What a suggestion, changing the name of Sliema to Ħal Ħoss (‘Ħal Ħoss not Sliema’, August 22).

We residents of Sliema are happy with the name our forefathers chose for this seaside town. Fishermen sailing out Valletta used to say a prayer on spotting the chapel at Fort Tignè, which was built in 1615. The first word of the Hail Mary in Maltese is “Is-sliem” and that is how this town got its name.

While on the subject, I urge the authorities concerned to consider replacing the word Ħal with Casal, because, originally, the names of every town and village in Malta used to start with the word Casal and not Ħal like, for example, Casal Qormi and Casal Balzan.

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