citizen.

The European Medicines Agency, which is responsible for overseeing that all medicines available on the EU market comply with safety and regulatory procedures, legally binds pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers to translate certain documents and product information material into all the official EU languages, including Maltese.

The ruling language of the Maltese Courts of Justice is Maltese and our national language is also the preferred language among Maltese lawyers. Maltese court proceedings and judgements need to be translated for foreign parties to understand the content and ensure their right to a fair trial. It is also a common practice that legal and contractual agreements prepared by notaries and many lawyers in Malta are drafted entirely in Maltese. These need to be translated when foreign parties are involved in order to facilitate mutual understanding between all parties involved.

Although English enjoys the status of an official language in Malta and is the preferred second language of many Maltese speakers, many documents related to business proceedings are drafted in Maltese and many people still prefer to conduct their business dealings entirely in Maltese. This creates the need for translating any documents and correspondences prepared by Maltese locals into English or any other language.

Certain parliamentary questions presented by Maltese MEPs need to be translated from Maltese to other EU languages. Proceedings and judgments by the Courts of Justice of the European Union can also be translated from Maltese into other languages. Indeed, the language of the case ruled over by the Courts of Justice of the European Union is chosen by the applicants, or if the defendant is a Member State, then the language of the case would be that of the State. This means that court proceedings may be conducted in Maltese and would then need to be translated into the working language of the Courts. The final judgement is then translated into all official EU languages.