John Ellis, Birkirkara
Far bigger howlers
Joseph Micallef (June 30) wrote about two "howlers" in Maltese he recently heard on one of the local TV stations. This has urged me to write about what seems to me a far bigger and more serious howler, which has unfortunately gained steady ground these last 10 years or so and which has become very widespread particularly among the younger generations. I am referring to the erroneous pronunciation of the silent feminine and plural pronominal suffixes ha and hom after a certain category of verbs like taraha (to see her or to see it) and tarahom (to see them) - wrongly pronounced taraħħa and taraħħom in confusion with another category of verbs like tismagħha and tismagħhom - rightly pronounced tismaħħa and tismaħħom.
I believe that a concerted all-round effort should be launched at the University, in all schools and in the media to remedy the situation in this respect now before it is too late (unless it already is). Maltese language authorities and associations should take the lead. Some may argue that Maltese, like any other language, is a living thing and should therefore be allowed to develop of its own accord without any interference from anybody. Sadly, to me, such a "development" looks more like a corruption of our precious and unique Maltese language.
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Joe Xuereb
Jul 4th 2009, 10:59
Language does indeed evolve. Sloven use of language merely kills it. It is lazy, ignorant and unpatriotic.
Bongu is fine and well integrated. Il-ghodwa t-tajba would be even better.
Grazzi is fine too. But nizzik hajr has gravitas and is preferable. Thank you is abysmal, an absolute no-no.
Upgrading the language to its former glory, a language full of beauty and dignified like a well-formed individual with a strong identity will feel strange and heavy at first. But will in no time gain currency. The language will have been restored. And all it will have cost would be a little bit of thought. As a result of the introduction of a new subject in the school curriculum. How to think as a separate subject, in other words. Do not knock it till you have tried it.
v.pulis
Jul 3rd 2009, 18:41
And how about tistaw instead of tistghu and tqattaw (iljieli f'malta mit turisti) instead of tqattghu seen twice written on screen during the news bulettin on one of the TV stations.
Galea. L
Jul 3rd 2009, 17:24
Rio Sammut Yes, and it makes my blood boil every time I hear such stupidity. You even hear Members of Parliament inventing them. How many times have you heard pjaniijiet (pianos) instead of pjani?
AnnMarie Pawley
Jul 3rd 2009, 16:57
What about the classic 'Sorry I cut (the phone) in your face' ?
Rio Sammut
Jul 3rd 2009, 15:20
2 new verds: 'tibbrestfijdja' u 'tistirfrajja'. Did you hear these words on the radio?
Frans Sammut
Jul 3rd 2009, 12:48
I fully agree with Mr Ellis. I would like to point out also the difference between ha (abbreviated from halli) and sa which denotes the future. The former should be used in cases like "ha mmur" (let me go) but not instead of "sa mmur" (I shall go) which is also validly rendered by "sejjer" (I am going, or really, poised to leave). Sa and se/ser are rather interchangeable though they derive from different sources. The sa is the semitic sawfa denoting future action, while se/ser is an abbreviation of sejjer, a calque from romance languages, cf. Sp. voy a decir, I am about to say, meaning, of course, I will say; It. "vado a dire". The Spanish version is still very much in use whereas the Italian is rather archaic.
Joseph Micallef
Jul 3rd 2009, 11:45
@Mr. Chircop
Nobody uses "L-ghodwa t-tajba" anymore - if not - ironically, on the media. Its not anymore a Maltese phrase anymore. "Bongu" is the correct, current way of greeting somone "Good morning".
Joe Grima
Jul 3rd 2009, 11:41
Languages should be preserved not destroyed and the broadcasting media have duty towards this end. This is a justified complaint about the use of the use of the Maltese language on TV. The real mothers of all howlers on our TV screens are to be found in the pronounciation of English. Simply horrendous. People who have probably never studied the English language beyond kindergarten read headlines from our English language papers in a way that makes the English langauge want to bury itself in a deep grave. Where is the almighty Broadcasting Authority in all this and weren't the stations supposed to appoint some kind if supervisor responsible for language?
Emanuel Cilia Debono
Jul 3rd 2009, 10:59
I agree with correspondent John Ells.
Maltese is indeed a living language; but like other languages , it is also subject to clearly defined rules, which determine the correct way of writing it. I admire the painstaking efforts taken receently by the 'Kunsill tal- Malti' to ensure consistency when they decided on the correct way of writing certain language variants.
I also observe that some journalists are in the habit of unnecessarily making use of anglicised constructions . I have heard umpteen times on radio or TV announcers report that : ' Grazzi ghall- ghajnuna li Malta received mill- Unjoni Ewropea..'' instead of the traditional Maltese way of saying ' Bis-sahha tal- Unjoni Ewropea, Malta irceviet ghajnuna ghal diversi progetti'.. One may make use if one wishes of the words 'Bil- ghajnuna ta' ' or more succintly of ' B'rihet'.
Dominic Chircop
Jul 3rd 2009, 10:38
Dear Mr. John Ellis,
You are right in bringing to attention howlers on the media.
One thing which irks me is the lack of usage of local words, and their replacement with bastardised foreign words. One suxh is bongu, instead of l-ghodwa t-tajba.
But these things seem to be institutionalised. When Malta wanted to honour its foremost composer Girolamo Abos, by naming some streets for him, they somehow managed to turn his name to Geronimo.
No street naming committee has deigned to correct this oversight. Not even those politicians who pride themselves about being cultured !
Joseph Micallef
Jul 3rd 2009, 10:20
Whilst I totally agree with your comments regarding such wrong pronounciation one might maybe argue that this is a natural evolutionary process of the language and maybe one should not be so puristic - a very large group pronounce those words in the wrong way and not just youngsters I assure you (even family members do so and I find it useless to correct them because they think I am talking rubbish). But what I said in my email is something else for me far worse - the distruction of our language from people who don't know an inkling about it or by those who should know but through ignorance don't even bother to use it well - and perpetuate the mistake through the media for all to "learn"!