The Queen's English

I would like to add my comments to the debate regarding the English language in Malta.

Those in Malta who know me well will comment that I love to have a go at the language, and when I do so I even use a Maltese accent. The same applies when I speak French in France and elsewhere - the accent goes with the language, and I do not come across as a "schoolboy" when I speak. I always strive to learn the correct spelling and pronunciation. Maybe I am what they call an "anorak" here in England!

It has to be said, however, that, given the prominence of the English language in the Maltese Islands, when and where it is used, particularly for official purposes and in publications and on the internet, perhaps more care ought to be taken.

A classic example of this is di-ve.com. This excellent website is the one which I use to keep in touch, on a daily basis, with what is happening in Malta, alongside The Times of Malta which I receive online. I have noticed time and time again the strangest use of the English language, often using very old-fashioned and ill-suited words. The most common example crops up whenever there is a report on the website in question regarding somebody who has had a life-threatening condition or is in a critical state following a serious road accident.

To me the appropriate phrase might be that a person is "in a critical condition" or "seriously ill".

The dramatic words I read are usually "is in danger of his life" (what happened to the word "losing"?).

While I have not got to hand other examples of such "schoolboy howlers", such meaningless words and phrases turn up with monotonous regularity on di-ve.com.

I have made numerous attempts to contact the website concerned and have even offered to edit items for them in order that they make more sense in English.

But the response has been the brick wall of silence every time. I am not sure why this is! I would expect to be corrected, should my use of Maltese be flawed.

All I have tried to do is to assist in giving that website, which is seen by many as the window to the world on Malta, some assistance to both improve and uphold the good light in which it is held.

We English are by no means without fault. One only has to go shopping in London to see signs containing what is known as the "redundant apostrophe".

For instance many greengrocers will sell potatoes, labelled as "potatoe's" and so on! That makes me cringe in my own country! No doubt in Malta there are just such examples in your own language. They generally cause laughter. But it's just a question of education at the end of the day.

If I am seen as just another Englishman complaining about the use of the English language in Malta then so be it. Why should the Maltese listen to a foreigner telling them how to do things? But surely if they want to give a good impression to the rest of the world, to live Brand Malta and to show that they have high standards, why let those standards slip? Children and young adults sit examinations in English. So this must matter to somebody!

By all means keep the Maltese language alive, and I shall continue to try to learn it. But if you are going to use English as your main language for business and so on then surely it pays to make sure that it is done well.