You won’t reply because you know I’m right.

I have read my responses very carefully and nowhere did I say I’m British or, prior to my last message, that I was an EFL teacher.

My ‘problem’ as you call it, is not personal. I do not even frequent your blog. However, I found it most ironic that when correcting someone you were, in fact (or, at the very least, in my opinion), wrong.

Yes, I remain anonymous. Is there a problem with that? If you really want to know my name I could easily give it to you, but not here in this blog.

But it would be to no avail, as I am done discussing this.

When did I ever claim to be English? Or explicitly state that I teach TEFL courses? Why am I even discussing this topic with someone who clearly can’t read English?

[Daphne – You claimed to be/do both, Patrick. Whatever your problem is, take it elsewhere. I am not interested in engaging any further with somebody whose problem is obviously personal and has nothing to do with the word ‘youth’, while he, or for all I know, she, remains anonymous.]

You make such sweeping statements, without sources to back them up, and I seriously doubt their legitimacy.

However, if you must know, I did actually take a TEFL course. If the teacher was worth their salt, which mine was, they’d tell you that it didn’t really matter which type of English you taught. We even had a few Americans in the course, do you think they ended up teaching British English? The type of English they speak on BBC is spoken by less than 5% of the British population. The purpose of language is to be understood. That is not to say that you should speak it incorrectly, but regional variations exist of English. Therefore it is incorrect to say the British English is the ‘correct’ form of English.

Therefore, would you call it the -right- English? I would assume that the journalists on BBC come from a certain socio-economic background and/or attended certain educational institutions. Therefore this is the likely reason why they speak in this way, rather than getting a memo from the Queen or whatever nonsense you say. If you can find a source for your claim, well and good. But I suggest you refrain from making such sweeping statements (or at least, making them sound like they are not your opinion, but fact). Have you ever thought that they speak in this way because it is simply phonetically pleasing? I think you’ll find that anchors in the US seem to have their own way of speaking English. Do you think this is because they want to ‘export’ their version of English? Unlikely.

In regards to Xarabank, yes I have watched it. And I do not watch it because I do not like it. Stop being childish and pedantic.

In regards to the constitution, and legislation in general, you’ll find it is very carefully worded. It has to be. You can’t say that “oh but it implies this because it was written then” or something like that. It is what it is because it has been written in that way. If it wasn’t they would have changed the wording.

Honestly, can you realistically imagine using these arguments against a well-respected American linguist? There would be much raising of brows.

And I wouldn’t blame Xarabank alone. John Bundy on Affari Taghna’s doing his bit. Do you remember that programme featuring Libyan people, shortly after Libya erupted? John Bundy made a point of saying that he condemns ALL forms of violence, by implication, even those who fought back.

“Who was it who said that Xarabank caused the Maltese malaise of refusing to acknowledge that there is such a thing as fact”

That was H. P. Baxxter, right here on this blog.

Your condescending tone is completely unnecessary. Especially when you’re trying to talk about a subject in which you don’t know much about.

[Daphne – The condescending tone was yours, Patrick, and it was reciprocated. You are using the same tone again here. Read your second sentence again: you are definitely not English as you claim, and if you teach TEFL courses, your other claim, you should be fired.]

The English language is not governed by opinion, it is governed by usage.

[Daphne – You mean ‘English’, not ‘the English language’. Usage becomes established over time, turning into ‘the rules’. There remains at all times a correct way to write and speak, and various incorrect ways of doing so, which are ‘accepted’ for some purposes but still regarded as inferior for other purposes.]

There is no equivalent body such as the Real Academia Española or the Académie française for English. Dictionaries record usage, and do not prescribe it. Why do you think the range of words in the Oxford English Dictionary includes American English ones, Australian ones, etc.?

[Daphne – Because it is a dictionary, Patrick. You will note, however, that newscasters for the BBC World Service are required to have a particular accent and to enunciate in a highly specific way, and that the words and sentence construction they use are not determined by usage but by the preferred usage of their sovereign. That this is the form of English, and the accent, which Britain, through its state broadcaster, wishes to broadcast to the world (while not doing the same at home) tells you that this is considered, by Britain itself, to be the ‘ultimate standard’, the obvious inference being that all other forms are inferior. When the BBC broadcasts that kind of English (and that accent) to the world, it is a branding exercise, pure and simple.]

British English is not the ‘ultimate’ form of English. What does that even mean? In addition British English is spoken by comparatively few people around the globe.There are scores of variations of British English alone, each with their own intrinsic vocabulary.

[Daphne – No, you are definitely not English. ‘The ultimate expression’ of the language means exactly that. If you do not know what it means, you shouldn’t be teaching it. Carry on promoting Globish.]

All forms of English are equally valid, and it is up to the individual to decide which one they want to use. Therefore the Spanish question is irrelevant. In fact, I have a friend learned Spanish in Colombia, rather than Spain (and they were European).

I have no idea what you mean by that Xarabank comment. I do not watch the vile show.

[Daphne – You have never watched it, and yet you are confident it is vile.]

You mention expert opinions… Are -you- an expert about the English language, Daphne?

Oh and FYI this is a quote from Malta’s constitution:

“The Maltese and the English languages…sha l l be the official languages of Malta and the Administration may for all official purposes use any such languages.”

I don’t see anything about British English.

[Daphne – It is implicit, Patrick. The Constitution would never specify ‘British English’, because the formal name of the language is English, in South Africa, Australia, Canada and the United States as it is in Malta. The only reason English is one of Malta’s official languages is because Malta was part of the British Empire, and when that Constitution was written, Malta was not yet a republic. The Constitution itself is written in British English.]

Dear Daphne,

That definition of youth is archaic. I am of the impression that even in Britain, the more modern definition of the word ‘youth’ is used. Perhaps this may be for the sake of political correctness, but it is used nonetheless.

Furthermore, British English is one form of English. It is very naive to assume that everyone should speak it, or that it is the correct form of English. Otherwise this would severely undermine the use of English as a global lingua franca.This definition of youth is only true for one type of English (i.e. Brit. English in this case). So how can you assume that it is the -best- and/or -true- use of the word?

[Daphne – Archaic? Hardly. Language is not a matter of opinion, Patrick. Who was it who said that Xarabank caused the Maltese malaise of refusing to acknowledge that there is such a thing as fact and that where opinion is concerned, some opinions are expert and more valid than others? I am losing patience with people whose knowledge of the language is as a third or even fourth coming in here and insisting that their way is the right way, because ‘in their opinion’ they are right. British English is the ‘ultimate’ expression of the language because, in case the name hasn’t given you enough of a clue, it is the real thing. If you choose to learn Spanish, which are you going to opt for: the Spanish spoken in Spain or the Spanish spoken in South America? And that is quite apart from the fact that it is British English which is Malta’s official language, not Australian English or American English, and certainly not the Globish that so many of you now seem to be opting for, presumably because you really, really want to sound like somebody who grew up in Slovakia.]

There is an interesting comment at the bottom of page, which I am pasting here:

Jesse M. Mumba · Acting Medical Officer-in-Charge at Ministry of Health of Zambia

Our National TV keeps showing men older than 35 yrs of age posing as youth of the political parties. I was interested in know the age limits applicable to the word. turns out my people are taking too long to mature hence our political leaders have to be grand father age.

How old is Joseph exactly?

Hmmm, maybe she studied at St. Martin’s Institute of IT, which is a ‘licensed teaching affiliate of London International Programmes”. Some idiots pretend that it is thus a subsidiary of LSE or something – I’ve seen others on Facebook claim that they studied at LSE when really they just went to St. Martin’s.

Chavtastic.

Indeed.

Every Maltese is expected to know a “disturbing amount” of British English, because it’s our official language. Much to your chagrin, no doubt.