MEP calls for better integration of Maltese into digital platforms

Nationalist Party MEP Francis Zammit Dimech, has called for the integration of the Maltese language on digital platforms and assistants. 

The MEP argued that including the Maltese language on digital assistants like Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa, would ensure that the national language remains relevant in an ever-changing digital world. 

Speaking during the annual Translating Europe Workshop, with the topic: "Digital prospects: support for the online presence of Maltese", the MEP said that the Maltese language faces a digital extinction. 

Zammit Dimech recalled how he had tabled a series of amendments on a report addressing challenges faced by languages in the digital age to tackle such a problem.

“The Maltese language is part of our national identity, which makes us proud of who we are. That is why I believe that it is important to facilitate the teaching and learning of Maltese language, which we use in our daily lives as well as on digital media” added Zammit Dimech. 

Zammit Dimcech also touched up on the concern that many young people are no longer able to properly write in English or Maltese, with some of them performing poorly in school because they do not speak or wrote the language correctly. 

“Poor learning skills are concerning because if young people are not able to speak languages well, they will not be able to enter the job market. It is only through continuous efforts of teaching Maltese language to younger generations that we will be able to keep our language alive and transmit it to the generations to come,” he said.