Simon Manicolo, Secretary, Malta Broadcasting Authority, Blata l-Bajda
Media's misuse of Maltese
The concern expressed by Alfred Brincat (The Sunday Times, June 20) about the misuse of the Maltese language in the broadcasting media is fully justified.
Mr Brincat concluded that "it is high time the Broadcasting Authority and the government did something about this" and commented that he did not "recall a single case of a station being fined for misuse and mistreatment of our national language and of using unsuitable and inept broadcasters".
The Broadcasting Authority, in fact, over the past few years did take such action on a number of occasions and indeed will continue to do so with increased frequency.
However, the authority, with the limited resources available to it, cannot reasonably be expected to maintain an ongoing, wide-ranging and meticulous examination of the use of the Maltese language on all the local broadcasting stations and, in any case, direct regulatory action (the imposition of fines on broadcasting stations) is unlikely, by itself, to solve the existing problem to any appreciable degree.
What could be more beneficial and effective is an ongoing programme of initiatives primarily intended to assist the broadcasting stations to upgrade their own capability to deal with this problem.
The Broadcasting Authority has already taken a number of initiatives in this direction. In 2008, it appointed a group of experts to advise it on how this problem could be addressed. The experts submitted their report in January 2009 with various recommendations which have been widely circulated within the industry.
A Code (Legal Notice) on 'The Correct Use of the Maltese Language on the Broadcasting Media' was published last March. This imposes a number of obligations on the Broadcasting Authority as well as on the broadcasting stations themselves, including a requirement for each station to have its own consultant, who should hold a recognised university degree in the Maltese language, or who is recognised by the Kunsill Nazzjonali tal-Ilsien Malti as having sufficient knowledge and experience in the use of the Maltese language. Most of the broadcasting stations, in fact, have already appointed their consultant.
Your readers should rest assured that the Broadcasting Authority will continue to play its part in an effort to address this problem.
However, ultimately, it will be the willingness of the broadcasting stations to deal with this problem in a serious manner that should make a really visible improvement.
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Mrs.Elizabeth Dowlings(retired)
Jun 27th 2010, 14:46
We are British and reside in a lovely tiny weeny island of Gozo, yet to us the Maltese language sounds Arabic and very hard to understand, although we don't make an effort to learn cause everyone speaks our mother tongue being English ofcourse, we are not stuck up as some locals have labeled us but just not interested to be frankly, hence we have satellite tv and no Maltese tv as to us its a waste of money and find it loud and boring, so some say then what are you doing here? not anymore we run out of cash so we are heading back to blighty much sooner then we planned the newly elected government in Britain have seen to that.
e Duncan
Jun 27th 2010, 19:43
Dear Mrs. Dowling. Unfortunately that is the problem with all the Brits I know. You always find the excuse that Maltese sounds like Arabic, and you do not even bother to try to learn the basic stuff. As long, as we continue to accommodate you by speaking your language, then you will continue to create your ghettos. As regards to being loud and boring, that is a matter of your opinion, and you will continue to speak only your language. Pity!
lgalea
Jun 27th 2010, 14:17
What about the idiot who is constantly heard advertizing a certain concert on the FOSSOS instead of Fosos?
How about the continuous mistake of saying Taħħa (gave her)?
How about saying PJANIJIET (pianos) instead of Pjani (plans).
How about the Broadcasting Authority screening all adverts before they are aired and prevent those who are making a mess of the Maltese language from being aired and also imposing a hefty fine on the station and the individual so that they will think twice before continuing to mess with our national language.
I suggest that anyone must have had a course and certified in the Maltese language before being allowed to speak into a microphone or present him/herself on TV or otherwise both station and the speaker be fined. That is the only way to protect our national language.
Ray Buhagiar
Jun 27th 2010, 11:32
Yesterday during the USA-Ghana game, the sport journalist/commentator said that the 'tibdila ta' .... saret bi skop....". It-tibdila (dress) was used by mistake. He should have said bidla (Change) instead.
Joseph Micallef
Jun 27th 2010, 10:20
Having read this letter I am wondering when broadcasters will be made aware that: it is "jidhlu" and not "jihtlu", it is "jibqa" and not "jiqpa", it is "jieqfu" and not "jiefqu", it is "jibki" and not "jipki" - etc - or otherwise just scrap the Maltese grammatical rules!
Michael Cassar
Jun 27th 2010, 12:55
Nixtieq inzid, li ghandna bzonn nghalqu l-mezzi kollha tax-xandir ghal tul ta' zmien u ma nhallu lil HADD jghid l-erezijiet. Fil-frattemp isiru korsijiet estensivi ghax-xandara KOLLHA sew jekk huma ta' l-istat u sew jekk huma ta' stazzjonijiet privati. Wara kull kors isir ezami kemm ORALI kif ukoll SKRITT u jekk jinstab li xorta wahda ghadhom mhux kapaci jitkellmu bl-ilsien Malti kif jixraq, ma jithallewx juzaw ix-xandir!!!!!