The Maltese translation industry

What a great disappointment! It has become known that for the next three years the European Union will not be bound to draft all acts in Maltese. Translations into Maltese are logistically impossible, we are told.

Does it mean that the status of Maltese in the EU is to be downgraded? Does that mean that our language is never really going to be an official language after all?

As an author in the Maltese language, I was very excited about the prospects of having our language fully used in the EU. I followed a six-month course with Lexicom Translation Services to make sure I met the EU's high standards.

At the end of the course I obtained the appropriate certificate, which entitled me to be one of the official translators. With me there were a large number of other freelance translators. We prepared ourselves to start working from May this year.

In mid June we were offered the first translation jobs and were promised enormous volumes of work. However, this was not to be. It only lasted up to the first week of July when there was a big reduction in the volume of jobs.

It was a great personal sacrifice to prepare ourselves for Accession Day. What are we going to do in the meantime?

In the space of three years all the training we undertook will be wasted if we are not given the practice, which is so vital to any good translator. Not only will our trust in the EU diminish; few of us will be inclined to re-train and re-enter the translation industry. And who would dream of taking our place after this great disappointment?

If the Maltese are finding it difficult to work in Brussels and Luxembourg, we are ready to undertake this work here in Malta. We are willing and ready to start immediately on this task.

Our company has been awarded the coveted EU Commission translation contract together with 12 other companies. There are enough capable translators on the island to take this work in hand.

The European Commission and the Maltese government should seriously consider this proposal to keep the Maltese language one of the official languages. It is also a great opportunity at a time when the country needs to generate income and create jobs, especially for some very capable young people.