Joe Felice Pace, Balzan
Foreign words for Maltese ones
Last Thursday, Net TV carried a news item on obesity, translating the word into Maltese as obesità. Have we Maltese not been saying ħxuna żejda for ages?
This also happened during the transport strike. Net TV was using the English term hearses in its news bulletins while One TV was using karrozzi tal-katavri, when karozzi tal-mejtin has been around for ages, having replaced karrijiet or karozzelli tal-mejtin when such transport was mechanised.
We are now talking about whistleblower in the context of a Whistleblower Act. Why not make use of roots already present in Maltese and use the word denunzjatur for whistleblower and denunzja for whistle blow? The French, always on the spot in such linguistic matters, are using dénunciateur. In our case denunzjatur would be better than the Italian informatore (for English whistleblower), even if we also have this word's roots in Maltese.
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Michael Debono
Jul 31st 2008, 16:53
No 2 Mr. Vella Zarb I only go into details in languages I learned and know well. These I try to correct in the eventuality of a mistaken idea by the writer. A teacher or even a former teacher persists in his habits. I do write English, but since I am no expert, just like for Maltese, I know my limits.
Typing errors are quite distinct from true errors and are immediately recognised. In French etymology the root of "dénoncer" and its derivatives is "énoncer", hence (I was going to write hens, not a typing error but a stupid one) "dénunciateur" difficult to consider it to be a typing error.
Michael Debono
Jul 31st 2008, 12:31
@ Mr.Vella Zarb. Maltese is my language.I always spoke Maltese to my family and children. though I am no expert in Maltese. I enjoyed reading Manwel Dimech. I liked his poem "Inhabrek ibni bies titghallem inklele ser tibqa hmar...."
I enriched my Maltese by reading. My orthography is still defective. However I follow suggestions on what Maltese words to use: Hearses, the best Maltese expression is: karozza tal-mejtin. In my opinion pure Maltese words are better than ersatz.
Talking Maltese very often we don't have time to think and any expression even foreign one will do, but writing is another matter. We have time and books to research. I enjoy translating works from foreign languages I know well into Maltese. Pity I do not find some one ready to correct my orthography. So you see M. Vella Zarb you caught what we call in Maltese a "granc". By the way I like to translate books in foreign languages other than English into Maltese just for enjoyment.
Obesity-obesita is a medical expression adapted in western languages just like televizjoni
komputer, film. As for whistleblower we can research and find an adequate word not necessary deriving from "suffara".
Maria Ferstl
Jul 31st 2008, 01:45
"Obesità"?!? Not rather "obeżità?
I agree with DVella, "obesity" is a more specific medical term, while "xħuna żejda" rather means just "overweight".
andrew caruana
Jul 30th 2008, 22:43
it seems to me that there is some obsession in what words are used, i feel any language is a means of communicating, use the most simplistic words that the intended person understands, and leave the BIG words to the lawyers.
L Galea
Jul 30th 2008, 20:27
@DVella
You could use hafna hxuna, hxuna zejda or hxuna kbira
Using the word obesity is used by persons who have a feeling of superiority in order to impress others and is meant to influence other people who may not readily understand the meaning of the word.
@Edward Zammit
Gakbin is someone who betrays his fellow countrymen etc, to the enemy, not one who exposes illegalities.
For word whistleblower we may use kixxief because exposes things which others want to hide.
philip grech
Jul 30th 2008, 19:57
one expression which I cannot stand and all stations are using is "waqa fuq widnejn torox"( fell on deaf ears) when we have a better Maltese expression;" minn widna dahal u mill-ohra hareg" The first one literally means that whoever was supposed to heed did not hear anything at all, while the Maltese expression means that he heard but couldn't care less.
wally vella-zarb
Jul 30th 2008, 19:16
@ michael debono. OK smart guy, so the correct spelling is dénonciateur. So what? Are you proposing to correct all typos that appear within these comments? All the grammatical mistakes? All the errors of syntax? You would have a full-time occupation.
Why do you not concentrate instead on the spirit of the letter? Who knows, perhaps you are one of those wretches who think that it is 'cool' to denigrate the Maltese language and do not mind when it is butchered?
apgrech
Jul 30th 2008, 17:35
We also use the word "qawwi/qawwija" to indicate when someone is "ohxon".
apgrech
Jul 30th 2008, 17:33
If not mistaken, dénunciateur is a French word and it means what Joe Felice Pace stated it does.
Franco Farrugia
Jul 30th 2008, 16:12
@ Michael Debono: Why write in such an arrogant manner? Nowhere did I notice in Mr Felice Pace's letter any arrogance at all. Why so arrogance? Why so anger? It disturbs me that this comment was allowed to appear in this manner.
DVella
Jul 30th 2008, 15:40
Obesity is, in fact a medical term assigned to persons whose body weight exceeds a certain percentage of their recommended average body weight. 'Hxuna' is merely a reference to fat and should not be confused with the latter since fatness is a description based more on a person's appearance and how he or she is percieved and bears no relation to their medical condition. It is important to distinguish between the two so some sort of reference in maltese to obesity as opposed to fatness is necessary.
Michael Debono
Jul 30th 2008, 14:21
@Joe Felice Pace. Polish your French.Dénunciateur is not French. Correct it yourself since you are so keen to correct others. That's the way to learn
apgrech
Jul 30th 2008, 12:28
@ Joseph Galea: I think it should be suffarun :))
O Calleja
Jul 30th 2008, 12:11
There is nothing wrong with the language. The mess is made by the people who use it. Same as with any other language.
Franco Farrugia
Jul 30th 2008, 11:56
Well done, MR STELLINI, for noticing that serious omission. 'Barrier' should be at least 'barrikata' and not 'barriera'.
B Agius
Jul 30th 2008, 11:23
@Ramon Casha. Obesity, in medical jargon, is beyond fatness, There is fat, obese and chronic obesity.
Franco Farrugia
Jul 30th 2008, 10:30
I am in agreement with the spirit with which Mr Felice Pace writes his letter.
However, there are many instances when those who are in favour of purer Maltese tend to be ridiculous with their assertions.
At the end of the day, we have to be practical. Being practical and at the same time being correct in Maltese usuage - these are the two aims we should have.
Ramon Casha
Jul 30th 2008, 10:29
It has nothing to do with that Joe. The English language has the word "fatness" too, but for some misguided politically correct reason people think that "obesity" is better than "fatness".
Edward Zammit
Jul 30th 2008, 10:25
The proper word for translation in Maltese as I see it is "Gakbin" !! ;-p
d stellini
Jul 30th 2008, 10:10
TVM came up with another new term last night, when reporting the tragic death of the 3 year old child - wara daqqa mal " barriera" tal - hadid. As far as I know "barriera" is a quarry and not a barrier. What a mess of a language !
Joseph W. Galea
Jul 30th 2008, 09:38
Maybe for whistleblower we should use neffieh tas- suffara. :-)
Joseph Micallef
Jul 30th 2008, 09:21
I would like to remind Mr Felice Pace that denunzjatur has Italian roots, same as Informatur. So why, may I ask, is one better than the other? This reminds me of when so called "experts" tend to prefer words of Semitic roots instead of Romance ones - believing that the former is purer than the latter - when its simply not the case!