The Other

Feltrinelli's most recent post got the attention of a number of people, motivating them to post their own response. These are my comments following the post itself and the replies to it:

1) I am still uncertain whether to consider self analysis a positive exercise or not. At times I'm inclined to think that this is a 'natural' tendency of an inward looking small nation which tends to take itself too seriously. At other times I think that this is an equally 'natural' tendency of a nation with a long history of colonisation, which finally has reached that state where its people are starting formulating their own thoughts rather than adopting the other's discourses as their own.

2) wwwitchie's reply to Feltrinelli's post included a comment on bilingualism. I'm not at all sure we share a common definition of bilingualism. Contrary to what university lecturer Charles Briffa believes, bilingualism has not always characterised the linguistic situation of the Maltese islands. There were cases of diglossia, as in the period of Roman rule, but bilingualism is a more recent linguistic phenomenon. The Maltese are becoming ever more conscious of their bilingual quality, but care should be given to Chapter 1.5.1 of the Constitution where it is clearly stated that the National Language of the Republic of Malta is Maltese. This does not mean that there is only one language used by the inhabitants. However, one has to keep in mind that Malta's second language was introduced to the Maltese people by a colonizer, and hence it remains the language of the other.

3) Ironically, many of us need to use this language of the other to define ourselves, to express our position and to make our presence felt as it were.

4) It is not the language of the other (in Malta's case English) that is 'jeopardising' the proper use of the native language. Worse than that is many people's inability to write and speak properly. I have in mind, for example, those television stations which since a few months ago have started streaming viewers' smses written in a non-language, those journalists who can't write correctly, and those self-proclaimed DJs who, for some unknown reason, speak Maltese with a strong English accent (!!)