Readers may be surprised to learn that a Maltese resident is quite familiar with Missouri French (‘Dialect cannot be exterminated’, June 25).

My family is from Old Mines, in the lead mining area called The Lead Belt, south of St Louis, Missouri, and I was born there in 1934.

When I lived there, the people who spoke the dialect were called “hill people” or “hill folk”. Their words and expressions were commonly included in everydayEnglish by others.

One word that could be pronounced ‘gwine’ means “I am going to” or can be a question: “Are you going to?”