As we reported on our front page today, a world traveller who speaks 10 languages, has qualified the Maltese population under the multi-active category – a lively, loquacious people who do many things at once, planning our priorities not according to a time schedule, but according to the relative thrill or importance that each appointment brings with it.

How very, very apt. Sometimes, it is refreshing to take a break from the politics and engage in a story that describes us, from an outside point of view. Unsurprisingly, the same group were placed in is the same group that Italians, Latin Americans and Arabs are. And let’s be honest, it’s not hard to see why.

British linguist Richard Lewis Lewis’s book ‘When Cultures Collide’ -  now in its third edition - has sold more than one million copies since it was first published in 1996 and was dubbed "an authoritative roadmap to navigating the world's economy" by the Wall Street Journal.

He puts cultures into three categories:

·         Linear-actives—those who plan, schedule, organize, pursue action chains, do one thing at a time. Germans and Swiss are in this group.

·         Multi-actives—those lively, loquacious peoples who do many things at once, planning their priorities not according to a time schedule, but according to the relative thrill or importance that each appointment brings with it. Italians, Latin Americans and Arabs are members of this group.

·       Reactives—those cultures that prioritize courtesy and respect, listening quietly and calmly to their interlocutors and reacting carefully to the other side's proposals. Chinese, Japanese and Finns are in this group.

He says that this categorization of national norms does not change significantly over time and adds: “The behaviour of people of different cultures is not something willy-nilly. There exist clear trends, sequences and traditions. Reactions of Americans, Europeans, and Asians alike can be forecasted, usually justified and in the majority of cases managed. Even in countries where political and economic change is currently rapid or sweeping (Russia, China, Hungary, Poland, Korea, Malaysia, etc.) deeply rooted attitudes and beliefs will resist a sudden transformation of values when pressured by reformists, governments or multinational conglomerates.” At the end of the day, given the melting pot that our unique culture is, we probably fit into all the categories and that is because Malta has had such diverse exposure to different cultures. We are, intrinsically, Mediterranean, and that is where we share traits with Arab people and the Italians. We were also under Arab rule for centuries. But at the same time, we were exposed to the British psyche, which probably gives us a little bit of discipline. Now, being part of the EU, were are also exposed to the cultures of the European continent. But above all else, we remain uniquely Maltese.