Language Question (Malta)

The Language Question (Maltese: Kwistjoni tal-Lingwa, Italian: Questione della lingua) was a linguistic and political controversy in the British colony of Malta which lasted from the early 19th to the mid-20th centuries. It began as a dispute over whether the dominant language on the islands should be English or Italian, and it ended with the native Maltese becoming an official language alongside English. Before the Language Question, Malta was characterized by a diglossia in which Italian was the language of the elite and Maltese was the language spoken by the common people. The linguistic debate arose as a result of British attempts to introduce English into Maltese society, and in the meantime the Maltese language was gradually developed and formalized. The debate became increasingly politicized after the 1880s, and political parties were established along linguistic lines. It remained a key factor in Maltese politics until World War II, and its impact on contemporary Malta remains significant.

Background

The Language Question arose from the diglossia which developed in the Maltese Islands over the centuries. The islands' native language, Maltese, is a Semitic language which evolved from Siculo-Arabic, and historically it had a less prestigious status than other languages on the islands. Maltese was primarily a spoken language among the common people and it was not used in official contexts. When Malta was part of the Kingdom of Sicily in the medieval period, the most prestigious languages or acrolects were Latin and Sicilian. After Hospitaller rule was established in 1530, Italian (then known as volgare toscano) became the primary language used by the Hospitaller knights, and the Maltese middle class subsequently adopted Italian rather than Sicilian as their preferred language, while Latin continued to be used in official contexts and in education. After France expelled the Hospitallers and occupied Malta in 1798, an attempt was made to introduce French into Maltese society and it became an official language, but this ceased after France surrendered Malta to the British in 1800. At the time, the islands were regarded by many as part of Italy, with British Civil Commissioner Alexander Ball referring to Malta's capital Valletta as "the most tranquill City in Italy." During the 19th century, British colonial authorities introduced English on the islands, resulting in disagreements between those who favoured English and those who favoured Italian. This dispute became known as the Language Question.

Early attempts at Anglicization (1813–1880) Malta became a de facto British crown colony in 1813, and Sir Thomas Maitland was appointed as its first Governor. This political change was confirmed de jure in the Treaty of Paris of 1814. Efforts to introduce English on the islands began around this time, and in 1813 Secretary of State for War and the Colonies Lord Henry Bathurst instructed Maitland that Italian should be replaced by English and that the latter should be promoted among the islands' inhabitants. This attempted Anglicization was opposed by many Maltese people, who held on to Italian culture and the Roman Catholic religion, which were distinguishing features compared to their Anglophone and Protestant rulers. Maitland and his successors did not follow Bathurst's instructions so as to prevent conflict with the Catholic Church. Anglicization was also opposed by other members of Maltese society apart from the church, such as merchants who had strong commercial links with Sicily and mainland Italy. It had made little progress by the 1830s, and at that point Italian was still the language of instruction in the few schools present on the islands. After attempts to Anglicize the courts had failed, King William IV confirmed the status of Italian as an official language on legal documents in 1833, although Governor Henry Bouverie stated that English law should be introduced "at least in spirit" in 1837. An 1838 Royal Commission found that "the Italian language [was] far more useful to a Maltese than any other language, excepting his native tongue." Despite this, a more subtle process of Anglicization took place throughout the course of the 19th century. Knowledge of English provided the Maltese with more employment opportunities, and this became more significant as trade between Britain and Malta increased. The colonial authorities continued to promote English but did not forcibly impose it on the population. In the late 1850s, knowledge of both English and Italian became necessary requirements for joining the civil service.

Role of Maltese and Arabic Initially the Maltese language did not play a prominent role in the linguistic debate on Malta, since it was regarded by many as a vernacular corrupted dialect of Arabic. In 1822, John Hookham Frere created a chair of Maltese at the University of Malta for Mikiel Anton Vassalli and he suggested that the language (written in both the Arabic and Latin scripts) be taught in primary schools, although little progress was made in this regard. Significant developments in Maltese literature began in the 1820s and increased after freedom of the press was established in 1839. Pamphlets, journals, poems and novels were published by writers such as Ġan Anton Vassallo and Ġużè Muscat Azzopardi. These changes led to the standardization of Maltese and they contributed to it being recognized as a language in its own right rather than an Arabic dialect. In the 1840s George Percy Badger supported the idea that Arabic and English, rather than Maltese or Italian, should be taught to the Maltese population. The proposal to reintroduce Arabic failed to gain any support among the Maltese people, and a group called Accademia Filologica Maltese was established in opposition. This promoted the use of Maltese in literature and education, whilst also recognizing the diglossia with Italian.

British fears of Italian and French influence

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