Flaunting one's dialect in Gozo

Denis Catania

Aug 27th 2008, 01:39

If I would have to bet. I would bet that Goztian was spoken before what we know as Maltese.

Joseph W. Galea

Aug 25th 2008, 23:26

In that case then, thank God for having English as an official language because when we speak it (at least for those who speak it properly) we are all saying the same words with the same pronounciation. Maybe!

A AGIUS

Aug 25th 2008, 22:25

I am from Zejtun and as far as I know I always talked that way and I will keep talking this way as long as I live and I talk this way even in front of the most distint persons in Malta talking bil pulit as we say don`t make me feel comfortoble when I speak.I give a few examples of this djalett language.Skola-Skula,Borma-burma,Rahal-Rehel,Mela-Mele,Torta-Turta,Jiena-Jiene,Bahar-Beher and if I keep going I will never stop as will never stop talking that way !

Saviour Porter

Aug 25th 2008, 19:04

Makes no difference what it is - vulgarisation, dialect or local variety - 'flaunting' one's dialect at the third Djaletti festival promises to be a most interesting evening.
VersAgħtini - Il-Kelma Maltija should really be highly encouraged for this worthwhile initiatitive

Antoine Cassar

Aug 25th 2008, 17:32

Well done to VersAgħtini for the initiative. It is a shame I won't be in Malta or Gozo during that time. Let those who dream of a single-language, single-accent, single-identity society laugh at the variety "flaunted" * before them if they so wish - it is they who choose to live in a poorer, less colourful world. Disrespect for minorities and bigotry are universal phenomena, particularly present in large nation-states overflowing with symbolism and significance - but the fact that these attitudes can be found across the globe cannot be put forward as a justification of their existence.

(* Why the choice of a negatively connotated verb in the headline, I wonder? "To flaunt" is to parade or display defiantly, boldly, pretentiously or outrageously, and usually refers to something that is best kept hidden or silent.)

Dave Ryder

Aug 25th 2008, 16:37

SS Agius said 'You are completely wrong'
Slavomir Ceplo said 'you are spectacularly wrong'
Maria Firstl said 'You are totally wrong'

I guess they come from different villages?

Maria Ferstl

Aug 25th 2008, 16:06

Re. mutual intelligibility: Of course you understand speakers of different dialects when they speak to you, as they won't use those words which are not generally understood when addressing an outsider, while the accent is no obstacle, and so there is no need to also adapt the pronunciation. To give an example: Of course I understand what Swiss or Cypriot people say to me, despite their accent, but that doesn't mean at all that I understand Swiss German or Cypriot Greek. Now, if in Malta there is no dialect as distinct as Swiss or Cypriot... no wonder in a country of that size, no?

Saviour Sam Agius

Aug 25th 2008, 15:48

@Albert Spiteri
You are completely wrong. There are differences in vocabulary and grammar between one dialect and another in Malta and Gozo and it's not just the accent.
What you might call "antiporta" is called "boxla" in Gozo for instance (same applies to the Cottonera region). Your "tuffieħa" is "tuffieħa ta' billudja" in Gozo and your normal "vann" is called "trakk". "Konkos" also means ricotta in Għarb's Brejku. I wonder if there'll be anyone who speaks that at the festival! That would certainly be exciting. "Tuffieħa" also means a tomato in Gozo.
One other example that comes to mind is that xagħar (hair) is feminine in Gozo but it's regarded as masculine in most dialects in Malta. These are merely a few examples.
Obviously, there are variations even among the Gozitan dialects themselves but I'm neither a dialect expert nor a Gozitan.

Maria Ferstl

Aug 25th 2008, 15:05

AFAIK Maltese dialects do have distinct vocabulary and grammar (different plurals of nouns, different conjugation). As for pronunciation, the differences are not about vowels only (think of the għ and h how they are pronounced in Għarb or the "q tal-Cottonera").

BTW there is a very interesting series of webcasts about Maltese dialects:
http://www.campusfm.um.edu.mt/pages/webcastspages/kollumalti.htm

Slavomir Ceplo

Aug 25th 2008, 14:16

@ Mr. Spiteri: once again, you are spectacularly wrong.
Yes, there are dialects in Malta, just like anywhere else - if by dialect we mean 'local variety of a particular language'. Having different dialects in different villages is nothing strange - same applies to Germany, Italy, Slavic countries or the Arab world. They simply pronounce some vowels differently? Well, that is one of the basic criteria for differentiating a dialect. Mutual intelligibility, to which you refer, is not. As a native speaker of Slovak I can perfectly understand Czech, Polish and Ukrainian. Yet all those are clearly separate languages and not dialects.
If there were any truth to what you say, that would mean that Maltese has no dialects at all. And that would certainly be unique. Or, rather, absurd.

A. Micallef

Aug 25th 2008, 14:02

Sorry but I don't agree that Gozitan is a vulgarisation or abuse of the Maltese language. It's surely a variety of the Maltese language, with its own special identity. I don't know if you have any Gozitan friends, but you will find that Gozitan contains some different grammatical aspects and different vocabulary too, which are really interesting to note. One example which comes to mind is the word 'reghexni' which is used instead of 'geghlni nisthi'. (he made me feel shy).
The varieties of the standard language is a really interesting branch of sociolinguistics which is the study into the relationship between language, culture and society.

albert spiteri

Aug 25th 2008, 13:45

I am Maltese and maltese is my mother language. I also perfectly understand any gozitan, zurrieqi, zejtuni etc etc, simply because they are all one and the same maltese vocabulary and grammar, but uttered with different accents. Accent refers ONLY to distinctive pronunciation whereas dialect refers to grammar and vocabulary as well. When a person says "He done did it" while another says "He did it" both are using different dialects because grammatical differences are involved. Pronouncing "Bathroom" with a short [a] or with a long [a:] is a matter of accent.

Saviour Sam Agius

Aug 25th 2008, 13:12

I agree with Maria. In our case, the dialect of the City of Valletta was chosen as the standard Maltese. It's therefore a mere venerated dialect. Mikiel Anton Vassalli had long campaigned for the local Żebbuġ dialect to become the standard but to no avail.

Albert Spiteri

Aug 25th 2008, 12:48

The title would have been more to the point had it read Flaunting one's abuse of the Maltese language in Gozo.

albert spiteri

Aug 25th 2008, 12:44

@Maria Fersti - In Malta the development of the official language did not follow the course you say. What you say is true, but in countries like Germany, Italy or Spain. Certainly not Malta. If there is any truth in what you say then we in Malta can easily say we have the largest number of dialects in all the world. Sounds vary from one town to another, one village to another and sometimes from one area to another in the same village of no more than maybe five thousand people. A dialect has its own vocabulary, idioms and often even grammar. There is no such language in Malta anywhere except Maltese. In Gozo, or in Zejtun for that matter, simply pronounce differently some vowels. I can perfectly well understand a gozitan from anywhere in Gozo, just as much as I can understand a Zurrieqi from Nigret or from ix-Xarolla. These are not dialects, but simple vulgarization and abuse of the same language.

Maria Ferstl

Aug 25th 2008, 11:40

@Albert Spiteri
You are totally wrong. Dialects always preexist. When there is need for a standard language (mostly when a state comes into being and there is need for an official language), one of those dialects (which one, depends not on the dialects themselves, but is a choice due to political reasons) is chosen and standardised.

albert spiteri

Aug 25th 2008, 10:11

Is gozitan vulgarization of Maltese a dialect? Language is an integral part of a people's heritage and culture, vulgarization of same is nothing more than an undesired indication of a localized sub-culture.