'Speaking in public the way we speak at home'

@Joe Fenech:

Vague statements? And referring to me? Get a life! Yours is the most ludicrous statement ever written - saying that the Maltese vocabulary can be written on a bus ticket...ha ha...what a laugh. I thought that you had some respect to gentlemen like Erin Serracino Inglott, Oliver Friggieri, Dun Karm, Trevor Zahra, Guze Aquilina, Frans Sammut, Michael Schiavone...who all strove to put Maltese on a higher platform.

Yes, you are right - I could not afford Oxford or Cambridge- my masters degree was obtained by studying at a bogus third world dive and my chancellor was a primitive chief with a water buffalo bone stuck through his nose, inserted by the tribal witch doctor.

You have failed to justify your claims re the Maltese language and literature in spite of all your comments.

I need not prove myself to you - I have done that already in various fora on a national scale. I need no endorsement from yourself or people of your ilk to vouch for my integrity, and approval in whatever endeavours I embark on.

Steve Borg :

And??? Have I contradicted myself anywhere? At least I dont make vagues statments without justifying like you do!

I also thought that you said you had better things than reading my post!

@Joe Fenech

You are reminded that YOU wrote:

"What is the real Maltese heritage?: noise, rudeness, shallownes, yobishness, hatred, church, festi, base humour, u nies C bl-accent!

You also wrote:

"Lousy literature, a vocabulary that can fit on a bus ticket, a lack of technical terms, poor expressions..Maltese is the poor language of a poor nation. For me a proper language is German, French, English, Italian, Hindi, etc!.."

Suffice for one to note that Il-Miklem Malti, that linguistic masterpiece that Erin Serracino Inglott so ably published, has a vocabulary of well over 30,000 words. Can't imagine anyone "fitting" them on a bus-ticket.

You also wrote "Only policies that will save our environment and educate our people will"

Well, that is what I have been doing for the last 30 years. I have to admit that I have never come across you championing the environment in any major issue that arose during this time. Incidentally, I noticed the presence of Prof. Manwel Mifsud during the Djaletti event in Gozo.

Dun Karm is great...that is...if you put aside the commissioned works (try reading 'Il-jien u lil Hinn Minnu') . However it wasn't him I was referring to when i said that Maltese contemporany literature is quite good...

Achille Mizzi for instance, has many good poems worth reading. So do Mario Azzopardi and Victor Fenech.
Francis Ebejer has reached international acclaim.
Daniel Massa's poems are considered by many to be some of the best written since Independence.
Frans Sammut too has a few good books (although I think his first one has too much similarities to 'The Outsider', by Albert Camus). I suggest 'Samuraj'...its got quite a beautiful intro...
Immanuel Mifsud, Adrian Grima, Maria Grech Ganado...they've all had their works published abroad. Equally good are other New Wave Maltese authors such as Norbert Bugeja, Henry Holland, Simone Iguanes...just to mention a few.
Pierre Mejlak has been chosen amongst the 30 best/most promising young authors from the Euro-Mediterranean region, togather with another Maltese...
You should also read Joe Galea, and Gorg Borg's poems...
Not to mention Oliver and Joe Friggieri, Peter Serracino Inglott...

These are the persons who constitute modern Maltese literature. The ones you referred to do not...

Steve Borg:

What makes Etnika so great according to you? You haven’t told us. I know why Hamza el Din, Koite Habib or Haorjto Sjrammti are good – but I can’t find anything interesting in Etnika apart from amateur enthusiasm.

What's your area of expertise? According to your website, you are an arts manager (manager not an artist), PL candidate, eco-warrior, have a Masters from Northumbria (hardly Cambridge/Oxford), but I couldn't really suss out your specialism. Then you boasted that your grandpa had been Mintoff's teacher...!

People with the slightest professional attitude, wouldn't have come out lashing at me or anyone as you did several times. Do you think real bands/artists react ins such a hysterical way when criticised? In Malta you're used to everyone telling you how fab you are! Well, that's 'Malta il-hanina'!!!

Keith D. Azzopardi:

My book is not a literary evaluation.

Yes, I still stand my ground in saying that Maltese literature (ie the majority of books that define it) are rubbish. Who wants to read the Dun Karma, u Dun Peppu, u t-Tonin tat-Tigieg u r-Rozar Boffo?!!

Now, obviously - exceptions exist. But exception doesn't constitute tradition or local (ie Maltese) style. However, yes, I am sure Maltese literature will evolve as time goes by.

I don't have a date for my book. I'm retired and I do these things as a hobby.

Of course there is nothing wrong in medieval literature! However I would expect you to stick to it if that's what you're really into, and do not criticise modern Maltese literature unless you have extensive knowledge of what's been written recently...

As to 'L-Akkademja tal-Malti', I still think you should at least notify them (or 'Il-Kunsill Nazzjonali tal-Ilsien Malti') of your find...after all they are offially in charge of the Maltese language and pre-caxaro poems can be considered as cultural heritage. I'm sure you've got nothing to loose...

D'you have a release date for your book yet, or is it too early? And will it feature the poems you mentioned? K

Keith D. Azzopardi:

“I can now understand why your knowledge of modern Maltese literature is so lacking.
Apparently you are still stuck to middle-age Maltese writings, hence being out of touch of the really good contemporany stuff...”

Firstly: what’s wrong with Medieval literature? Is everyone who reads Chaucer stuck in the past?



“And if you did find 3 pre-Caxaro poems, shouldn't 'L-Akkademja tal-Malti' have been notified? Correct me if I'm wring, but so far I haven't heard anything...”

Secondly: I don’t work for them! They can do their own research!

Thirdly: My book is about artificial intelligence focusing on automatic analysis, comparison and phonological properties of Mediterranean dialects between 1200 and 1800. Just something I’m doing as a hobby during my retirement.

I came across the pre-Caxaro poems by pure coincidence.

@Joe Fenech

So, according to your wise judgement, even Etnika is awful and amateur! Never mind that they perfomed at Montreux, Leptis Magna, in Ireland on Malta's accession to the EU and at the Acropolis during the Athens Olympic Games run-up in 2004. They were only representing Malta due to some overseas curiosity. How vague.

You are reminded that YOU wrote that:

"Lousy literature, a vocabulary that can fit on a bus ticket, a lack of technical terms, poor expressions..Maltese is the poor language of a poor nation. For me a proper language is German, French, English, Italian, Hindi, etc!.."

Suffice for one to note that Il-Miklem Malti, that linguistic masterpiece that Erin Serracino Inglott so ably published, has a vocabulary of well over 30,000 words. Can't imagine anyone "fitting" them on a bus-ticket.

You also wrote "Only policies that will save our environment and educate our people will"

Well, that is what I have been doing for the last 30 years. I have to admit that I have never come across you championing the environment in any major issue that arose during this time.

Incidentally, I noticed the presence of Prof. Manwel Mifsud during the Djaletti event in Gozo.

@ Joe Fenech

I can now understand why your knowledge of modern Maltese literature is so lacking.
Apparently you are still stuck to middle-age Maltese writings, hence being out of touch of the really good contemporany stuff...

And if you did find 3 pre-Caxaro poems, shouldn't 'L-Akkademja tal-Malti' have been notified?
Correct me if I'm wring, but so far I haven't heard anything...

Before our professuri criticise and call other speculators racist, Maltese haters they need to be modest enough and willing to understand their bottom line.

This cocktail of gimmicks, elaborate gibberish and make belief things is not going to save Malta from the mess it's in.

Only policies that will save our environment and educate our people will. Pushing idiotic vernacular traits and living in cloud cuckoo land, inventing culture and history does nothing else other than pushing Malta down even more. We need to be mature: forget the ghana, the dialects (which are non-existent at least today), the rubbishy literature and poetry that you inflict on local students..

Start afresh! Help young artists and writers (only the good ones not the fakes). Promote Mediterranean diet, preserve the little green that's left on the island, fight harshly illegal immigration and introduce highly selective immigration (like the US etc), bring back selective schooling, introduce quality trade school in middle school, give our youngsters some life skills (most of our youngsters are like lemons)....

Anything less and Malta will disintegrate completely in 50 years' time.

PART 2

Steve Borg:

Come on, as if Etnika is some reference! The arrangements are awful and amateur. So is the music.

Etnika found a niche, hiding behind 'Maltese music' to gain national acclaim and attract some overseas curiosity. Do you think you're the only one who has over 25,000 tracks?!!!!

How dare you call people ignorant just because they criticise something that's totally void of substance? Ghana is played with out of tune guitars (unlike oriental tuning), words are hilariously puerile, a 2 year old can improvise better..We might be music dilettanti but per carita we’re not deaf!

Now that I’ve been so savagely criticised, I invite you to buy my book about Mediterranean dialects (in progress) which features 3 pre Caxaro poems in a dialect from the Mellieha region which I found in a library in Austria. Just a little taster:.

Id-dwieni tol-frejjha, kienda moll-Brejta
Fown il-frietah bejjna moll-bahhra.
Twejjed, mejjdi gowl bneht…
Gell-bejjned tohhe trehd.

PART 1

Gaelic and Scottish (Gaelic) are languages in thier own right...Flmmish is actually a Dutch variation, with some phonological variation to the Dutch in the bordering nation."

Yes, Gaelic etc is a language because it has a grammar and literature of its own and is spoken by people stretching from Scotland to Brittany. Then it has its dialects: Breton, Irish, etc. So is Flemish (stretches from the Northern France to Holland).

Cockney is an accent (no real linguistic variations but clear distinct phonological properties) which is found in a small region.

Malta has no dialects. A dialect requires its own grammar, vocabulary, etc– we have accents.

This dialect thing is just make belief – the country is in such a state that we need something to hold on to before we sink. After thinking we’re the centre of the world and quickly realising that we're only a disintegraing nothingness, we’re now thinking that we’re some big sized country with an ample linguistic and cultural heritage…

What is the real Maltese heritage?: noise, rudeness, shallownes, yobishness, hatred, church, festi, base humour, u nies C bl-accent!

Halluna nies!!!!!

@Jennifer Soames

You wrote:

"Dialect should be left for village fetes not feted as if it were a national heritage."

Iceland and the Faroe Islands do not have a section of their populace that simply have one agenda - to moan and groan every time that someone takes the initiative to organise an event such as the dialects festival in Għarb. Anything connected with the Maltese langauge seems to send them into a frenzy.

You don't find Icelanders that take pride in stating that they don't know how to speak Icelandic properly, nor that Icelandic folk music is ugly - someone said - yes, Mr Joe Fenech who wrote

"And stop that horrible 'ghana' - it's just hideous!!!!!! it's just awful amateur music with idiotic words.

Sur Fenech, tinkwetax mhux se nistiednek tiġi għand Ta' Ġanna tisma' serata għana. Qed turi kemm ma tifhimx il-kultura ta' pajjiżek. Li ma togħġbokx għandek dritt tgħid hekk, li tgħid li hija mimlija kliem tal-boloh, qed turi li ma fhimt xejn. Kif jgħid il-qawl "Il-ħobż agħtih lil min jaf jieklu."

http://www.my-malta.com/interesting/rubenzahra2.html

http://www.cloudvalley.com/reviews/REVMalta.htm

Steve Borg, what type of language consensus do Iceland and the Faroe Islands have?

Even if dialects or to be more precise, accents are part of Maltese heritage, they are low culture. I tend to agree with Steve Borg about the heritage point, but one has to admit, accents are spoken by lower classes mostly and in Maltese literature, you find this type of speech in the likes of Wenzu u Rozi. The djaletti festival must have been fun i guess, but what did the speakers say while talking in dialect? I find that Maltese is BEAUTIFUL though it is limited and somewhat difficult. I also enjoy people speaking with an accent not just in Maltese (also in English - for example the way Supt Dalziel speaks in Dalziel and Pascoe, and in Italian, especiallty the accent from Naples).

@Joseph Cauchi

Your friend Joe Fenech wrote:

"Lousy literature, a vocabulary that can fit on a bus ticket, a lack of technical terms, poor expressions..Maltese is the poor language of a poor nation. For me a proper language is German, French, English, Italian, Hindi, etc!."

It is amazing that Malta harbours people like you, ever so ready to slack initiatives and denegrade people who aim to foster further studies and cultural awareness towards the preservation of our national language, dialects and linguistical legacy.

Oh, how I envy Iceland and the Faroes Islands with regards to how they have a national consensus as regards to their language appreciation. Thank God we are succeeding in nurturing an ever increasing number of fellow nationals who endorse Maltese publications, that are on par with international ones with regards to linguistic content, design and presentation.

I guess I have more important things than waste my time on statements such as those made by Joe Fenech.

i speak 6 different langauges.... but not ashamed to be from Malta speak Maltese .....understand LOCAL dialects.....Can our sinjorina tell us if she is from Malta and please if possible answer us in Maltese or mal english and I am a professional not a hamallu

@ Steve Borg, Carmelo Nenu Aquilina and …

None of you has yet given a true and proper meaning of a “dialect”. All you have done is beating round the bush.

What has Mr. Joe Fenech written in this column is 100% correct!

All of you are turning this issue into a “parochialism” issue and accusing all those that do not agree with you, as being anti Maltese language and Maltese-haters!

How low can you go?

Many believe that by the twisting of tongues and using certain accents does NOT constitute a “dialect” but only shows that these villagers using this type of speech are so detached from civilization!

Thank God, we are not still living in the stone-age period but in the twenty-first century and in the age of the “electronic chip”!

JC.

@Jennifer Soames

Wherever you are from is irrelevant and inconsequential to us.

However, you are reminded of what you wrote:

"Dialect should be left for village fetes not feted as if it were a national heritage."

It is part of our Maltese heritage. Dialects are accepted as part of mankind's intangible heritage. Incidentally, who said that designers speak proper Maltese. The ones I hear on television make a whole mess out of it.

Mr Steve Borg, surely you know the maxim: "When you assume, you make an ass out of u and me". Don't assume anything about me - I can speak with a darn good accent if i chose to, but won't because in Malta, people who speak with an accent are considered inconsequential.
Mr Nenu, cool it. Just because you can write a long list of eminent people from villages does not automatically mean they spoke with an accent (with the exception of Archbishop Mercieca - who speaks a light Gozitan lilt - which i consider to be very quaint). When people want to be taken seriously, they should speak standard Maltese. Imagine the President speaking with a dialect in his acceptance speech! Or Archbishop Cremona, or even Dr Nicholas Sammut or any journalist reading a news bulletin for that matter.

@ Jennifer soames. Grazzi ta' l-edukazzjoni li urejt li tippossiedi fil-kummenti tiegħek. Għandek tkun taf li biex tikteb bil-Malti trid tkun taf titkellem u tikteb sewwa bil-Malti! Jien nikteb bil-malti għax naf il-Malti, naf nitkellem bil-Malti, u inħobb ħafna ilsien pajjiżi! U żgur li smajt nies kbar jitkellmu bid-djalett. Mela in-nies kbar Maltin mhux il-biċċa l-kbira mill-irħula u minn Għawdex ġejjien sinjorina Jennifer? Dun Karm Psaila, Dun Mikiel Scerri, u Vassalli kienu Żebbuġin minn Citta De Rohan, Karmenu Vassallo , Patri Ġuże Delia, u l-Proffessur Nikola Zammit kienu Siġġiwin minn Citta Ferdinand Sinjorina Soames! L-Exx Presidenti Anton Butiġieġ , Ċensu Tabone u l-Arċisqof Mercieca kienu Għawdxin Sinjorina! Dawn kollha kienu jitkelmu bid-djalet Sinjorina u kienu ta' l-għola klassi, u għamlu unur kbir lil Malta, Sinjorina inteliġenti! Fl-Aħħar sinjorina nixtieq ngħidlek li aħna fl-irħula bliet tagħna hekk ser nibqgħu nitkellmu bid-djaletti rispettivi tagħna. Imma bl-edukazzjoni li għandna meta niltaqgħu ma xi ħadd bħalek b'rispett naqilbu u nitkellmu bil-pulit biex tifhimna aħjar u malajr! Nispera li irnexxieli ngħalmek xi ħaġa tajba, Sinjorina!

@Jennifer Soames. You are wrong. Dialects constitute part of our national heritage. Let us assume you are British. England has the English Dialect Dictionary, which is also academically studied at the link provided hereunder: http://www.uibk.ac.at/anglistik/projects/speed/index.html Incidentally the main guest speaker shown in this audio-visual clip was speaking in Żejtuni.

@Christopher Grech Joe Fenech made various statements as regards to our linguistic heritage - "fitting the vocabulary on a bit ticket" and also refers to għana - our traditional folk singing as: "And stop that horrible 'ghana' - it's just hideous!!!!!! it's just awful amateur music with idiotic words. Listen to Bulgarian, Indian, African music and you see what real folk music is!!" To call għana hideous is simply a declaration of ignorance on his part. I stop short of calling it racial hatred. Incidentally, I do happen to know a thing or two about world music - I have a personal collection of about 25,000 tracks and in 2000 I co-founded a local ensemble called Etnika. The term African music is vaguely used, since it is not specific to the regional trends, such as mbalax, palm wine, morna, soukous etc. He is entitled to his warped opinions, but if he is so anti-Maltese language, well he is living on the wrong archipelago and maybe he should reside somewhere that doesn't celebrate such events such as the Għarb dialects festival. It is thanks to people like him that we further strive to improve the promotion of the Maltese language.

@ M Soames - You have no idea what you are talking about. Dialects, in fact, are an important heritage. 'Moreover, people writing in Maltese in this blog should do their best to write in English.' U bir-rispett kollu, tghid mhux se tkun int, li tigi tghidli b'liema lingwa ghandi nikteb u nitkellem?!

What a silly argument! Most Maltese are middle class, and they should speak standard Maltese, those who speak in dialect are lower class. If you want to be taken seriously, don't speak in dialect - have you ever heard a doctor, a magistrate or a designer speak in twisted Maltese? If a journalist reading the news on TV had to speak in dialect would s/he be listened to? Dialect should be left for village fetes not feted as if it were a national heritage. Moreover, people writing in Maltese in this blog should do their best to write in English.

Jien ferħan u kuntent did-djalet sabieħ tar-raħal sabieħ tiegħi s-Siġġiewi. Nemmen li l-maġġiorana tal-Maltin u l-Għawdxin jaħsbuha bħali. Jien kważi nista niftaħar li għandi l-lingwa tar-raħal tiegħi!

Lill min qed jitkessaħ u qed iparla fil-vojt u jmaqdar il-lingwa tagħna l-Maltin ngħidlu:

"MINN IMAQDAR LILL PAJJIŻU L-ANQAS BISS IĦOBB LILLU N-NIFSU, U META IMGĦAQDAR ILSIEN PAJJIŻU IKUN QED IMGĦAQDAR U JWAQQA GĦAĊ-ĊAJT U Ż-ŻUFJETT LILU IN-NIFSU!"

Nifirħilkom Sinjuri Għawdxin, ibqgħu ftaħru b'dak is-sabieħ li għandkom, għax dak tagħkom żgur!

Joe Fenech is right. In Malta we do not have any real dialects. To be a proper dialect, one has to have several words/expressions that are totally different to the normally spoken language, around the region.

Gaelic and Scottish (Gaelic) are languages in thier own right, although not so popular, with the populace. The grammer and words are completely different. Flmmish is actually a Dutch variation, with some phonological variation to the Dutch in the bordering nation.

Just because in Mosta they say knisja, in a different way, does not constitue a dialect for one word, and neither is "tieghi" in the Connonera region, which sounds like tii!

Perhaps we have a different concept of what should constitue a "dialect" in Malta/Gozo.

@Joe Fenech. Are Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Cornish dialects? So according to you Flemish is not a language, since it is not spoken nation-wide in any country. Your opinion about languages and dialects shows us we should just ignore you because you don't know what you're talking about. Your attitude reminds me of certain European dictators who in the 1930s strived o eliminate all regional differences.

It is such a pity that colonial servitude still keeps some of us in the dark.

@ Joe Fenech:

"Lousy literature, a vocabulary that can fit on a bus ticket, a lack of technical terms, poor expressions..."

You should read some Maltese literature. I'm sure you'll be surprised at how many bus tickets you can fill with that vocabulary. I suggest you put aside the bus tickets with the terms you don't understand.

Hope it will take time off your ridiculous criticism of our language.

@Joe Fenech.

Haven't you ever heard of Cockney or Liverpudlian? Try telling people from these towns in UK that theirs is just tongue twisting and you'll be sent off in no uncertain manner! They're as proud of their dialect as our own Mgarrin, Qriema, Zwieten and Ghawdxin... among others. If by tongue twisting you're refering to the way people who hardly know Maltese from well-known areas speak Malglish, then you're right; that's not a dialect. That's ignorance!

@Joe Fenech X'Paloma Paloma dik Warrbu minn nofs ghax gejja Marjannina, Mast. Jekk ma jogbokx hemm hafna bloggs x'tazel. Lilna erhilna nitpaxxew.

Personalment, ma nistax nifhem certu kummenti tal-Maltin stess. Il-Malti hu l-unika lingwa Semitika fil-Mediterran. Id-djalett gie zviluppat minn lingwi semitici li minnu nhareg Malti Standard li bi zmien tal-hatriet differenti bdew jiddahhlu lingwi ohra. Ghal min qed jghid li d-djalett hu tghawwig tal-kliem, jiddispjacini nghid li t-tghawwig gej minn jitkellem bl-Ingliz u l-Maltin f'daqqa. Id-djalett huwa lingwa li mhux kulhadd kapaci jitkellimha!!!

Jiena nsaqsi, allura issa kif jispicca d-djalett u naqra ohra l-Malti, indahhlu lingwi ohra li m'humiex taghna??

TGHALLMU APPREZZAW PAJJIZKOM FTIT !!!!

Shame on most Maltese journalists, newscasters, and presenters, etc, on all media for the way they distort the Maltese language, or use foreign words and terms when they could express themselves perfectly in proper Maltese. Did they really pass all their Maltese exams?

Ignorance is bliss. It seems ignorance is also hatred towards one's own culture and heritage, spiced with racist overtones towards foreign speakers of our language.

Joe Fenech -

I repeat:
...Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines it [dialect] as being ' a regional variety of language distinguished by features of vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation from other regional varieties and constituting together with them a single language'.
So yes, dialect can be distinguished by pronunciation.

And jut because Pawlu Aquilina was a Maltese, it does not mean that he was an amateur...
What are you, if I may ask?

Joe Fenech -

I see that you are not at all updated with what's going on when it comes to Maltese literature. Several Maltese authors are publishing their translated works abroad, especially in Europe...and some are quite well known for their literary quality. So all in all it depends on what you consider to be of quality...whether you would opt for the cheap, commercial paperbacks or if you'd go for books published by authors who really know what's going on around them and who don't write for profit.

As for technical terms, I assure you that most languages adopt words originating from the country in which they were coined...

I'd suggest you invest in a few Maltese books for your personal library to go over this winter...

EWAquilina, ghalkemm veru li ghandna xi djalettali hafna dwar pajjizzna engliterra ukoll tajjeb niftakru li il-kliem qeghed dejjem iktbu l-istess minn kullimkien skond id dizzunarju.

I would suggest all those who imply that dialects do not exist in our small, but prolific country, to study a bit of linguistics. Stop trying to abolish all those features that make us unique, different or endemic!!!!!

@Joe Fenech

I quite disagree. Maltese literature has improved by leaps and bounds and Maltese publications are equal to foreign ones in their layout, design, content and overall presentation.

To say that you can fit our vocabulary on a bus ticket exposes your limits in expressing yourself in your native tongue, our national language. Find some time to listen to the linguistic content in Doreen Galea's album Ommi - currently in No 1. spot in the local charts - and then, you may be in a better position to comment.

Let us assume that you grew up in an environment detesting anything relative to the Maltese language. Do check the existing works by Maltese lexicographers, who have confirmed how expressive and descriptive our language can be when spoken correctly.

Albert Borg :

A language is widely used by a nation.
A dialect is used by a small community.
An accent is a phonological variation of a language/dialect.

I appreciate that you quoted Spain and France but in English the above are standard definitions of these terms. Ask an Englishman and he'll tell you!

To reinforce this - between the Maltese 'dialects' there are not linguistic variations which thus excludes them from being defined as dialects.

Albert Borg:

What makes the Maltese?:

Lousy literature, a vocabulary that can fit on a bus ticket, a lack of technical terms, poor expressions... Maltese is the poor language of a poor nation. For me a proper language is German, French, English, Italian, Hindi, etc!

I am not a Maltese hater - I'm a hater of mediocrity and base folklore!

Don't worry, we already have the Egyptian Maltese, Bulgarina Maltese, Libyan Maltese dialects..Will soon have the Somalian Maltese, the Ethrian Maltese, etc!

L-aqwa li ghandna "id-dudej ibiegh xi labra u rukkell" !!!!

@Joe Fenech. The typical Maltese-hating Maltese. Fake? Have you ever got out of you town?
Basque and Breton dialects? Are you serious or is this just a sick joke? Basque is officially recognised as a language by the Spanish government, and Basque, like ANY OTHER language has its dialects. Regarding Breton, the French Constitution (as amended in 2008), makes reference to regional LANGUAGES.

Keith D. Azzopardi

Accent IS NOT dialect!!!!!

We say the London accent, the Parisian accent, but we say the Basque dialect, the Venetian dialect, the Mallorcino dialect, the Breton dialect.... DIALECT IS A LANGUAGE!

Pawlu Aquilina was an amateur linguist, nothing else!

@w. scicluna
"the Maltese language in my opinion is one that all Maltese and Gozitans can understand and not one that you have to keep repeating yourself to be understood"
The maltese language, is a language that has been developing for hundreds of years. I invite you to read "il-Kantilena" written by Pietru Kaxaru in the official maltese language, as written during those times, and I can guarantee you that you don't understand I single word of it. If you don't understand maltese, with it's dialects, then you shouldn't call yourself maltese. And by the way, hope you don't speak minglish, because that's what I don't understand!!!!

Joseph Cauchi:

Spot on!

Veru m'ghadniex x'naghmlu !!!!! These 'experts' don't even know the difference between accent and dialect?!!! Where are dialects in Malta????? A dialect is a language not speaking with an accent. The worst thing in this festival is that these 'experts' speak OBVIOUS FAKE accents which are unbearable!

And stop that horrible 'ghana' - it's just hideous!!!!!! it's just awful amateur music with idiotic words. Listen to Bulgarian, Indian, African music and you see what real folk music is!! And why is that player playing a Spanish tune (I think it's La Paloma) on the harmonica?

This is fake misplaced patriotism and nothing else. We don't even have a proper national language (try and writing a technical article in Maltese), let alone!!!!! This kind of patriotism comes up when the country is in big turmoil...

But I'm sure this was another good excuse to guzzle down Coca Cola and burgers!!

@ Mr. joseph Cauchi

May I ask what is your educational/cultural background?

Pawlu Aquilina defines 'djalett' as being 'regional speech', while Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines it as being ' a regional variety of language distinguished by features of vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation from other regional varieties and constituting together with them a single language'.
So yes, dialect can be distinguished by pronunciation.

Considering that dialects are to be found in rural areas and in villages where agriculture and fishing are common, then in such cases the vocabulary too is different, since persons residing in towns and cities have unfortunatley forgotten certain words belonging to their forefathers' professions. The same can be said regarding proverbs, idioms and other expressions, which differ from villages to towns...

Frankly I can't understand how, in the 21st century, there are poeple who still fail to recognise that which identifies us as who we are, and which are part and parcel of our cultural heritage. Language can at times be sooooo underestimated...

(pt 2) Kids who are brought up in an environment where a dialect is spoken might actually benefit from it as regards writing in Maltese since in most dialects the silent "H" and "GH" are not completely ignored but in most cases the vowel gets an accent (for instance, as in dghajsa) while some dialects, even if a few, still pronounce the otherwise silent "h" and the "gh" (if I'm not mistaken the GH is still pronounced in the Gharb dialect, even if until some decades ago it was pronounced also in other dialects, including some on Malta).

@Joseph Cauchi. As Mr Aquilina rightly said, towns and villages where a dialect is spoken are older than the areas where standard Maltese is spoken, and thus it is understood that "mghawweg" Maltese was the original form of Maltese. If Valeltta had not been built by the knights it is very likely that the dialect spoken in Rabat would now be the standard Maltese. Thus, no dialect/form of Maltese is superior to any other (whether it be that spoken in Valletta, Mosta or Xewkija).



If two dialects have completely different grammars and vocabularies, than they are two seperate languages, Mr Cauchi. Having said that, small grammatical differneces do exist between some dialects in Malta, and some words are used in some dialects but not in others.

I cannot understand how in the twenty-first century Malta, we still find some people who still refuse to repsect other people's culture and identity.

@ Joseph Cauchi. How I understand you sir! The day that these ''dialects disappear can't come too soon! They say that that is a form of Maltese....the Maltese language in my opinion is one that all Maltese and Gozitans can understand and not one that you have to keep repeating yourself to be understood.

Looks like it was a very nice and interesting activity, my congrats to the organisers for their efforts to keep our dialects alive and even promoting them. Pity that some Maltese do not appreciate their own language.
I am not an expert in dialects, Mr Aquilina, but I am sure that Maltese was spoken long before it was written, so it is a certainty that the dialects in Maltese towns and villages is far older than the 'organised Maltese' of the 'Akkademja tal-Malti' (1920).
So let us ALL speak our native language and encourage those who 'shy' away from it not to.
VIVA MALTA
GL

@Joseph Cauchi
Id-djalett huwa tahlita ta' accenti differenti, dak li inti ssejjahlu tidwir tal-ilsien ,pero' jinkludi ukoll uzu ta' kliem differenti, dak li skond ma mplikajt inti, ma jezistix. Jien li nigi mis-south, naghraf persuna li titkellem bid-djalett taz-Zejtun jew M'Xlokk, taz-Zurrieq jew tal-Qrendi. Iz-Zrieraq u l-Qrendin ghandhom ukoll accenti differenti skond mil-liema zona tar-rahal tkun. Pero', apparti l-accent, jezisti wkoll kliem li jintuza skond ir-rahal li tkun gej minnu. Per ezempju, dik li normalment jghidulha 'tajra' (kite), iz-zwieten jghidulha 'manucca'. Hemm min juza l-kelma 'tawwata' jew il-verb 'ittawwat' ghal meta ddoqq il-horn. Nissuggerilek taqra l-ktieb 'Il-Bahar Rasu Iebsa' ta' Lino Psaila, li huwa miktub bid-djalett zejtuni/xlukkajr u ara jekk issibux facli biex taqrah. Nassigurak li jekk inti m'intix midhla tad-djaletti maltin, difficli biex taqrah u tifhmu! Hija hasra li nies bhalek ma japprezzawx din il-kultura. Personalment, nippreferi nisma' lil xi hadd jitkellem bid-djalett, milli nofs bil-malta u nofs bl-ingliz! U bilhaq, prosit lil min organizza din l-attivita' !

Its not your cup of tea because unfortunately you have the "Tal-Pepe" syndrome that is to deride anything thats Maltese. Keeping alive our traditions gives us an identity, Unfortunately only in Malta you find this autodestructive attitude certain people have towards our culture and traditions. Just take an example from Italy let's say Rome, people are proud to speak the romanesco dialect the same goes for all Europe while on the contrary in Malta we have people who despise our mother language for english because they believe it makes them superior.

Mr Mr Cauchi,

I pity you! Perhaps you feel superior because your speak in English but dear friend, believe me, you only do so because you are incapable of appreciating, let alone being competent or able to speak a dialect. You are the poorer believe me.

We Maltese are far superiour to the English in that this tiny island has it's own language. By the way, the English too have dialects according to the area that one comes from and believe me you would find it hard to make out what they are actually saying in the English language. We must learn to appreciate the way people speak because that makes them unique, not robots.

Excuse me, but frankly I can’t stand this twisting of tongues in order to create a supposed “dialect”!

This is no “dialect” but the twisting of tongues and accents!

As far as I know a “dialect” is completely different than mere accents and “thawwieg” of words; it has usually a different vocabulary!

I cannot understand how in the twenty-first century Malta, we still find some people who still cherish in these types of activities!

Definitely, not my cup of tea!

JC.

Ħbieb,mhux viru li min jitkellem bid-djelet jisib diffikultu fil-pruninzjuni tal-lingwe. jien ktibt sensiela ta' artikli ta' diskusjuni bid-djalet fuq il-gazzetta l-Mument. jien qatt ma kelli diffikultu li nipprununzja xe kelme bil-Multi,
Aħna li nitkelmiw bid-djalet għandne kapaċitu li kif nilteqqew ma xi ħadd mill-Belti Valletta li jitkellem bil-pulit, aħne għax edukuti nurewħ r-rispett tagħne billi neqilbiw fil-pront mid-djalet tal-belt jew raħal tagħne għall pulit ta duk li jkiwn, għax ma jkiniwx juf jitkellem bid-djalet tagħne!
Ara min jitkellem bil-pulit mhiwx kapuċi jitkellem bħulna!
F'Malta l-ewwel li kieniw jeżistiw kieniw l-irħule li jitkelmiw id-djalet, u mhux l-ibliet li jitkelmiw bil-pulit!
Allura liema huwa l-aktar antik, lime kien mitlellem l-ewwel, id-djalet jew il-pulit?
Nixtieq li xi ħadd jispjegauli ftit ħbieb!
Il-kumplement tal-Ħadd it-tajjob lill kulħadd!

Jien ma smajtx bl-attivita għax kieku zgur li kont nitla daqs hemm inhobb nisma d-dialett Għawdxi.

Ħasra li l-Għawdxin li jiġu Malta ma jitkelmux bid-dialett Għawdxi għax xi Maltin jidhku bihom u ħasra ukoll li l-istess Għawdxin f'pajjizhom stess ma jitkelmux bid-dialett tagħhom mal-Maltin għal-istess raġuni.

L-aħjar ħaġa fid-dinja hi li tkun int mingħajr biża għax b'hekk turi lid-dinja l-ġmiel tiegħek. F'dan il-kaz il-ġmiel ta' lingwa li għandha u d-diversita bejn raħal u ieħor.

Nixtieq li l-Ministeri Għawdxin stess ikunu huma l-ewwel li jagħtu dan l-ezempju lin-nies ta' pajjizhom u cioe' li jitkelmu bl-Għawdxi u jkunu kburin u naturali meta jagħmlu dan. Ma għandhom xejn anqas, anzi għandhom rikkezza li aħna tlifna.

Nagħtu ezempju!!!

Xi hlew! Meta kont zghira kont nidhak bin-Nanna u biz-zijiet jitkellmu biz-Zejtuni imma llum il-gurnata veru joghgbuni u jiddispjacini li qatt ma tghallimt djalett jien ukoll. Prosit Ms Cassar u tina aktar minn dawn l-okkazjonijiet, nispera darb'ohra nkun nista nattendi. Dawn huma l-affarijiet zghar li jzidu l-ferh f'hajjitna. Grazzi.

Let's keep these "dialects" alive and well and heard not only during a special event like this one organised in Gozo but also in schools, in public places, on the buses, as well as in places of enterainment ... but not simply to raise a laugh! it's true there is no "Malti dritt" and "Malti mghawweg" as one of the speakers said.
Obviously teachers cannot ignore the fact that children speaking the "dialect" may find some difficulty writing the language because of the varying pronunciation.