Ewro/euro: the solution is available

The Old Maltese proverb Il-qattusa ghaggelija friegh ghomja taghmel (the hasty cat produces blind kittens) is certainly applicable to the way the translation of the EU's acquis was both organised and carried out during the run-up to Malta's accession. And Joe Felice Pace is more than correct (The Sunday Times, March 5) in his description of what has now proved to be the outcome.

Concern at that time seemed to be only with deadlines, with ensuring that translators be familiar with computer Trados applications, with running training sessions at Swatar, with reverential submission to then unknown revizuri (their names seemed to be closely guarded secrets), and never with the nitty-gritty of ensuring translation into Maltese that is correct and respectful, not only of our language's identity, but also of true concepts in the original, including where the implications are technical.

And so now what do we have? We have what I have encountered as being a straitjacket within which our translators within the various EU institutions are working. Because what was produced as the translation of the acquis prior to accession is now practically unchangeable law.

And because it must be used as is whenever it (or parts of it) need to be incorporated into new translations being produced now, we are now in the ridiculous situation where even if our translators in Luxembourg or Brussels or wherever wish to - particularly in their work on new stuff they are working on (e.g. banking, insurance, investment directives or other technical stuff) - change palpably badly translated text for the better, they simply cannot without resorting to a long legal process, one that is, to put it simply, Eurocratic to an extreme.

And such "Eurocratism" (to coin a word!) demonstrates itself in a number of ways, including personalities from the EU trying to impose in fields which are not their own (e.g. the reported attempt by Commissioner Almunia to prevent the Maltese government from using the Maltese word ewro) or locals kowtowing to whatever comes from above when, with a little use of lateral thinking or disposition towards acceptance of creative thinking, solutions are easily available.

In this ewro/euro issue, for example, I wish to see who from the Commission (including Almunia) would dare take the Maltese government to the ECJ for deciding - unilaterally if it so deems fit - to issue instructions to all and sundry in Malta that in all texts written in Maltese (and so even laws, official material, contracts, correspondence, etc.) the word is to be spelt ewro.

Come on, be brave, be practical while being also true Maltese... the solution is there for the taking: euro for everything written in English, and 'ewro' - as in (much loved) Ewropa, Ewropew, or Ewropej) for everything that is written in our own equally loved, and respected, language.