'Peppa Pig is trouncing Fonzu l-Fenek': minister's Maltese language warning

The "shameful" lack of a law establishing when the Maltese language should be used could have serious consequences given the growing reliance on English, the Education Minister warned.

Evarist Bartolo made this point during question time parliament when asked by Labour MP Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi about government’s efforts to promote use of Maltese.

[attach id=791806 size="medium" align="left" type="image"]Education Minister Evarist Bartolo. [/attach]

“We should be ashamed for not having a law specifying when to use our national language. Use of Maltese language should be obligatory in certain situations,” he remarked.

He said the government should take steps to address this issue.

Mr Bartolo expressed concern that there was no level playing field between Maltese and English, especially with the rise of mobile phones and tablets.

“The most dangerous thing is that children from a tender age of 18 months onwards are much more exposed to English, as this is the language used on these devices,” he said.

Moreover, he said that worrying such trend is reinforced even in terms of literature and children’s entertainment.

[attach id=791827 size="medium" align="right" type="image"]Maltese...