I am from Lebanon and the language spoken there is strikingly similar to Maltese. I guess they both are bsaed on the same Phoenician language spoken for some 4,000 - 5,000 years.
The Maltese language is thought of as having Arabic roots, but this is not accurate.
Maltese is a mix of Phoenician and old Sicilian.
Lebanese is a mix of Phoenician and Arabic.
If you are interested in this subject or would like to assist in this research of the Phoenician roots, please visit http://malta.lebaneseclub.org

Thanks,

Raymond Dib
New York City