On Lorenzo Manché’s 100th death anniversary,
Louis Borg Manché and
Edwin Borg Manché conclude a three-part series on the life and achievements of the ophthalmologist, educator and philanthropist.
This is the final article in a three-part series. Read part one and part two.
Role of Maltese in education
During the 19th century there was considerable public debate in Malta on the issue of the role that the Maltese language should play in education. Having a keen interest in education, Lorenzo Manché provided significant input to two major public reviews. The first was to Royal Commissioner Sir Patrick Joseph Keenan, who was sent to Malta in 1878 to investigate reforms to the educational system of the island, and the second, two decades later, to the Select Committee of the Council of Government set up in 1897 to look into the organisation of the Department of Education.
This year the Akkademja tal-Malti celebrated its 100th anniversary. Originally set up to streamline the Maltese alphabet, over the years its role evolved and it now focuses on promoting the national language and Maltese literature. Secretary Joseph Borg tells us why this is important and relevant in preserving a nation’s history and defining its future – to ensure that Maltese does not become a foreign language to today’s natives.
The Maltese language is probably the only factor that today distinguishes us and gives us our identity.
It is the national language as entrenched in our Constitution, while both Maltese and English are official languages. It is the only semitic language that has reached such status and has a unique feature: Maltese is the only semitic language which is written in Latin script.