A couple of weeks ago we were reminded how class remains a cruelly powerful and divisive force on this little island of ours and that one’s accent, background and schooling are still the most decisive and determining factors on the social class calculator.

If you thought that buying a villa or yacht would put you up there with the upper crust, think again. Ostentatious lifestyles, like showy watches and cars, have always been considered vulgar and non-U. It’s always been about keeping a low profile, and more importantly about knowing when to pronouncing your th’s, when not to pronounce your r’s and making sure not to confuse your pens with your pans.

When Michelle Muscat chose to address a roomful of people in the English language on Women’s Day, as is her constitutional right, she provoked the wrath and ridicule of a segment of the Maltese population who obviously fancy themselves as Malta’s intelligentsia and who firmly believe that the Prime Minister’s wife has no business speaking in English –publicly at least.

It has taken me two weeks to watch the You Tube clip, which was obviously edited and clipped out of all proportion and context. It’s two-and-a-half minutes short – apparently still long enough to have torn into Muscat and lacerated her English pronunciation to shreds.

I have a predilection and weakness for gifted orators and powerful speeches, in whatever language they are delivered. Among my English-speaking favourites are educationalist Sir Ken Robinson and British MEP Nigel Farage. When it comes to Maltese speakers, there are a handful of lawyers I could sit and listen to all day – and I sometimes do – because I have found that, at least in Malta, some who hail from the legal profession do have a communication edge over the rest of us.

Brilliant and eloquent public speaking is an art form and a powerful tool few ever tap into and master successfully. For most, standing up before a roomful of people and having to perform, remains an unsettling, painful process guaranteed to leave us dry mouthed and choked up.

And it’s not just about speaking in a language you are comfortable in. There’s a lot more to speech delivery than knowing a language well. And although being fluent undoubtedly does help with sounding more authentic and natural, it can also provide a false sense of security, which could ultimately be counterproductive.

You erroneously imagine you can just rely on yourself and get up and speak as you would normally – but it doesn’t quite work like that. Speaking publicly is nothing like speaking over the telephone or elsewhere. Unless you are born with a silver tongue, preparation, training and rehearsal are sine qua non. Otherwise, you run the risk of blanking, floundering and sounding nervous and unprepared.

Early in March, I attended the human rights Mabel Strickland memorial lecture at the Phoenicia Hotel, delivered by former Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, Igor Judge, principally because I knew the delivery would be exceptional. It was. On top of that, I find that, as with most things, when you are the real McCoy and genuine article, you make no attempt to lord it over everybody else, even when you are a lord.

In fact, what struck me most about the viciousness and contempt that Muscat’s speech attracted, was how depressingly classist the reactions were, which ironically confirmed the opposite of what these people were trying to prove. In attempting to assert their superiority and class, they immediately demonstrated a profound lack of it.

I’m pretty sure that confronted with Etonians or Oxonians, these people would likewise be out of their depth and would probably sound much the same to them as Muscat sounds to ‘us’.

I use inverted commas because although I may physically form part of this group, I have never shared a spiritual connection. I have always frowned upon the derisory antics displayed by some of its members, who sometimes, even when talking among themselves, emulate certain heavy accents they look down on, as a form of sport or joke.

I find people who do this, as, or more, off-putting and abhorrent as those who mock people who speak Maltese with difficulty or with an affected accent. I don’t tolerate or empathise with either chippy social group who judge people on the basis of their background – something they have little control over.

English is clearly not Muscat’s first language. Equally clear is that she does not speak English with an accent two or three all-girls schools in the 1980s, 1990s (and before) prided themselves with, churning out girls who speak an approximate form of received pronunciation – or think they do.

Brilliant and eloquent public speaking is an art form and powerful tool few ever tap into and master successfully

So if Muscat really did wing that speech, she’s pretty damn good. Her delivery, bar some minor grammatical and pronunciation errors, was perfectly intelligible. I dare say few of the people who mauled her would be capable of carrying off a speech in English so confidently, unaided by notes. Even with notes, there’s no telling ...

Perhaps I’m missing the point. Once you put yourself out there you have to be prepared to take the fall. As the Prime Minister’s wife, Muscat ought to strive for perfection and not set herself up for a potential trip-up. Why speak English when it doesn’t come naturally and when Maltese obviously does?

Well, in the same way that French, Italians, Portuguese, Africans, and pretty much any of the non-British world are wont to give speeches in English without eliciting our horror and earning our respect instead, why not someone Maltese?

And although I agree that the subject matter could have been better researched and thought out, and some of the content tweaked, sanded, buffed and polished, I’ll leave that and other valid observations for another time.

Perhaps Muscat’s next speech should focus on a renewed interest in speech delivery, on putting public speaking on the educational map and making it a compulsory part of the national curriculum.

michelaspiteri@gmail.com