Apart from painting, he was also involved in public discussion of the modernisation of the Greek language. He was a friend of Glenos, Delmouzos and Triantafylidis. He illustrated the first alphabet book in the new modern Greek language Demotiki (Αλφαβητάρι με τον ήλιο), and wrote articles for newspapers such as "Nouma, Elefthero Vima" , as well as writing for a number of art journals. Maleas was recognised for his artistic contribution by the Greek Government, which awarded him its 'Highest Acknowledgement of Letters and Arts'.