A living language

I appeal to C. John Zammit from Ontario (Maltese Nouns, January 11) not to write again about how to spell the name of the European currency. From one Canuck to another, you might slip up and mention the Quebec French Language Police (QFLP). It might give some new ideas to the Council for the Maltese Language.

I find this euro spelling debate a total waste of time. Can you imagine our council getting as aggressive as the QFLP? Just think of how many businesses in Malta have a foreign name. In Quebec they have very stringent rules that dictate the prominence of the French language. I won't go into any great detail. When the QFLP feel that they need to flex their muscles they will visit some small town in the province, make a note of all the street names and scream bloody murder and take court action if foreign (i.e. not French) languages are too prevalent in the names of the streets.

As far as the Maltese language is concerned, I listen to it with a mixture of admiration, fascination and humour. It is a living language and like all living languages it steals, borrows and adopts words from other languages.

I know it bothers the purists but I'm fascinated by the coining of new words that somehow are readily understood. Recently, on the radio or TV, I heard someone say that we must "nisstepjaw il-passi...".

I suppose he meant that we must hurry up the process of whatever he was talking about. Whether anyone will be using the same expression again, the fact remains that many words from other languages have been "modified" and now form part of our language.