The Ghaqda tal-Malti (Universita`) with the support of US Ambassador Douglas Kmiec, has launched a new print edition of the 1856 dictionary published anonymously by Mikiel Anton Vassalli’s sons, Piccolo Dizionario. The author of this unique work was Baron Vincenzo Azopardi, a well-known but self-effacing philanthropist who was committed to helping Maltese schoolchildren learn Italian and English through their native tongue at a time when primary and secondary education were still being introduced in Malta.

The Ghaqda tal-Malti Piccolo Dizionario was republished and made available to the Maltese public through the efforts of the US Embassy in Malta and the State Department which acquired a complete copy from the Cordell Rare Books Collection of Indiana University.

The new edition includes an introduction by local author Frans Sammut and a preface by President Emeritus Ugo Mifsud Bonnici and is published by the Ghaqda tal-Malti – Universita`. Copies of the book may be obtained from the Ghaqda tal-Malti – Universita`.

During the launch, Ambassador Kmiec commented on the significance of language as the defender of culture. He said, “A dictionary reflects the history of a people and documents the thinking of men. Language is the elastic of society, it expands and contracts with the passage of time and yet remains a monument of the Maltese experience. The Embassy is proud to have a small part in making this history and experience available to the people of Malta.”