Henry Frendo’s article on the Maltese language debate is very much to the point, for away from the particular spirit of opinion but based on scholarly linguistic history.

It is an absolute principle that it is the people who make up a language, and not remotely, a sudden gathering holding the same view, or the politician; and it is common knowledge that when a language is seldom written and is not an object of interest to scholars, it quickly adapts itself in the mouths of plain people to the needs and uses of daily life.

This means that, if a word or the grammar is ungraceful, it can be altered much more easily when there are no grammarians to protest.

Certainly, this was the case of the growth and development of the English and Italian languages, very much as has happened in our case, where the island patois has surfaced to flower, after years of exile.

There are no new words of indigenous origin in our country and all languages evolve.

They shed words and takenew ones, where meaning and spelling sail on the river of time, and all are subject to change in any language.

To be noted is the reality that English expression has a good number of words that are different in spelling while carrying the same meaning; and words spelt the same with different meaning.

If only because of this, the two groups in legal and/or linguistic battle array, which the learned contributor mentions, should shake hands indeed, and concentrate on more important matters.