Guidelines issued recently by the National Council for the Maltese Language caused a stir when the way in which 200 countries and citizens are referred to was changed.

According to the guidelines, a Dutch person previously referred to as Olandiż in Maltese, should now be known as Netherlandiż.

A person from San Marino has now become a San Mariniż according to the Council.

The Council was established 10 years ago, and Education Minister Evarist Bartolo thinks it is time to review its role.

It is currently tasked with promoting the Maltese language and updating the orthography of the language from time to time. 

Addressing a press conference, Mr Bartolo said the ministry will publish a public consultation document to open up the discussion on the Council's function.

Mr Bartolo asked whether the Council's language recommendations should be unquestioned or whether there should be a consultation process.

Citing an example, Mr Bartolo said five year old children are faced with spelling shower in English, and xawer in Maltese.

The Education Minister said it is time to discuss the usage and spelling of English words in Maltese.

The public consultation document will be uploaded on the Education Ministry's website. 

In a statement, the Council for the Maltese Language said that it chose "Netherlandiz" because it based its decision on the guideliness provided by the European Union for translators and legislators. Holland is only patrt of the Netherlands, and so Olandiz did not represent the Dutch people as a whole but only a part of the country, the council said.

The council said that the choice was made base on Maltese language principles, but it said that this suggestion was only for legal or political texts. People can still refer to a Dutch person as 'Olandiz'.

Editor's note: What the council did not explain is why use the "th", rather than a "d", for Netherlandiż (Nederlandiz). The "th" sound in the English language is not present in the Maltese language, and technically speaking the suggestion made by the council would mean that the Maltese pronounciation of "Netherlandiż" would be"Net-her-lan-diż" not "Ne-der-lan-diż".