Problems of Maltese

Whatever may be hampering the rightful respect towards our national theatre, albeit in our own Maltese vernacular, one of the prime obstacles at the core of our identity as a sovereign nation is, precisely, the Maltese language itself.

There are two dimensions affecting this perennial national problem, as I perceive it. Firstly, we are faced with the attitudinal approach to matters Maltese in general; but in this particular argument, it is the Maltese language in particular. Deep-seated prejudice from days gone by, lingers and even flourishes. This certainly does not project us as the avant-garde nation some locals like to inflate their egos with.

So deeply embedded is this particular prejudice, that certain highly placed individuals in Maltese society seemingly do not appreciate the self-deprecating effect this stance has on their own intellectual aplomb, in the eyes of their beholders, usually foreigners, they so wish to impress. At the forefront, fanning the flames of this prejudice, lie certain groups and individuals who appear to have a vested interest in keeping the "doors of knowledge and enlightenment" sealed to the general public.

The other aspect, not unaffected by the first, reflects a derogatory approach, on a national scale, to the Maltese language, somehow, as an intellectually inferior or deficient means of verbal communication. Our insular and minuscule existence may have some bearing upon such a perverse attitude. But with all the most recent exposure of our local academics and other scholars to current linguistic and language trends, it is alarmingly disheartening to see such an obstinate and self-righteous approach to the actual use of the language of the very people who speak and create it, persisting to this day.

Having set this basic problematic and stubbornly lingering stand before the readers (and hopefully capturing all those obstructing the promotion of Maltese plays within the ambit of our national icon, the Manoel Theatre), once these major stumbling blocks have been fully appreciated in their entirety and accorded their deserved analytical depth, then, and only then, can we hope to move forward in accepting whatever is our own, as equal and in some spheres, even ahead of others.

Failure to appreciatively sift through each syllable I have spelt out in the brevity of this contribution, will leave our autochthonous writers/artists and their artform to languish in some form of mystic and esoteric existence, with dire consequences to our national unity and as a nation; a nation which perceives itself from a distance, without ever being able to savour the richness of its very own national heritage.