I refer to a recent letter I wrote regarding the need to encompass Maltese history as the bulwark against extremism. With history comes language.

The Maltese language is a precious jewel, shared across social divides. I worry that the English language, which is a very absorbent sponge, might, over time, seduce people into putting Maltese into a storage box within a facility that simply houses distant memories of the past.

The Maltese language is a very diverse language which the Knights sought to simplify by transcribing Arabic writing into Roman equivalents. Their belief was that, to understand theMaltese, they needed to makethe language understandableto themselves.

I believe Ferdinand von Hompesch was the last and only Grand Master to ever learn Maltese asit was spoken then by the ‘common people’. Liberal leaninghe was indeed, with a peculiar appreciation of language, not simply as a means to communicate as much as a depository of the history of the country. Past, present and future.

I believe that both in schools and at home there should be an equal proportion of both good Maltese and good English. To give priority to the one over the other will decimate historical understanding and cause terrible divides between the wealthy and the poor.

The language allows everyone to understand each other.For young people, they quickly learn about such differences and that allows their empathy and compassion to grow. Without this common linguistic thread, social divides will worsenand intolerance and bigotry will become enshrined. One would be misguided to think theEnglish language could heal rifts and misunderstandings.

History and language should become the happy bedfellows that unite the Maltese world in increasingly troubled times. I simply hope the two bulwarks are strengthened through time and that society will come to appreciate we simply cannot have the one without the other.