I completely agree with you. However, my point is that many Maltese people don’t speak English properly despite the fact that it is ‘technically’ a second language.

It is supposed to be the language of education – and not an additional subject with a native speaker teacher who gives a daily lesson – as is done in say, Germany or Sweden.

We really have no excuse for the deterioration of the language – other than sloppy teaching methods and laziness.

Let’s go back to the example of Sweden. English is taught there as a foreign language – however it is taught and used properly. Many Swedes speak English much much better than most Maltese.

I worry that we are losing both Maltese and English to a vocabulary and expression-poor mash-up of the two.

I would say that even fewer than 5% grow up speaking it as their native language.

Many Maltese don’t speak any English at all, and this spans the generations.

But there is more to this than meets the eye. The government is now signing deals for teaching English AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE to the MALTESE.

Now I’m all for dropping the delusion of bilingualism and all that, but this may well be the first step to removing English as an official language. There are rumblings. And this lot are a radical bunch. They want to cut a lot of Gordian Knots. At cocktail parties where I slink along the walls, I have heard government ministers and powerful officials declaring they’d drop English from the constitution, with an “U mela!”, for emphasis.

There’s nothing to stop them.

Then darkness will shroud the earth.

Education Minister Evarist Bartolo did a disservice by lowering the entry requirements. This is sending the wrong message.

If anything, the level of discussion is both annoying and non informative. Common sense and reasoned arguments are becoming scarce.

So our dear Prime Minister has no idea what the fuss is all about. He seems to have a penchant for making assertions which reflect an insensitivity to how people view the destruction of pristine land and shoreline.

He is unaware of those families who live in constant fear of losing their livelihood.The farmers need representation and a guarantee that agricultural land is not sacrificed for the short term.

In years to come we will regret the loss of once good arable land with a world in disarray due to climate change.

A battle between farmers and landowners over the rights to a stretch of land in Bahrija turned nasty when a fist fight broke out, leaving farmers with black eyes and stitched-up faces and further complicating a long-drawn legal controversy.

The little fellow in the photo was minding its own business as it stood in the shade of a carob tree which had suffered a lot of damage due to a storm but was miraculously recouping somewhere in the limits of Rabat. It will stand no chance against these investors with an eye on its habitat. Unfortunately, an urban jungle does not meet its requirements to live in peace.

I hope The European Parliament will pursue the matter further.

“Government sources said Malta had replied to the European Commission, telling it that the project posed no risk since it was being developed in an area dominated by agricultural land away from built-up areas. On the basis of that reply, the European Commission is expected to tell the EP that there is no ‘prima facie’ breach of EU law.

Sources explained to this paper, however, that this did not mean that the Commission has given the project a green light, insisting that it is essentially only carrying the Maltese government’s reply back to the EP. “The European Parliament will now decide whether this explanation by the Maltese government is satisfactory or whether it wants to pursue the matter further.”

http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2015-05-30/local-news/Marsaxlokk-tanker-poses-no-risk-to-people-government-tells-European-Commission-6736136414

First you have power, then you use it, then you abuse it, then you lose it