Daphne Caruana Galizia admits in her article that prior to 1990 she did not read Maltese newspapers (TMIS, 15 January). I do not think she read much else in Maltese either. On the rare occasions I heard her speak Maltese I could easily tell that she is not a competent speaker of the language.

Yet she has deemed it fit to fulfil her commitments to your newspaper for the week by telling us how we should write Maltese.

I will not try to answer her linguistic kawlata (I still haven’t decided how to write this in English, but that’s another matter) for the simple reason that I am not a linguist.

I studied Maltese up to Master’s level, I have taught Maltese for the last 12 years, but I still do not consider myself competent to decide how the language should be written.

I have read the report published by the National Council for the Maltese Language about the way the name for the European currency should be written and pronounced in Maltese. I think it makes perfect linguistic sense, probably because the people who compiled it are linguists.

The Council is the sole body in Malta responsible for “update(ing) the orthography of the Maltese Language as necessary and, from time to time, establish(ing) the correct manner of writing words and phrases that enter the Maltese Language from other tongues” (Maltese Language Act, 2004, 5 (2)).

Incidentally, I do not believe the Council has yet pronounced itself on words like blubejbi, as was implied by your contributor. I suggest Ms Caruana Galizia leave linguistic argumentation to the experts.

If she wants to write a sexy article she should try brain surgery next week (writing about it, not actually performing it). I’m sure qualified brain surgeons would have a field day, if they don’t simply decide to ignore what Ms Caruana Galizia may have to say on the matter. Maybe I should have ignored her myself.

Marco Galea

MOSTA