The merits of Maltese

Inspired by India and its literature, Sharon Spiteri discusses Maltese identity, language and literature. She wonders if there is a place for Maltese literature in English. From The Times (First part-Feb 11):

..Then I read Scott's The Jewel in the Crown (the first book of The Raj Quartet) and everything changed. Reading about the love affair between Daphne Manners and Hari Kumar and its consequences, I began to recognise that there was a post-colonial pattern, from my family's stories of the British in Malta, to the division of history lessons at school into Maltese and English history, to the never-ending and extremely tiring discussions of the ascendancy of Maltese over English or vice-versa. The Jewel opened my eyes to the question of Maltese identity in a way no other text before it had, something of an epiphany for me seeing that I have made the question of identity the focus of all my research.

The irony of reading about India through British authors did not escape me, not least because I later read for a degree in English literature and came in contact with the essays of Salman Rushdie, which are as pithy as his books are convoluted. For all those readers still caught up in the "euro vs ewro" debate, I highly recommend the essay 'Commonwealth Literature' Does Not Exist and especially its parting shot: "The English language ceased to be the sole possession of the English some time ago". With the discovery of Anglo-Indian literature came the realisation that a people should tell their story through their literature, and I started scrabbling around for Maltese literature. And found... very little.

At least, before I'm attacked for damning all Maltese literature with one stroke of the pen, I should qualify that last statement by saying I found little which appealed to me. It is not my intention, however, to discuss the merits or demerits of Maltese literature; that can best be left to the experts. I am lucky enough to have a good grounding in Maltese given the circumstances of my education but my command of the language remains pitiful and it is meant to be my native language, my mother tongue...

The language double standard: In the second part ( feb 25) of the article, Spiteri calls for a celebration of Maltese 'melange'. She states that the "idea of authenticity (the authentic Maltese voice) and purity (of language) is a fantasy, a myth".