The right and duty to uphold Maltese (1)

Mario Schembri Wismayer (The Right and Duty To Speak English, August 31) invites us to drop Maltese in favour of English as a language which counts for more on the international level. I briefly dismiss this point by simply stating that it is not logical to assume the use of one language should, by any means inhibit the application of another. Maltese and English could very easily live side by side, the former applied locally and the latter on the international scene.

Apparently, Mr Schembri Wismayer has a slight problem with Maltese phonetics, deeming them to be cacophonic (unpleasant on the human ear). In no way wishing to slight our friend, I can't help but say that this is a most extremely bigoted remark to pass. Beauty is not only in the eye but also in the ear of the beholder. Each language has its unique beauty, and only a culturally prejudiced snob could detest a language with such vehemence on this poor pretence. If we had to have a universal measure, German could deserve the term "harsh" better than Maltese, but I have yet to hear one German national denounce his own language.

The last point mentioned in his letter is a double-edged sword. If our academic levels in spoken and written English are plummeting so badly, then what would the use be in adopting the very language we're so hopelessly crippled in for everyday use? As if it weren't already bad enough to have to listen to a very pathetic local version of English with the not uncommon Maltese phrase thrown in (talk about cacophony!) when dialoguing with some affected people from certain well-known areas, we would have to listen to quite a good portion of the populace stuttering their way through social life. Even the best of us can barely speak Queen's English. The only way we can truly improve our national academic standards in the language would be to more strictly monitor professionals in the academic arena and stop them from teaching (even by example) bad English in the first place. A laissez-faire use of English can only breed a Maltese variant, which would serve to draw more scorn and ridicule upon us from the international community rather than grant us the respect we seek and deserve.

Although no apologist, I mean in no way to reduce the merits of the English language. I myself am actually an avid lover of the tongue, and value it very highly; in fact, as high as my own national language, Maltese. Yet this does not stop me from appreciating the inherent beauty of our own language, nor does it induce me in any way to second the ridiculous notion that it should be wiped out on a personal whim. As English is our key to the world, so is Maltese, to pursue the metaphorical vein, our identity card. It is the product of a people's history: Its workings and its achievements. Since it not only survived, but also got strengthened by, several centuries of foreign influence and supremacy, then attempting to wipe it out now would be no mercy killing but a full-fledged homicide.

Editor's note:
Due to the large number of letters we have received about this subject, some of them quite long, we are publishing edited excerpts from some of the letters.