Since its inception, a year ago, the Centre for the Maltese Language (ĊIM) has been busy reaching out to stakeholders and implementing projects and initiatives to strengthen the Maltese language. We have an ambitious programme, and the feedback that we have been receiving is strong and encouraging.

One of our first initiatives, a few weeks after ĊIM was set up, was a forum that brought together the relevant stakeholders under one roof – the National Forum on the Maltese Language.

Statistician Professor Vincent Marmara presented the findings of a survey commissioned by ĊIM about the state of the Maltese language. First, we needed to ensure that we had a clear idea and sound scientific data about the state of the Maltese language. The findings were interesting. These enabled us to launch events and initiatives based on the needs and aspirations of the people surveyed, representative of those of the wider local population. 

A recap of the survey's findings consists of the following: 95% of the Maltese people consider Maltese as one of their main languages. Almost 95% of the Maltese population speak Maltese with their relatives. However, with children, it is only 68% of Maltese parents that speak Maltese. The highest age bracket of parents whose children understand only the English language is the 26-45 age bracket (24.3%).  

Marmara's survey findings were discussed during the Forum, which saw a healthy discussion amongst university professors, students, parents, communication experts, linguists, authors, and policy makers. Those discussions, along with the survey findings, were collated into one publication titled Insaħħu l-Ilsien Nazzjonali Tagħna (Strengthening our National Language), which has been launched earlier this month at an event marking ĊIM’s first anniversary.

In the past months, we have been engaged with a number of meetings with relevant stakeholders, whilst agreeing on a common framework intended to strengthen the Maltese language, making it more relevant in today's Malta.

In the first year since CIM's inception, six agreements have been signed with different public sector entities with the aim to promote the Maltese language.

With Arts Council Malta, we signed a collaboration agreement aimed at encouraging and supporting authors, producers, and artists to both promote and make better use of the national language in their publications and productions.

With the Malta Digital Innovation Authority, we signed an agreement with the purpose to create digital linguistic tools with the help of artificial intelligence. Marmara's survey findings underlined the need for the development of such tools, such as the availability of a Maltese spell checker, which participants said would be widely used to assist the writing of emails, formal letters and text messaging.

With the Department of Information, ĊIM signed an agreement to develop a Public Service Corpus. Setting up such a corpus would pave the way for the creation of digital tools to be used primarily by public sector employees. Both entities shall also be collaborating on other projects intended to promote the Maltese language and its proper usage across the public sector’s internal and external communication.

With the long term care facility of Saint Vincent De Paul, ĊIM signed an agreement in which the facility commits itself to enroll its non-Maltese carers and other healthcare employees two Maltese-oriented courses: Basic Maltese and Maltese history and culture.

Xjenza Malta, formally known as MCST, collaborated with ĊIM to effect radical changes in its brand, image and entity name, by giving precedence to Maltese.  This is exemplary, as Xjenza Malta will be also adopting this method when issuing publications, audiovisual resources, information on its website, and general notices to the public at Esplora.

We have also signed an agreement with the Victim Support Agency. The purpose of this agreement is to identify hate speech. This is part of an EU wide project, titled Hatedemics, financed by the European Union. The culmination of this project will involve the compilation of a hate speech glossary that will be distributed to stakeholders working in this sector.

Our collaborations went beyond the public sector. With Media Exclusive, we embarked on a project to provide the popular Peppa Pig series in Maltese. Aware that Maltese children are avid followers of this series, we thought it would be a good idea to provide a Maltese language version of it. This initiative, aimed at helping children better assimilate with the Maltese language through such media efforts, has been strongly received by parents and educators alike.

We are also giving the local cultural sector the importance that it deserves. For instance, Vajnil, a concert in Maltese, is one of the cultural initiatives that will be happening soon. Additionally, with Malta Daily, in collaboration with the Public Service, we are currently using social media to make locals more aware of the need to promote our native language and how important it is to preserve this language for future generations.

In the coming weeks and months, we will be unveiling new projects and initiatives. First and foremost, these will include a national campaign targeting children, parents, and educators that will be emphasising the benefits of bilingualism, and hence the need to maintain the Maltese language alive (alongside English) in our day-to-day communication with children, at home and at school.

We shall also strive to ensure better use of the language in the local media, the public sector and amongst Maltese people living in the diaspora. Finally, we are resolute in our intent to encourage more foreigners who live and work in Malta to learn Maltese.

We owe it to past generations who strove hard to keep the Maltese language alive, to continue what they started. It is indeed a privilege for a small island nation to have its own unique language. The challenges are many, but we should not and will not give up. Together with the relevant stakeholders, ĊIM shall leave no stone unturned to ensure that we do not only preserve, but also strengthen our national language; the language that constitutes a key characteristic of what identifies us as Maltese.

The Centre for the Maltese Language remains firmly committed to working with all stakeholders for the benefit of our language.

Norma Saliba is executive head of the Centre for the Maltese Language