A book of proverbs in English, Maltese and Portuguese was recently published by the International Association of Paremiology (IAP) and launched at the Municipal Library in Tavira, Portugal.

The front cover of the book.The front cover of the book.

Entitled Provérbios Europeus/European Proverbs/Proverbji Ewropej, the book was co-authored by IAP president Prof. Rui Soares and IAP member Charles Daniel Saliba. Malta’s Ambassador to Portugal, John Camilleri, and his deputy, Mario Buttigieg, also attended the launch.

The trilingual book has four sections. The first lists proverbs ordered alphabetically in each of the three languages. In the second section, the equivalent proverbs in the three languages are grouped; in the third, for each proverb, one possible explanation is given in the three languages. In the last section, numerous exercises are given to practise one’s linguistic and paremiological skills.

During the launch, Ambassador Camilleri said: “Thanks to this book, we are spreading popular culture, advancing literary knowledge and, above all, showing how beautiful it is to coexist and work together with one goal: to appreciate the beauty each of us and always seek to cooperate and collaborate in every area of life.”.

Soares said: “Portugal and Malta, despite their geographic distance, have several things in common. The proverbs in this book reflect this, and one of the aims of this book is to teach Portuguese language and culture and motivate others to learn about Malta’s language and culture.”

This book will expose the psychological make-up of people from Malta and Portugal, who are geographically distant but close regarding their social fabric- Co-author Charles Daniel Saliba

Saliba added: “This book will expose the psychological make-up of people from Malta and Portugal, who are geographically distant but close regarding their social fabric. Moreover, this book will instil curiosity about the other half. Portuguese readers will learn more about the Maltese islands, and Maltese readers will learn more about Portugal – two countries whose histories have crossed paths more than once.”

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