The Constitution is almost 50 years old and will be at the heart of forthcoming celebrations of its creation, along with many other anniversaries that fall during 2014.

That far back, the top legal instrument in the country recognised the bilingual nature of Maltese society as it had developed under British rule.

The Maltese language was given pride of place but English was set only half a step back as the second official language.

Historical reality, which started with deliberate British action around 1840, saw the Italianite character of the commanding hights of the Maltese economy and civil society shift towards a radical transformation.

The language question that bedevilled Maltese politics for many years was not about the role of Maltese.

Rather, it was a desperate attempt by the professional, business and upper classes to perservere with Italian and an even more determined effort by the British rulers to install English as the preferred language.

English won the race. Over the years, Italian retained its place as a beautiful cultural instrument opening the door to many intellectual delights.

Yet, English replaced it as the language used in commercial exchanges, with Maltese evolving into the language of the courts and not just of the common people.

Malta, always a bilingual society of sorts, became perched on Maltese and English.

This gradual development, accelerated by making English a compulsory subject in education from primary level and growing exposure to English literature, served Malta well.

The island relies on international exchange. English is an important lingua franca in such exchange.

The fact that the Maltese people are by and large also English speaking became an important resource taken into key consid-eration in investment appraisals, among other things.

Yet, 50 years on from the arrival of the Independence Constitution and the formal recognition of the importance of English, we are at a stage where many are expressing concern over the diminishing grasp of proper English by the Maltese people.

Leading the concerned brigade is Evarist Bartolo, Minister of Education, who had been issuing warnings for years from the Opposition benches.

He is not alone. Experts in the field join him in bemoaning the decline of the English language.

Such decline is to be seen not in terms of frequency of use.

English is still very widely spoken, but in a manner that bastardises both it and Maltese .

That practice, for which many parents are to blame, runs alongside a weakening of the Maltese language.

Schools and teachers have a large part to play for recovery to take place. But, probably, the heaviest burden lies with parents

It is not a question of one language damaging or outgunning the other. Both are in a depressed state, which is bad.

However, the ongoing concern regarding English is more about its decline in writing and speaking.

Pronounciation has given English spoken by most Maltese a discernible lilt, which passes along with many accentuations, not least within the British Isles.

The main worry expressed in the ongoing discussion is about written English.

Mistakes are proliferating. They are not related only to the young, although that is where they start, as their inputs in examinations alarmingly show.

They are also to be found among adults, though less so.

As today’s young people carry forward their misuse of the language, its overall level will deteriorate further.

A major economic and social resource will continue to crumble at an accelerating rate.

The Education Minister is right to sound alarm bells as frequently as he can. One hopes that parents and teachers are listening.

The habit of reading good books has to be reinvigorated, not least because of the debilitating counter-effects of computer games and the new language of mobile phones and social media.

The art of good writing has to be addressed with new techniques.

The challenge to put the English language back to proper use, alongside with the challenge to help Maltese flourish, is both widespread and urgent.

Schools and teachers have a large part to play for recovery to take place. But, probably, the heaviest burden lies with parents.

The responsibility is theirs to encourage their children to read good books and to follow good spoken English, such as on BBC news and discussion programmes.

Employers also have a role to play in this. They should not tolerate mediocrity.

Culling should take place at the recruitment stage, but upgrading programmes should also be worked out for existing employees.

As for the old, bad examples heard on our televsion and sound media, those in charge should not waste more time before taking drastic corrective action.

The written media should also pull up their socks.

Malta has few marketable resources. Being one of them, the English language should be given much more attention than has been the case in recent years.