Fiona Galea Debono
Keep dialects alive
'Malta's linguistic varieties are true dialects, with own grammar and syntax'
Many Maltese may not know how to translate swallowtail butterfly into their language even if in the southwest of the island alone as many as 13 names exist for it.
These were not simply a matter of "twisting" the word, said University lecturer Albert Borg, insisting that Malta's linguistic varieties were not just different accents but true dialects, with their own grammar and syntax.
Prof. Borg suggested the setting up of a pressure group to create a phonological system for each dialect. However, he admitted that it would require research and a "tremendous investment of energy, effort and money".
The first move was to overcome the inhibition towards dialects and regard them as a worthy vehicle of creative and literary thought, he said.
The "surprising" results of a scientific thesis have shown that, while standard Maltese has 11 vowels, written in six letters, the Marsaxlokk dialect, for example, has 14.
The findings highlighted the difficulty of writing a dialect, which was one means of preserving it, and the importance of which was discussed at a seminar yesterday.
It was organised by the Żejtun local council as part of the celebrations in the run-up to Żejtun Day on Thursday.
Lino Psaila, an expert in the Żejtun dialect, has not been put off by the obstacles and is working on its conservation. This particular dialect has two variations in pronunciation: that of the "lower and the upper village", the distinction between which was emphasised throughout the seminar.
The 65-year-old is in the course of publishing a book in the Żejtun dialect on anecdotes from his life, which should be ready by the first quarter of 2010. He has been working on it for four years but the first step would be to record it, he said, noting that not everyone could read the dialect.
Spelling was a major problem: the idea was to write a word as it sounded but the "u" of standard Maltese, for example, only had two sounds.
The plan was to create a phonetic dictionary, showing how each letter in the Żejtun dialect sounded.
Mr Psaila aimed to prevent the death of the dialect after his own demise. Children were not speaking it anymore, he said. In fact, some disliked it when their parents "twisted" words and wanted them to "speak properly".
The organiser of dialect and għana festivals, Miriam Cassar, said she came across many who were embarrassed to speak their dialect in public.
The way to keep dialects alive was to promote their appreciation and not to write the grammar of each, she maintained, saying it would simply do them a disservice, blaming academics for their destruction.
Żejtun mayor Joe Attard said education meant the killing of a dialect: when children started school they would have to adapt to standard Maltese and teachers did not take into account the fact that some were learning how to write it when they spoke a dialect at home, which proved to be even more difficult.
Dialects were a substratum of the language but, unfortunately, they were not being appreciated, he said.
"We feel our roots need to be recognised, remembered and kept alive in order to ensure our character and identity survive," Mr Attard said, highlighting the council's duty to protect Malta's heritage and the fact that language was a vital aspect of it.
He said the upper class did not know how to speak Maltese, which was a misfortune.
Mr Attard encouraged the recording of anecdotes in dialects, offering local council funding.
The relation between dialects and class also came into play at yesterday's seminar, with standard Maltese being described as "pulit" and dialects as "ugly" and a sort of "distortion" of the language.
The seminar was also add-ressed by Joe Baldacchino, who writes in the Żejtun dialect, and who stressed the importance of not being ashamed of it.
Urging their promotion, it was pointed out that the so-called "polite" form, or standard Maltese, was younger and actually stemmed from "twisting" its dialects.
Popular Stories
Update 3: Woman found dead in car,...
Updated: Woman dies in car crash
Carm Mifsud Bonnici resigns after...
Part of Dwejra 'Azure window' collapses
The end of the bar that ‘never closed’
Bundy does not know whether to...
Updated - Jason Micallef demands...
This WAS the night - Kurt makes it...
Petrol price up 6c
In Discussion
Updated - Jason Micallef demands...
Gozo tunnel could take 5-7 years to...
CABS remote controlled aircraft shot...
Carm Mifsud Bonnici resigns after...
Joseph Calleja condemns portrayal of...
Updated: Labour would give...
CABS drone shot down
Second group of migrants arrives
Adrian Vassallo in scathing...
27 Comments
Post comment
Please sign in or create your Account to post comments.
Tanja Cilia
Apr 29th 2009, 13:03
There was a time when my friends kidded me because the way I said “miegħu”, in the Valletta way, sounded like a cat’s mew. Dialect is relative – there will always be people who say ħmejma rather than beċċun... and this could be because they want to show off their knowledge of diminutives. Similarly, there will always be people who say prefer kutra to gverta, and peduna to kalzetta... and others who do not care for the difference between rokna and kantuniera, or bejt and saqaf – when the rest of us know that each of both pairs of words refers to thoroughly different things.
Joseph Micallef
Mar 19th 2009, 18:07
Show me your "scientific proof" - I have given you already ample examples that contradict what you have been saying. Your turn please.
bertie spiteri
Mar 19th 2009, 17:19
If you want to carry on with this debate you may like to contact me on alspiteri@hotmail.com Mr. Joseph Vella.
bertie spiteri
Mar 19th 2009, 15:27
There is nothing worse than one who persists in error and ignore all scientific proof that negate your arguments. Your position is one of extreme parrochialism, certainly not serious linguistics!
Joseph Micallef
Mar 19th 2009, 12:20
More to prove Mr. Spiteri WRONG:
A dialect is distinguished by its vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation (phonology, including prosody). Where a distinction can be made only in terms of pronunciation, the term accent is appropriate, not dialect (although in common usage, "dialect" and "accent" are usually synonymous).
[From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialect]
I have listed some words solely used in Gozo. So it is not just a question of pronunciation and therefore YES Gozitans speak a dialect.
Joseph Micallef
Mar 19th 2009, 11:55
I ascertain Mr. Spiteri that if he were in Gozo and we asked if he wanted a "battejn" - before being told what it meant - he would not have understood what he was being asked. Same goes for the other words i listed earlier. Try asking for your way in certain parts of Gozo and you will be told "suwq tlitt trikiet...." etc and you would not know what they are talking about if you don't try to translate "trikiet" into "triqat"! My friend you don't know what you are talking about and yet you are parading your ignorance online!
Joseph Micallef
Mar 19th 2009, 09:02
May I also correct you when you say "Three blogs down" - this is not a blog - we are just commenting on an article, even less "three blogs"!!
Joseph Micallef
Mar 19th 2009, 08:43
The definitions I gave is from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dialect - it is not something I contrived. My studies at University also prove you totally wrong as all linguists who you seem to paternalise and feel superior to. Saying that a language has dialects on the contrary is not harmful to a language but it shows how rich it is. Dialects do not divide as you wrongly claim. Earlier on I gave you ample examples of words used solely in Gozo but not used on the Maltese mainland as you had insisted wrongly again that these dialects are only words pronouced differently due to their vowels. Mr. Spiteri I repeat, get your facts up to date and correct before pontificating.
Bertie Spiteri
Mar 18th 2009, 21:33
Mr. Micallef, some three blogs down you wrote this:
"Dialect Definition:
Linguistics. A variety of a language that is distinguished from other varieties of the same language by features of phonology, grammar, and vocabulary, and by its use by a group of speakers who are set off from others geographically or socially."
Perfectly in line with what I contended. WE DO NOT HAVE DIALECTS, NOT IN MALTA AND NOT NEITHER GOZO. WE HAVE MANY DIFFERENT ACCENTS,
If one would accept the absurdity that phonology alone produces a dialect, then one has to accept the existence of the Due Balli, Camerata, Sliema proper and Sliema Lazy Corner, Paceville morning and Paceville night, and the University dialects. Absurd? Of course! Says who? SAY YOU! Thanks Mr. Micallef!!
Maltese, a unique multi-millenia old language with an outstandingly rich literature, is too small to produce any offshoots. The territory within which it is spoken is so small that we the inhabitants can, totally uninhibited move and mix freely for reasons economical, commercial, industrial, social, entertainment, family and cultural every single day of the year.
Unintentionally people like you Mr. Micallef are harming the Maltese language because you insist on introducing divisions where none exists.
Bertie Spiteri
Mar 18th 2009, 16:54
Mr. Micallef, please note that there is a difference between an accent and a dialect.
Dialect: Varieties of phonology and vocabulary and/or grammar.
Accent: When variety is only a matter of phonology (i.e. speech sounds). Phonology: The study of the organisation of speech sounds. Where any of these three elements is missing, there is no dialect.
An English accent, says J.C. Wells in "Accents of English (1982)", is: "...a pattern of pronunciation used by a speaker for whom English is the native language or, more generally, by the community or social grouping to which he or she belongs."
One the most difficult theoretical issues in linguistics is how to make the distinction between language and dialect. On the surface there may appear to be no problem. When two people speak "differently," most people think there are only two possiblities. (1) If they do not understand each other, one assumes that they are speaking different "languages;" and (2) If they do understand each other, one assumes that they are speaking different dialects of the same language. However, while the dialect criterion of "mutual intelligibility" works most of the time, there are other criteria that distinguishes dialect from language.
Joseph Micallef
Mar 18th 2009, 14:54
I just noticed that Mr. Bertie Spiteri has a history of trying to belittle the Maltese language here by his comments negating the existance of Maltese dialects. And he has been regularly proven wrong. Some people think they are right even when it is so evident to them that they are not!
Joseph Micallef
Mar 18th 2009, 14:31
I must also add - although I guess by now nobody is following this thread - that even when it comes to vowels there are differences and not just in the pronunciation. Some Maltese or Gozitan dialects (because that's what they really are) have unusual vowels made up of a combination of two, ie, diphtongs. Some words are pronounced with such vowels and cannot be spelt with the standard set of alphabetical characters.
John Zammit
Mar 18th 2009, 01:06
Maltese dialects are still alive in some parts of Melbourne (and probably Sydney) Australia and they are a pleasure to listen to.
L..Galea
Mar 17th 2009, 21:50
Alfred Farrugia
Manuċċa, ħamiema, tajra
Jinfurraw is used in many parts of Malta especially in the South
Kibx if I remember correctly stands for a fox
Kelb id-dib for wolf
Boxxla or antiporta, although boxxla is also a compass (magnetic)
Imnejka for Ħabbata
Sjett (from the French siette) for a plate in Siġġiewi
Magħqad is-sorm for a chair
Maħanqa for a tie (ingravata)
There are many others that escape me at the moment.
Joseph Micallef
Mar 17th 2009, 20:11
Dialect Definition:
Linguistics. a variety of a language that is distinguished from other varieties of the same language by features of phonology, grammar, and vocabulary, and by its use by a group of speakers who are set off from others geographically or socially.
From: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dialect
As one can see phonologican features (vowels are photonogical features) do constitute a dialect.
Joseph Micallef
Mar 17th 2009, 20:05
....And speaking of Gozitan, Mr. Bertie, may I inform you that the difference between standard Maltese and Gozitan is far more than just a difference in the pronuciation of vowels. They have their own words and their own grammer. Ask a Gozitan what a boxxla is - for mainland Maltese its a Compass, for Gozitans its what we call Antriporta, or a door that's found right after the front door -sort of a second front door. Then there are words like Ftira which for them is the Gozitan kind of pizza, the plural of Torta which for them is Torot while for mainland Maltese is Torti, they use Trikiet instead of Triqat (and many other words where the k is substituted by a k), they say Squq instead of Sqaq for the singular and Sqaq for the plural (in mainland Maltese that would be Sqaqien), two eggs for them are battejn - and the list can go on - so don't be so simplistic yourself with what you say and get your facts right before uttering anything in your tone of superiority.
Joseph Micallef
Mar 17th 2009, 19:57
Dear MR Bertie Spiteri - what you are calling dialects are in fact considered LANGUAGES! Get your facts correct before talking about such things.
Bertie Spiteri
Mar 17th 2009, 19:20
Scientific linguistic studies show there is an infinitely small difference between what constitutes a language and what constitutes a dialect. On the other hand, the difference between spoken Maltese in different Maltese villages lies only in the pronunciation of the vowels.
Does anyone contend that Q'ULLA, FIXXIMMEK or TALUSTRA are more obscene than the original pronunciation in the standard language? They do send the very same message. I write these vulgarized variations of obscene words phonetically to allow me to prove a point. One may be from Zebbug but one would write them the way they are supposed to be written and then pronounces them the way he finds most convenient and effective.
Dialects are linguistically justified. Colloquial is never.
Alfred Farrugia
Mar 17th 2009, 19:10
I wish to congratulate Albert Borg, Lino Psaila, Miriam Cassar, Joe Attard, Joe Baldacchino and all those who are making efforts to preserve the linguistic heritage of Zejtun. They deserve our support to bring out the richness of our Maltese language, and its uses in different localities.
I had the pleasure to teach at Zejtun several years ago, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn a few new words myself from 7-year old kids!
When I displayed the “weather chart” in class as a visual educational tool, these very young kids immediately recognized the “manucca” for a kite - never heard before!
They also wanted to know if they were required to “jinfurraw” their books and exercise books, that is to cover them in brown paper!
This diversity of expression should be recorded even if these words are not used any more. The genuineness of these expressions appears to be worthier than some of the current deformed vocabulary and written distortions introduced in our language. The authorities concerned need to put our language on the agenda of safeguarding our national identity, in the hands of real professionals before it will be too late.
Michael Pace
Mar 17th 2009, 18:10
Years ago, there was such a thing as BBC English. All readers on BBC used the same variant of English. Nowadays this has all changed. You hear all variants of English spoken on BBC. It´s a world trend, and, as usual, we Maltese are still struggling to get to the 19th century! Language variation (whether you call it dialect, or variant, or language, it exists, and that's what counts) is part of our culture and wealth. Killing it is hurrying up the murder of our language, replacing it by the pidgin self-styled educated Maltese speak.
I never saw a Slimiz ashamed at saying 'sowwa' in place of standard 'sewwa'. Or a Belti of saying 'tijaj' for standard 'tijej' (=tieghi). So why should a Siggiewi be ashamed of saying 'karitú' and not standard 'karitá'? Or a Bormliz of saying 'tii' for the above. What is shameful is not being able to speak Maltese and English, standard and Zejtuni, or what have you, but speaking in a hotchpotch which nobody understands. Sori lil dowz li jitkellmu l-pigin! Aj howp li janderstendjawni.
Bertie Spiteri
Mar 17th 2009, 17:40
That is indeed very simplistic my dear Mr. Micallef. With due respect permit me to point out that it what you contend here is often far from the case. I ask you to consider the Neapolitan dialect, or the Corsican dialect or the Sardinian dialect. These are all dialects, and all have their own grammar and rules.
In our case pronunciation of vowels is the only differing factor between spoken spoken Maltese in Zejtun, Gharb, Zurrieq and Sliema. That alone does not qualify any of these maltese variations for the title of dialect. Actually, the difference between dialect and language is extremely fine. The Neapolitans, the Corsicans and the Sardinians (amongst others for that matter) hold that theirs are fully fletched languages.
Pushing the idea that Zurrieqi, Zejtuni, Slimiz or Ghawdxi are dialects fringes on the absurd. My daughter-in-law, who happens to be Maltese born and bred in Gozo is adamant on the existence of a "Gozitan language". If I were to accept your view that a dialect called Gozitan does exists, then I have also to consider the existence of a gozitan language. Which I simply cannot, given that we speak the same one and unique Maltese language.
Joseph Micallef
Mar 17th 2009, 14:41
Dialects are regional linguistic variations. If they had grammer they would be called a language. If they were languages they would not need to be called dialects my dear friend Mr. Spiteri.
Kevin Zammit
Mar 17th 2009, 12:19
@Daniel
I am not an expert and this is my opinion so I stand to be corrected but after all speech is for humans and should not be taken away from people to be the sole preserve of academics. I think that what Bertie is saying here is right. Saying the same word in English or Maltese with just a twist is an accent not a dialect. i.e. your Brummie as opposed to the Black Country dialect. So the example you give which looks like it still holds its Gaelic roots is in fact a dialect because the words of old have been preserved.
The actual Maltese dialects are lost. I doubt how many of the old sicolo/arabic words we still have going around excluding the documented ones.
Bertie Spiteri
Mar 17th 2009, 11:26
Hubza instead of hobza, tiu instead of tieghu, tii instead of tieghi, and Qurmi instead of Qormi are nothing more than linguistic fallacies and do not, in any way, qualify as a dialect or even make one single dialectic iota. For the information of all the sweet nostalgics who persist in this charade, please, and once and for all, be informed that a dialect is in itself a language with rules. These are simple erroneous pronunciations of some linguistically legitimate words.
Daniel Russell
Mar 17th 2009, 10:39
Good on you malta keeping your dialects! I am a proud Black Countryman (for those of you who do not know, it is the area from Stourbridge and Halesowen to roughly Brownhills and across and includes south staffordshire and north worcestershire)
Black Country dialect is directly related to Old English spoken by the ancient Britons and has survived for a thousand years, including many of the original words! In the area each town has variations in how you say things. The example below is from my home town of Halesowen!
It is NOT the "Birmingham" accent and I get very cross at people at home who subsume my dialect and heritage into the Brummie one!
A friend of mine in Malta once called it baby talk as we talk fast and clip our words!
Keep up the good work Malta and as we say "yo gotta keep guin wie yer vaice and the black country is bostin theer ay nowheer as yampy - keep it guin Malta stond up foer yoer spaech ta-ra for a bit me luvvers!! theers alys bin them moanin but foer us theer ay nowheer as bostin.
Hope you can understand that!
Alfred Grech
Mar 17th 2009, 09:51
Many countries use dialects, why not us? Il-habib tieghi Guze' Cardona kien ihebb jitkellem bil-Qurmi u habib iehor li joqghod l-Amerka, Grezzju Falzon, ihebb jitkellem biz-Zejtuni. Jien ma nufx l-ghaliex d-djelett m'huwiex inkuraggit f'Multa.
Tkun huga sabiha kieku nuzaw id-djelett mita nitkellmu bejnietna.
Paul A Attard
Mar 17th 2009, 09:31
I thoroughly enjoy listening to somebody using a Maltese dialect and trying to guess which part of Malta or Gozo s/he comes from. It's unfortunate that dialects are disappearing fast. Every effort spent in preserving dialects is worth its weight in gold.
However, one needs to bear in mind the fact, also, that when children use the dialect rather than "standard" Maltese, they may find it difficult to write "standard" Maltese because of the variation in sounds that they have to reproduce in writing.
Would anybody writing in a particular dialect qualify in a Secondary Education Certificate or Matriculation examination?