A dynamic force for language

The Akkademja tal-Malti has come a long way over the past few years and assumed the role of a democratic laboratory. It not only confirmed its function as the protector of the Maltese language and its literature, both considered as national rights, but extended its mission to future dimensions. It has become actively relevant to the needs of contemporary society by continuously adjourning itself, upgrading its resources and participating in discussions on the main issues relating to Maltese.

A main feature for its success was the council members' increased integration in most social spheres to supply the great demand for language use and translation as a result of the new era in Maltese history.

One can only mention some of the activities in which the Akkademja was involved. Its members worked hand in hand with the Broadcasting Authority to guide broadcasters on proper usage and to teach them Maltese.

The Akkademja was also instrumental in the design of the law that protects the use of Maltese language in broadcasting. In the field of translation, it cooperated with various departments and institutions (connected with banking, health and entertainment, most particularly) and a strong delegation from its council even went to Brussels before Malta's EU referendum to discuss pertinent matters with the European Commission and parliament. Recently, the Akkademja has been accepted in the European Association for Terminology.

The Akkademja voiced its disapproval whenever it believed that an injustice was being done to the Maltese language or to Maltese authors. Most significant of these protests were the objection and complaints it conveyed to the university's authority after the removal of Maltese as a requisite subject for the law course and its disapproval of the way the management of the Manoel Theatre was treating Maltese authors. For the former, it drew the support of many language-related institutes in Europe.

The Akkademja assisted the Maltese author in several ways. Foremost is the project of cooperation with APS Bank Ltd which has committed itself to print a number of books in Maltese. It also gave great support to Poezijaplus enterprises.

Furthermore, it had several television and radio programmes on Maltese and on books. In line with its inclusion policy, it has often expressed its opinion that within its fold there is room for everyone who works for the language and its culture.

It tries to maintain continuity with the past; appreciating previous efforts by remembering dead authors and keeping their works alive. At the same time it recognises present efforts by those who work hard in favour of the Maltese language. With this in mind it has given awards to all those of its members who were over 80 in recognition of their work.

Furthermore, honorary membership was bestowed on President Emeritus Guido de Marco, Education Minister Louis Galea and author Pawlu Montebello for their work related to Maltese.

To attain its objectives, the Akkademja has formed several sub-committees like those on the orthography, translation, the theatre, and education. Its main targets in these last few years have been:

¤ To guarantee the inclusion of Maltese (threatened by the wider use of English on the islands) in as many spheres of life as possible and to ascertain that it is never excluded, either in the written or in the spoken form, whenever this is possible; thus it would help Maltese assume the same role national languages enjoy in other European states and attain a much wider relevance than a strictly literary or cultural function; this implies encouraging the active participation of all concerned in the task of language preservation and maintenance;

¤ To develop a sustained and productive relationship between Maltese linguistic scholarship and the needs and aspirations of the people; this means that it needs to collaborate with other organisations in activities and projects which can enhance the use and diffusion of the language and it needs also to encourage linguistic and literary research;

¤ To safeguard the integrity of spoken and written Maltese by providing expert advice, practical guidance and courses to public speakers, journalists etc.; this implies also monitoring language use in principal agencies (like broadcasting);

¤ To foster the intergenerational transfer of language knowledge among Maltese emigrants; there is a need of scientific surveys among emigrants in places like Canada, Australia and America to examine language maintenance, perceptions and attitudes towards Maltese;

¤ To provide the resources and support for the training of writers (scriptwriters, journalists, broadcasters, creative artists etc.) and translators;

¤ To preserve the national heritage related to language.

Then there are various other programmes and projects planned for the future. The Akkademja will hold its general meeting on Saturday (May 22) and that is when the future will have to continue.