That’s ok, don’t worry. At least the most devoted of us – the ciccio’s, Joe Fenech’s and Baxx’s of this world go back and read the older comments.

Is my comment not going to be published then? I understand it is your blog but I often put great effort into writing those comments and it pains me to then see them go unpublished. In any case I understand it is your prerogative.

[Daphne – It’s queued up with 300 other comments. I haven’t had much time over the last few days, and I really must stop this habit of moderating comments from the top, which means that the newest ones go out first.]

AH “informed source” !

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20140227/local/muscat-renzi-meeting-postponed.508546

So he doesn’t think Muscat’s important.

And we will need verification…

Daphne, you know by now that I disagree with you on this one. Yes, I too am appalled by the widespread lack of basic language skills in Malta, meaning both Maltese and English. I disagree when you say that Modern Italian (i.e. Florentine) has never been an official language in Malta when in fact it was adopted by the Knights in 1530 way before other regions/city states adopted it as their official language.

When the British arrived in 1800 Italian was still the only official language and it was only when Italy started unifying that the British, who were intelligent colonisers, started to undermine Italian and favour our pet hate, ‘Maltese’, as a language when even today it continues to be just a very poor dialect which is holding us back.

I am not saying that the Maltese should speak Italian; what I am saying is that, given the proximity of Italy and the historic, cultural and economic ties, it would be good if our leaders spoke Italian. I do not think that this is too much to ask when there are leaders of other countries with much less reason to learn the language of neighbouring countries, due to their size and the importance of their own language, that go to great lengths to speak their neighbours’ languages well.

Lastly, to say that Malta was never an outpost of Italy is technically true, seeing as Italy has only been a nation since 1861. However, that would be to deny the fact that for most of the past 2000 years Malta was an appendage of Sicily, economically and politically. The fact that often Sicily was in turn a fiefdom of various other rulers, Aragon, Castilla etc. is irrelevant here.

I agree with Dgatt completely. Zipping up doesn’t always precede the washing of hands, and indeed it shouldn’t. At least, I don’t and I’ve worked that one out long time ago, and which is why i avoid urinals in the first place. I need a wash-hand basin close to the toilet itself so i could wash my hands immediately and before all the parts are tucked away and secured.

If we wash our hands to get rid of the “germs” that we collect from handling sausages shall we say, then why should we zip up before washing our hands and transfer those “germs” onto the fly and carry them with us all day long? And until the suit is taken to the dry-cleaners which isn’t something any man does every time he wears a suit anyway. It’s tucked away in a wardrobe.

Why women assume that all men are dirty down there is beyond me. Some are, granted, but they’re probably unclean all-over anyway. The physical anatomy of a man makes it easier to stay cleaner for longer than women could I think. In fact, the skin down there is the same as the skin on any other body part, and you’d have no issue shaking my hand if you knew i touched my neck for instance.

Back to the TVM headline, well that is to be expected. PBS has been converted to Super 2 a year ago. Times of Malta is now Times of Labour.

Is this some sick joke? This is not healthy?

[Daphne – Bit of a humour culture clash here, I’m afraid.]

Malta was “Terra irredenta” for the fascists” …just joking.

I expect MY prime minister to speak in front of TV cameras, the languages he knows; not the languages which he thinks he knows.

[Daphne – I disagree. Right now, I am sitting in a conference room in which there are some 20 EU member states represented by people who are all speaking English as the common language of communication. The only native speakers are me and an Irishman. The language is spoken to varying degrees of competence and considering that it is a really difficult language to learn at school from scratch, most people are speaking it well. But to my ears, it is very difficult to follow because it is not really English but Globish and it really sounds like a different language. The point is that they are not expected to speak English like native speakers because they are not native speakers nor raised in a country where they are expected to be. The same applies to Muscat and Italian. It is enough that he speaks it sufficiently well to communicate. He does not need to be wholly fluent or have the right accent. Those would just be bonuses. You can’t say the same of Muscat and English because he grew up in a country where that is an official language and the main language of instruction in the school he went to.]

When I speak to foreigners I start with a humble ‘preamble’: “Excuse my English/Italian…” Then I get “Well, your English/Italian is not as bad as you described it, and by the way I don’t know a word in Maltese…”

[Daphne – That’s exactly why I never feel the need to apologise for not speaking any languages other than English and Maltese. What does being humble have to do with it? There’s nothing to apologise for. Your English is better than that of most non-native speakers. I will never say to an Italian/French person/Spaniard ‘Excuse my Italian, French, Spanish or for that matter, German’. If they approach me speaking their language, I simply say, ‘Sorry, I don’t speak whatever. Do you speak English?’ And if I’m the one who approaches them for whatever reason, I just speak English and leave it up to them to say they don’t speak the language (though most do). I find that it’s people who don’t speak English at all who tend to be embarrassed about the fact and show it – as well they might, given how essential it is in today’s world and how there really is no excuse.]

And complementary landing gear too.