Editorial
Wherefore the Maltese language?
When the Maltese language was entrenched in the Constitution as one of the two official languages of Malta, many had thought that the much beleaguered stalwart of the Maltese identity had come of age. But is the Maltese language really respected as an official language should be in its country of origin?
The reality is that it is a language spoken by a very small population and this includes any diaspora that still holds on patriotically, if not very realistically, to the tongue of the mother country. Digging deeper into the reality, one finds that Maltese is not even really spoken by all of the people in Malta and Gozo. Also, English is the spoken language of choice of a number of schools on the island and, because of the influx of non-Maltese students, the language of learning in the tertiary sector.
To add insult to injury, the Maltese used by those who speak it is not always brilliant. A study on the linguistic landscape of Malta by Lydia Sciriha and Mario Vassallo as far back as 2001 found that language proficiency had deteriorated drastically.
The situation has reached such a stage that Labour MP Owen Bonnici felt he should write thus in The Times: 'I am sick and tired of seeing us ditching the Maltese language, even in the smallest, mundane things like filling a cheque in English with no provision of 'cheque templates' in Maltese or the government placing a sign near a public building or a monument exclusively in English when the two languages could have been used next to each other".
He was also frustrated by the fact that a shortage of translators meant it is not always possible to speak in Maltese at European Union official fora, even if the language was accepted as one of the official languages of the EU.
English being the other official language is not making matters any easier. Yet, even countries traditionally staunch in the use of national languages are opening themselves up to English, not least because it helps them shed an insularity that is anathema to economic and cultural globalisation.
What can be done to safeguard what is left of the Maltese language?
The Maltese Language Act of 2004 set up a National Council for the Maltese Language to promote the national language and provide the necessary tools for the actualisation of this aim. It outlines the indispensability of Maltese as a main element of our national identity and empowers the council to safeguard the integrity of the language. But, although the council is working quite effectively in gauging trends and making decisions on orthography, it is not a legislative authority, enforcing the preservation of the language by all means possible, particularly in its spoken incarnation.
Nor would this be necessarily effective as a tool to retain usage. Take France, for example, where, since 1975, the government passed a number of laws banning foreign words from advertising, the media, official documents and conferences and so on but has been powerless in preventing English words entering the spoken language.
The bottom line is that the actual retention of a living Maltese language needs to be maintained through good media usage and a healthy and accurate presence in all walks of life. In addition, educators and families must also accept that Maltese is an important mirror of the soul of a nation that might very well lose an essential part of itself if its language is lost or drastically changed.
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Joe Xuereb
Jan 14th 2009, 21:53
Franco Farrugia. Nifrahlek. Lanqas zball wiehed. Hemm bzonn aktar bhalek. U hemm! Jehtieg jghollu lehinhom. Forsi ghad jigi zmien li l-barrani jghid, dawn in-nies ghandhom ilsien taghhom. Ma nifhimx kelma milli qed jghidu.
There, that didn't break me like I know yours did not break you.
Franco Farrugia
Jan 13th 2009, 21:30
Jien ukoll mort fi skola privata meta kont zghir, imma tghallimt il-Malti sew ghax kellna ghalliema tajbin u habrieka li ghallmuna u li segwewna sew fit-taghlim tal-Malti.
Qatt ma hassejtni inqas minn haddiehor meta konna nitkellmu bil-Malti u konna mgieghlin xi kultant nitkellmu bl-Ingliz ghall-gid taghna u ghall-fatt li maghna kellna hafna studenti barranin.
Qatt ma hassejtni tat-tieni klassi nitkellem bil-Malti l-iskola.
Joe Xuereb
Jan 13th 2009, 15:02
Mr. Geoff White. I very much appreciate your interest in learning Malta's national language. I greatly respect and admire what is obviously a passion which I share. I speak seven or eight languages, five of which I speak, read and write like they were my mother tongue. No mean feat and very hard work (please believe me when I say this as a matter of fact being too long in the tooth to brag). As my language teacher (of one or two, the rest being largely self-taught) used to say, every new language of a people learnt (properly that is) is an insight into that people's soul. Subsequently, as I matured, I grasped the implication that a people without a strong language are/have..............you can easily fill in the rest I am sure. I believe in putting my money where my mouth is and do something unusual here. If you, and indeed anyone interested in the subject, need further information and hopefully in your case, eventual clarifications of grammar/pronunciation of my language, please feel free to contact me on: guzexuereb@hotmail.com
You will be most welcome.
Joe
Joe Xuereb
Jan 13th 2009, 11:55
Geoff White. Go ahead and learn Maltese. Being Semitic (and therefore few points of reference) it is not an easy language for Europeans. It is not all bad news though. You see, there is a simplified version. A huge chunk of Maltese vocabulary has now given way to the English word equivalent (give or take a few howlers). So you won't need to exert to my pressure on your brain cells learning words. This means you can devote your mental energies grappling with the grammar lurking there somewhere. Be warned. If you expect to find an exotic language full of fascinating insights - and I am sure the course offered at the University will deliver this - you will be greatly rewarded. Sadly, I have a feeling your efforts will be rewarded by you finding yourself speaking to a 'wall'. You see Mr. White, Maltese as it should be spoken and written is now the preserve of ex-patriates of fifty years standing who deemed it not unrealistic to bolster their national identity and did something about it. Good luck
Geoff White
Jan 13th 2009, 09:44
Grazzi ħafna, Joseph.
Geoff
Jesmond Micallef
Jan 12th 2009, 20:25
Il Lingwa Maltija hija wahda unika. Jekk weihed jipprova jifhemm ghalfejn il Maltin jitkellmu il linwa Ingliza, il raguni hija wahda obvja hafna. Il x hakkiem Ingliz.. Il realta hija wahda - Il kwistjoni tal lingwa - parti 2 - "The language Question Part 2", kwistjoni antika li qeghda terga tistembah wara lil Maltin rebhu l'independenza min dawk li holqu il Kwistjoni. .....................Ghalldaqstant Il festa tal Independenza ghanda tigi mnehija mil kalendarju Malti. ..................(cajta sarkastika !!!) Jiena mort skola privata met kont zghir. Meta, gewwa din l iskola kont nitkellhemm bil Malti, kont nhossni qiesni wiehed inqas edukat. Forsi kif wiehed qed jara hawnhekk, Il grammatika tal Malti li qed nuza biex nikteb dan il kumment huwa ftit fqir.
Hemm aspetti psikologici wkoll. Hawnhekk hemm fejn wiehed jista jara jekk hemmx xi konfliti ma dawk l istittuzjonijiet edukativi - nies Maltin ta success intelletwali ghandhom jkunu min ta quddiem hawnhekk. - (Role Models).
Hija kwistjoni ta indentita wkoll (Patrijotizmu). Naf nitkellem il Malti, l Ingliz, Taljan, kif wkoll il Germaniz. Naf naqra kif wkoll nikteb. Inhossni frustrat u mdejjaq meta naqra li l Malti ma ghandhux futur. Ghallmenu jiena hekk qed inhossni. Nispera li jien zbaljat.........
Joseph Mizzi
Jan 12th 2009, 20:05
Geoff
The National Council for the Maltese Language, in collaboration with the University of Malta is currently running a course in Maltese for Foreigners. Read all about this course here:
http://www.kunsilltalmalti.gov.mt/filebank/documents/kors.pdf
If you're really interested in learning Maltese, and you'd like to know when the next course is going to start, you may contact the Council via this email address:
skola-malti.arts@um.edu.mt
Alfred Farrugia
Jan 12th 2009, 17:44
The Maltese language is a living language, so changes may be expected. Yet, I do not understand why today’s students should not be capable of learning the correct Maltese language as a subject, in the same way that the language was taught 20, 30 or 40 years ago.
The university should give its contribution. In the past Maltese was an entry requirement, and it should remain a compulsory subject for Maltese students. The university could provide classes in the Maltese language to those who might need such assistance. It could also offer other courses to improve the level of those who have to use the language in their profession, such as lawyers.
Government departments such as the Department of Information and the Office of the Attorney General should have a continuous flow of experts in Maltese. It is a disgrace that official documents in Maltese, including EU documents, are littered with derivatives from Italian and English when the Maltese version is readily available.
The study of our own language should feature among the efforts that are being made to reach a level of excellence in certain sectors, before it is too late.
D Vella
Jan 12th 2009, 16:11
Start with those schools who forbid their pupils to speak Maltese at all times except for the compulsory, but miserly, one or two half periods per week.
It is also time for the media, teachers and not least parents to play their part in instilling a love for a language that is both very rich and descriptive,
Charles DeMicoli
Jan 12th 2009, 15:49
The use of language comes down to personal choice and expediency, and no amount of regulation or legislation will make anyone use a particular language in the conduct of personal day to day usage. Question: how many SMS's and e-mails (of a personal nature, not business) sent internally in Malta are written in Maltese and how many in English?
Lucy Calleja
Jan 12th 2009, 14:01
Your comment, "... still hold on patriotically, if not very realistically, to the tongue of the mother country ..." is truly uncalled for. I find nothing more ludicrous than a Maltese migrant, who migrated in adulthood, speaking accented English to another fellow Maltese migrant. There's nothing unrealistic about speaking one's mother tongue; quite the opposite. It wouldn't happen in other communities: when they meet, they speak the mother tongue. And if our children have also been taught Maltese, along with other languages which they learnt quite proficiently at school and university, they're all the more enriched.
Sydney, Australia
wenzu vella
Jan 12th 2009, 12:14
Simply put the Maltese language is essential for the Maltese people if they want to retain their identity.
Geoff White
Jan 12th 2009, 10:30
I am nearing retirement and expect to spend a lot more time in Malta than we do at the moment. Because of this I am trying to learn Maltese. We were in Malta over New Year but whenever I tried to practice most people instantly switched to English. We shall be in Malta for a fortnight over Easter. Are there short Maltese language courses available which we could take. There certainly don't seem to be any in the UK and neither is Maltese listed in the language courses provided by companies such as Linguaphone. Fortunately I have both Lydia Sciriha's course "Beginning Maltese" and Antoinette Camilleri's "Merhba Bik".