I talk to my daughter in English. The rest of the family speaks to her in Maltese. In turn, she chatters fluently in Maltese but understands whatever is said to her in English, and sometimes, depending on the mood, she answers back in English if spoken to so.

This is a dilemma in most modern middle class families in Malta: shall we speak to our offspring in English or Maltese? A century has gone by since the initial Language Question which divided the island, and yet, under a different guise, it is still a major issue today. The language in which we address our progeny seems to carry a lot of undertones.

In my case, I never originally intended to speak to my daughter in English. I grew up speaking Maltese at home and here I am able to select a couple of verbs and a couple of nouns in English and connect them together. But, increasingly, I was noticing a shift in language attitude from when we were children ourselves: nowadays most people tend to assume that little children are spoken to in English, and are addressed in English.

Also, I kept noticing that Pippa was not able to join in play whenever we socialised with English-speaking families because she was finding herself verbally frustrated. So it was then that I decided that I would be her English language rep, providing her with the language skills to make her social life happier.

Little toddlers are a fascinating subject to study. For example, although Pippa talks to us all in Maltese, she does the following in English: speaking to her dolls and talking in her sleep. Also, I think, she thinks in English, if you know what I mean. Whenever she finds herself in a dilemma, and pauses and taps her cheek while trying to come up with a solution she says: "I'm thinking, I want to go to my cousins'". (That's her solution for clearing up a roomful of toy mess, by the way).

But it goes to show that the subconscious doesn't always operate in a person's mother tongue. I once met an Italian girl on an excavation dig in Naples and she confided that she did all her thinking and monologue-ing in ancient Greek. "Uffa, I can't help it. I wish I could think in some other more useful language, but it just comes natural," she said.

Is it a good thing when you're able to think in a language and speak in another? Is mine the right approach? It probably is in the sense that it's the arrangement I'm most happy with. I am not too keen on parents who dictate to their Maltese-speaking extended families that they have to address their newborns in English. Why not let people speak in the language they feel most comfortable with? Isn't it better for children to be exposed to more than one language?

There is a difference between speaking, reading and writing skills. I think most people in Malta are very well read and command good writing skills but then falter when it comes to speaking English because we're not taught the language as a foreign language and we never got to practise it at school.

There are several problems when people are made to speak to children in a language in which they are not fluent. Firstly, the limited vocabulary - everything and everyone is described as 'nice'. 'Nice' is the word for colourful, handsome, cute, sweet and, well, almost any other expression.

This means that children would not be building up their vocabulary at the rate they should be at that age. It would be far better for the adult to address them in Maltese and give them a good, varied vocabulary. Limited vocabulary for children means less possibility for the child to express him/herself well.

The second problem is the bad grammar. I'm not talking here about the difference between the use of 'whom' and 'who' (err, even I have to think about that) but the basics: "You have to take care to cross the road" (as in 'be careful when crossing the road') or "Don't cry for me, ta" (as in 'please don't cry when you're not with me').

I think the language question is slowly, slowly creating a communication problem in our society. Ask recruitment agencies: students are graduating from University barely able to string a sentence properly in either Maltese or English.

I think parents, when weighing the language options, should just keep in mind one thing: it's better for our children to be able to speak and write proficiently in one language than have a poor knowledge of two. Good communication is the best life skill tool they can be armed with.