My old friend, Henry Pace’s criticism of the new Valletta entrance square’s being named Pjazza Teatru Rjal is very clearly suggestive of an unawareness of how the language evolves.

Limiting one’s understanding of the word royal to just being “nostalgic for the British colonial days” shows that one is unaware that in today’s world the term has taken on additional connotations, including, grand, main, big, historic, outstanding, plus others of even a pejorative nature, as in, for example, “a right royal mess-up”.

Royal isn’t restrictedly “monarchist” any longer.

I sincerely hope that those responsible for naming the new square as Pjazza Teatru Rjal will strongly resist any attempts to change that name.

Apart from the linguistic correctness, there is also the popular and historic connotation. That part of Valletta is, in the popular Maltese mindset, still associated with the heydays and glory also of opera in Malta. (My late father first came to Malta on a contract as first clarinet for an opera season in the old Teatru Rjal). The Maltese, and foreign visitors, might even now see some format of opera being redone in the new theatre, even if most people wanted a properly-roofed one. So, certainly there is part of Maltese cultural history in the old name for the place.

Knowing history also requires that one should respect it. If we stop using the term “rjal” for this square, what next? Will we be again clamouring for removal of Queen Victoria’s statue from Pjazza Regina? Or forbidding use of the word “royal”? What’s this, “revanchism”, or what?

Also, none of this has anything to do with being proud of our constitutional achievements as a nation. Of course, we are proud of those. But history is history and trying to whitewash it out by changing names is very small-minded indeed.