Monday, 7th July 2008
Foreign couple's frustration at Maltese-only Mater Dei website
Having an opinion and being a radio presenter can be a dangerous thing! Many people have stepped into this particular "pothole" before me, and I truly hope my comments are taken in the correct way.
My fiancée recently broke the news to me that I am to be a proud father in December! It was one of the proudest moments in my life to date, and the thought of being a daddy and raising a child with the woman I love is something that takes my breath away, and makes me smile every single day.
But that smile is wiped from my face pretty quickly when we try to contact the people we need to in order to prepare for this life-changing event.
Now allow me to point out that I never ever forget that we as foreigners (both English) are living in a foreign country and things are inevitably going to be done differently (and the way the NHS is being run in the UK at the moment, better!).
But being passed from pillar to post in a foreign country with a baby on the way is hardly good for the stress levels, and it makes us very apprehensive about what kind of service and help will be forthcoming between now and December. Some people may say, "Go back to England then", or "Go private" but the fact is, we live here, this is home to us now.
My case in point is the wonderful new facility Mater Dei. As a new state-of-the art hospital should be, it looks very impressive, but why is it, I ask, that the website and all its vital information is available only in Maltese? I know, we're in Malta, that's the obvious answer, but my partner and I are not the only foreigners on the island, and we certainly are not the only foreigners that need to make use of this facility. We need access to this information!
The only thing we as foreigners know about Mater Dei is the phone numbers and the bulletins telling us how successful the migration from St Luke's was.
Would it have been too much to ask to have the option of the website being available in both Maltese and English, just like the ATM machines, all travel information, the tourist hotspots, the hotel information etc.?
I hope readers can understand that as first-time parents, we're nervous and want to speak to some experts, we have so many questions! So we called the gynae outpatients line and were told "sorry, call back tomorrow between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Does this particular department close? I don't know! We couldn't keep anyone on the line long enough to help!
We pay tax, we pay our NI, yet should we be feeling like we're quite alone in all this? We have been scouring the internet to find information to help us prepare, reading books, speaking to parents, but all we want to do is speak to the people who are meant to be by our side and helping us through the pregnancy, just like every other person that's had a child here.
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Comments
Dear Mr Nicholson,
Did you read Ms Pace Gouder's remarks? It is precisely because of the attitude some of us Maltese have towards the Maltese language that we take our language so much at heart.
Many Maltese feel that you are low class when you speak Maltese. A lot of effort was made in the past to stop children from speaking Maltese at school. Some schools in the past even punished children for speaking Maltese.
Ms Pace Gouder you may feel comfortable speaking English rather than Maltese. However the present British ambassdor does not feel uncomfortable speaking our language. He speaks Maltese albeit with a slight accent which I find rather cute. I also would like to thank the British ambassador for his effort.
Ms P G pick up courage and change. I used to think like you but I changed my mentality towards our language after spending a good number of years overseas.
You are missing the point(s) made completely. No one has suggested that the Maltese should be monolingual.You have stated that you warn foreigners off buying/doing certain things because of their lack of understanding of the native language.It therefore follows that knowing the language that is the most widely spoken is necessary for economic,social and cultural reasons. The fact that you prefer to speak in a foreign language as opposed to your own I find rather baffling if not pretentious. However, that is your choice and you are welcome to it.
To the foreigners amongst us "When in Rome do as the Romans do".Try it,you'll like it
I am in complete agreement with you in that learning the language which is most spoken in the region where you live will make life easier. It also opens the door to cultural insight which cannot be achieved no matter how well you try to translate the original language. At least this opens up a bit the bubble which expats tend to slide in (I can say this from personal experience).
My point was that if we have two official languages, then it is just a matter of public service that official information should be in both languages. Otherwise we should just declare Maltese as the only official language. I see nothing wrong with that either.
In that case, any translations to any other languages would be made as a courtesy only.
However I think that coming from a small country we have a great advantage in being "preconditioned" to speak foreign languages fairly easily (and not just English or Italian) when the need arises.
I think this is a matter of education and lingual abilities and should not be mixed up with issues of nationalism, official vs national languages etc.
I have had to advise non-Maltese speakers not to take certain services/items since I realised that, because they do not speak Maltese, they were being robbed (even though they pay NI, Taxes, and all the other stuff) - the idiotic salespersons even discussed among themselves how much to charge a foreigner! Quite honestly, I've had enough of this attitude.
Also, it is sad that people do not realise the advantage we have at being so fluent in so many different languages. We should celebrate it not shun it!
No reason for Brits not to learn a second language especially if they choose to live in another Country,or is God still considered an Englishman?
Having said that I am more than pleased to note that dealing with Government departments has been a great deal easier in these last few years.
When travelling to a foreign country I make a point of apologising for my lack of fluency in their language. It's surprising how much that helps.
My daughter was recently born at Mater Dei, the whole experience was excellent and we were treated very well. I'm sure you will be too!
Many people here choose to go to a private gynaecologist approximately monthly to begin with. I'm sure a Maltese friend can recommend one. You need to go to the hospital outpatients at least once to open a file, which will take almost the entire day (again your gynaecologist will advise). Then you will be invited to antenatal classes (offered in English or Maltese) where all your remaining questions will be answered!
Please, you make it sound like foreigners demand that you speak in English. Malta has a policy of being bi-lingual not to please foreigners but because of the advantages speaking English has for a small economy exposed to the international business environment. How far can you get in this country if you don't speak English?
Also, what's with the post-colonial victim mentatlity? This is not Zimbabwe! You've been independent for over 40 years - can today's frustrations really be laid at the colonist's door?
You'd be pleasantly surprised at how much pleasure such a small gesture gives!
I have lived in France, Germany and The Netherlands and I always had to struggle my way through in these countries using their respective languages.
So why not in Malta. Maltese is one of the official EU languages now. If you are living in Malta learn Maltese just like I had to learn French German and Dutch at least enough to get by. You will only gain more respect from the citizens of the country you are living in when you try to integrate. We as Maltese have managed to keep our language alive unlike the Irish whose language was killed by the British.
Merhba Bik!
As for Mr. Nicholson, may I suggest you phone Mater Dei hospital for further details about your requirements until such website is brought up to the required standards expected.
Maybe it didn't pop up in that little head of yours, but one reason why Mr Nicholson may have favoured the move to Malta was the fact that English is an official language.
As in other countries/provinces with more than one official language, all public signs/information should, and are expected to be, in all official languages of the region. This is a public service not a luxury - whether you are benefiting from "the foreigners" (as in milking a cow) or not.
Unfortunately, most people do not realise how much they rely on "little favours" from friends or acquantainces to do basic things just because there is no other simple (& official) way to do it.
I guess this is our NATIONAL way to do things.
Worry not- Malta will get many millions of Euro from the EU-paid in mainly by Britain, France and Germany, so all the years you have suffered under colonialism will be recompensed.
p.s. If you don't understand what my earlier saying meant, just look in the mirror.
@ Mr L Galea - you simply have no idea what you are talking about. Maltese is our own language and we shall always continue to love and uphold and cherish it. On the other hand, English is our second, much-needed official language with which we can communicate with all Maltese. If we follow your line of ... well, reasoning, then, let us close down our economic activities to local, and shun all that is foreign. Is that what you augur? Hallina!
L Galea, Malta has two official languages, just like Belgium. It has nothing to do with the EU. And we should thank our lucky stars we had English 'imposed' on us...other countries are investing millions to teach their citizens how to speak it, they send thousands of their children to countries like ours to improve their fluency in the most influential language in the world, and, if it were up to you, we would throw that huge advantage away and revert back to being a provincial backwater speaking a language only a few thousand understand just to keep a few conservative xenophobes like you happy.
I agree that English is an official language but our NATIONAL language is MALTESE.
Mr Vella, what official languages? Those of the EU, or all the official world languages?
To Mr Kew, if the UK can afford to do so, we cannot as we are not an ex-imperial power where we were enriched at the colonies expense.
To the others, I did not say that no one should speak to them in their own language if possible, but to have and maintain a website in English and not in other "official languages" would mean that we would be discriminating against the non-English speakers.
Imagine what millions of Euros every year we would save if the Government did not have to also publish all its publications in English.
Anyone who requires a translation can do against payment in any other foreign language.
your sense of compassion know no bounds. For your enlightenment, please be advised that Malta has TWO official languages, Maltese AND English, and as such, all official documents should be available in both languages, therefore Mater Dei should also include an English version in its website (look at the Government's website and see for yourself).
For the same reason, your grand argument that people who speak neither language should also have everything done in their own language, falls flat as a pancake.
So according to your scientifically-enhanced studies we should do away with all foreign languages, publish everything only in Maltese and save ourselves millions of Euro. So I gather we should also translate ALL books we use in schools, literature, manuals, information panels, traffic signs, computer software etc into Maltese and REALLY save up zillions of euro, wouldn't we?! Not counting all the money we save by seeing many potential investors turn away from us by our linguistic intransigence in throwing away the one big advantage we have over many other countries.
And what are you doing writing in English anyway?...
Mr.Nicholson, don't worry, we're not all like Mr.Hospitality Galea here. Hope everything goes well for you!
The English have a saying-"Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise!"
You sure know how to look after Foreigners and wish them well ... Keep it up ... I know whom not to call when I am in need of a helping hand
If I remember the government wanted to make some revenue out of foreign private patients in Mater Dei. How can they expect them if they do not even offer English signs?
Even other industries in Malta (IT, tourism, etc) heavily depend on English. You want to risk to lose them?
please note that English is also our language. i believe it is stated in the constitution. secondly your reasoning shows no compassion. our island attracts foreigners due to its inhabitants having a good grasp of the English language. our island's income depends heavily on these peaple's stay here. who knows you might even be benefiting from them staying here! with regards to cost, when you compare the price we had to pay for the hospital, it would not be so big a burden on the tax payer for the hospital's website to include English. also being in love with our language is to be commended but at the expense of practicality...i wonder
1. You are given equal access to treatment at the same terms as locals
2. You live in a country where English is not a foreign language but, rather, one of the two official languages of the land. This defeats Mr Galea's statement that any nationality could ask for the information to be translated into their native tongue making the whole exercise a tad unpractical.
Hence you are perfectly within your rights to expect all information to be provided in a language that you comprehend. I sincerely hope you will be given all the assistance you require and, hey, congrats!
Do you also make all information in the UK available in Maltese Mr Nicholson?
As far as I am concerned, we should do away with all foreign languages and publish everything in Maltese only. That will save the Government a lot of money from our taxes.
That will not stop anyone from learning a foreign language, but publishing everything in two languages is costing the Maltese taxpayers millions of Euros that we can ill afford every year.
Ever heard of the saying when in Rome do as the Romans do Mr Nicholson?
That means that if you choose to live in another country then you should learn their language.
Do you expect us to cater for every other language that may be spoken on the Island?
There are many people who neither speak Maltese nor English, so they would also have a right to have everything done in their language.
After all, you choose to live here Mr Nicholson.