What language they speak in Malta, and why you'll be fine

For a British traveller this is one of the most reassuring facts about Malta. The country has two official languages, Maltese and English, and both are genuinely in use. In practice that means language won’t be an obstacle at any point, and on top of that you’ll hear a language that sounds like nothing else you know.

Maltese and English, both official

The Maltese government puts it plainly, listing the languages as Maltese and English, ‘both official’. Because English is official, it gets you through hotels, restaurants, museums and public transport, and Maltese is the language that gives its name to almost everything. The two sit side by side in place names, since many places have both a Maltese form and an English or Italian one. The capital is Il-Belt Valletta, Gozo is Għawdex and Comino is Kemmuna.

There’s a great deal of history behind that. Malta passed from Sicily to the Order of St John, then to France and to Britain until independence in 1964, which I cover in is Malta a country?.

Will you get by in English?

Completely. You can order, ask directions, buy a bus ticket and follow a museum audio guide in English without a second thought. That’s also why Malta works so well for families and older travellers who don’t want the stress of a language barrier. English is also all you need for a free walking tour in Valletta. What you won’t find is English replacing Maltese on names, so the thing worth learning is how to read them.

What Maltese looks like

Maltese is written in the Latin alphabet but with letters of its own that you’ll see everywhere, such as ħ, ġ, ċ, ż and the pair għ. That’s why town names look impossible at first, Għajnsielem, Ħal Luqa or Iż-Żurrieq. The NSO also writes them with the article, Il-Birgu, L-Isla, Ħal Tarxien.

You don’t need to learn the language, but I find it useful to recognise those letters, because Malta Public Transport uses the Maltese form on its stops and routes. A stop marked ‘Ħal Luqa (Airport)’ is the airport, and route 119 runs ‘Ajruport - Marsaskala’. The list of places with their English equivalents is in towns and villages in Malta.

Malta as a place to learn English

This is where language turns into a reason to travel. According to the NSO, 76,063 foreign students went to Malta in 2025 to study English at 34 licensed schools, 4,883 fewer than in 2024. Italians were the largest group at 23.0%, followed by Germans and French, and 71.8% came from the EU. Nearly a third were 15 or under, and July and August were the busiest months.

For a July or August trip that’s worth knowing, because those are also the airport’s busiest months, with more than a million passengers each in 2025. Spain’s foreign ministry, advising its own students, recommends booking only with officially recognised schools. I go into it in English schools in Malta.

My advice

You won’t need a phrasebook. English will carry you through the whole trip. Take ten minutes to get used to the Maltese letters and the double names, Birgu and Vittoriosa, Senglea and Isla, Gozo and Għawdex, and you’ll read bus timetables and maps with far more confidence. It’s a small effort, and it also gives you a feel for the one thing in Malta that really is unlike anywhere else, the sound of its own language.

The names you’ll read

In practice, where you’ll meet Maltese most is in names. Official statistics write L-Imdina for Mdina, Ir-Rabat, Għawdex for Victoria and Il-Belt Valletta for the capital, and Heritage Malta’s sites carry names like Ħaġar Qim, Ġgantija or Ta’ Ħaġrat. Many places have two or three forms, Birgu is also Vittoriosa, Senglea is Isla and Cospicua is Bormla, and throughout this guide I give the usual English name, adding the Maltese in brackets on first mention.

In an emergency language won’t be an issue either. The Foreign Office lists 112 for ambulance, fire and police, and you’ll be understood in English. Once you stop reading għ as a typo, half the map suddenly makes sense.