Who in the world ever told the likes of the Josephs (Borg and Vella) of Xghajra and of California that there is any authority or academic attempting to translate or in some way find a Maltese equivalent to every single term under the sun?

That is exactly what comes to mind when they try in their letters to scorn the hard work that academics, translators and interpreters are doing in bringing the Maltese language at a par with all other European languages, by trying to find practical solutions (without verging on the silly, as the Josephs would have us believe) to various problems when it comes to translation and interpretation.

In trying to find Maltese terms to the plethora of international jargon in a myriad of subjects, including, yes, Information Technology, we are doing nothing but follow what various other linguists of European languages went through years ago, when they were adequately (and not just politically!) preparing themselves for their own language to become officially recognised within the European institutions. They did this by first and foremost creating centres of learning and of terminology.

For example, in practice, everyone in Malta will continue to use "mouse" for that useful computer peripheral. But let us not scorn whoever starts using the term "gurdien"; after all, the French use the term "souris".

I rather think that all this fuss and interference on the part of those who are not very knowledgeable in this field is due to an in-bred sense of inferiority complex in our language.

For these people, we might as well stop studying the language or develop and enhance it for today's and tomorrow's use.

Well, academic studies, as well as practice in translation and in interpretation, has shown that the Maltese language can be used quite easily in the many subjects discussed in international fora.