Ivan Camilleri, Brussels
Maltese language costing EU €30 million a year
Peter Agius is the longest-serving Maltese official within the EU institutions.
The acquired status of the Maltese language as an official EU language is costing European taxpayers €30 million a year, a study has shown.
The figure was calculated by Peter Agius – the longest serving Maltese official within the EU institutions – in a book about the translation of European Law (It-Traduzzjoni tal-Ligi Ewropea) to be launched in Malta this week.
Dr Agius, who spent many of his initial years in Brussels serving as a lawyer/linguist at the Council of the European Union, warns that Malta has to be vigilant over the quality of the language being produced by scores of translators in Brussels and Luxembourg since it could be quite different from the Maltese used in everyday life.
He also states that although the status of Maltese as an official language is “there to stay”, it is not a foregone conclusion since pressures have been building for the EU to reduce its language costs.
The EU has 23 official languages, meaning that all its legislative texts have to be translated.
As it is an official language, the EU is also obliged to provide interpretation services into Maltese at many of its meetings, including those at Council, Commission and parliamentary level.
Since Malta joined the EU in 2004, the Maltese language has been the biggest employer of Maltese citizens in well-paid jobs in the EU institutions.
However, according to Dr Agius, the quality of the language currently being produced in hundreds of thousands of Maltese documents sometimes leaves much to be desired.
The notorious translation of ‘consultative bodies’ into ‘iġsma tal-pariri’ is still fresh in the minds of many Maltese translators in Brussels and Dr Agius contends that Malta has to make sure that a new EU-Maltese jargon is not being invented in Brussels.
“It is true that the law needs to express itself in a particular jargon, but that does not mean that that jargon needs to take on a life of its own, for its own sake,” Dr Agius said.
The quality of Maltese language used in the EU has improved drastically in recent years with Maltese language departments putting in place quality assurance units to ensure that the language being produced respects the language regime.
However, according to Dr Agius, there needs to be more input from the Maltese linguistic authorities. With the creation of the Council for the Maltese language, itself an indirect result of Maltese becoming an official language of the EU, a channel of communication was created between the services of the EU institutions and the Maltese language authorities, including reciprocal visits and seminars.
However, according to Dr Agius, the Maltese language authorities are still not aware of the pressures, rules and context which regulate the translation for the European institutions.
Dr Agius’s book, to be published by Malta University Publishing, is meant to bridge a part of the gap that exists between Brussels and Malta by laying bare the context in which EU translations take place, and the specific guidelines which could improve this specialised work.
Asked whether, in reality, any of the translated Maltese documents are read by anyone apart from the translators themselves, Dr Agius said that many do take note of certain Maltese documents.
“The regular feedback from government ministries to the legal/linguistic finalisation process indicates that at least government officials do care about the Maltese version. This could be explained by the fact that they know the Maltese version is equally authentic and thus a vehicle of direct rights in Maltese courts and public administrations,” Dr Agius said.
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Rita Vella Asciak
Nov 9th 2010, 17:53
Thank God for Dr Agius and his book. What would the EU institutions and their language units do without him. This article seems to be a very skilful way of selling the book.Prosit tassew izda nahseb l-interess aktar qieghed fil-kunmmercjaliizzazzjoni tal-ktieb milli fl-interess ghal-lingwa Maltija. Forsi Dr Agius qed jiggeneralizza u jesagera aktar milli hu adatt. Kif jghid il-Malti ......il-hobz tiih lil min jaf jieklu........xi persunii li jafux l-lingwi sew qed jahdmu kemm ta' tradutturi kif ukoll ta' esperti-lingwisti (lawyer linguists).
Mario Cassar
Oct 31st 2010, 22:22
Once I saw the word "Marketing" translated to Maltese as "Biex tbieh u tferrex l ideat"
G Cilia
Oct 31st 2010, 19:26
@Franco: well said.
Min jaf kieku l-Malti ma giex rikonoxxut bhala lingwa ufficjali, x'konna nghidu? Kemm konna ngergru li l-UE qed tittrattana ta' cittadini tat-terza kategorija! Mur gibna kieku!
Ejja niehdu kaz: gabillot Malti se jipprezenta petizzjoni quddiem il-kumitat parlamentari ewropew. X'se jaghmel? Jitkellem bl-Ingliz bilfors jew imur xi hadd minnkom l-ghorrief jittraducilu? Imma bilhaqq, Malta nitkellmu Ingliz aqwa mill-Inglizi nfushom. Jew hekk nixtiequ nahsbu.
Franco Farrugia
Oct 31st 2010, 18:28
Hadd ghadu ma qal xejn fuq il-fatt li l-uzu tal-lingwi fi hdan l-UE huwa minnu nnifsu wiehed mill-ikbar mekkanizmi ta' demokrazija li hemm fl-Unjoni: dik li kull wiehed u wahda minna jitilghu hemm u jistghu jargumentaw, ihambqu, u jiddiskutu bil-lingwa taghhom jekk isibu lilhom infushom f'diffikulta' b'lingwi ohra. Ejjew nammettu li kull ma jmur iz-zmien, iktar qed ikollna nies li mhumiex kapaci jesprimu ruhhom. L-uzu ta' dawn il-lingwi juri li kulhadd jista' jikkomunika ma' kull ufficcju tal-UE bil-lingwa tieghu jew taghha. U tircievu risposti lura bil-lingwa li tkunu ghaziltu intom. Dan ma jfisser xejn ghalikom?
Jesmond Micallef
Oct 31st 2010, 18:14
Ahbarijiet bhall dawn huma tassew interesanti ghall qarrejja bhalli hawn. Il Malti ghandu jigi kultivat gewwa mohh il Malti. Dawn huwa effett psikologiku ghax nahseb li verament il lingwa Maltija hija wahda mwarba xi kultant. Nahseb li l kitba ingliza ‘consultative bodies’ ghanda tkun tradotta ghall "oqsma konsultativi" jew nkella "oqsma ta konsulenza". Awguri sbieh lill Dr. Peter Agius imma kif wkoll lil dawk kollha li jahdmu f'dan il qassam ta traduzzjoni gewwa dawk l'istabilimenti legislativi ta l'Unjoni Ewropeja. Prosit u grazzi hafna ta xoghol siewi taghkom.
G Cilia
Oct 31st 2010, 18:00
Oh dear. If people are so concerned about money being wasted, they could try looking closer to home. In any case, the 30 million spent on translation costs is money contributed by the 27 member states, not solely Maltese tax payers' money.
On the other hand, idle civil servants, party lackeys (the less said about this the better), and general mismanagement have been shamelessly bleeding our coffers dry for the past 50 years, at the very least. No wonder Malta is experiencing such a massive brain drain. Good for them, the translators who go to Brussels to get a career and in the process help in reviving the Maltese language. In the meantime, our taxes can go on financing the Eurovision, so-called 'single' parents and the like.
Incidentally - judging by the ever-slipping standards of English in Malta, the demand for translation will very likely rise in the coming years, not diminish!
Joseph Mizzi
Oct 31st 2010, 19:37
G Cilia
Very well said. These Eur30 million are EU funds being plowed back into the Maltese economy thanks to the industry of Maltese linguists employed with the European institutions, and to the foresight of those who have been promoting Maltese as one of the 23 official languages.
J Micallef
Oct 31st 2010, 16:09
EU should have one language English. Maybe adopt French as a secondary language but should be it. The rest is all beuracracy and wasted money and displaced nationalism.
Jane Spiteri
Oct 31st 2010, 17:26
J Micallef how about making it Maltese instead of English Micallef? Are you ashamed to be Maltese? Are you not proud of your language?
Franco Farrugia
Nov 1st 2010, 15:59
Good ideas and commonsense are alient to you, I am afraid. Stupid and daft ideas!
ASpiteri
Oct 31st 2010, 14:37
ha nijda bil-malti mela...
xeba flus u pagi al xejn!
MEPS jitkelmu bil-malti fi brussels bix hadd ma jati kasom!
M. Debono
Oct 31st 2010, 14:53
By the time EU documents are translated into Maltese, they have already been read in their English version by those who care. Which means that this is just all a colossal waste of time and money. I don't know how most Maltese feel but I certainly do not need my language to become an official EU language in order for me to feel equal to people from other EU countries.
Anthony Zerafa
Oct 31st 2010, 16:03
ASpiteri hemm eluf kbar ta' ħaddiema jieħdu l-pagi għalxejn mal-UE. DIn qed tara zejda Spiteri? Ahna l-ilsien taghna daqs ta' haddiehor u ghandu jibqa' jinghata l-istess importanza daqs l-ilsna l-ohra.
S Zammit
Oct 31st 2010, 14:29
Call me unpatriotic, but to me all that money into translations that are hardly being used is a lot of waste. Multiply that by the other minor languages in the EU and its even more waste. Our language is our language, I don't speak any other at home with my children. However we do work in english, search the web in english, read technical text in english, study in english, present in english, communicate textualy in english and even lookup EU text in english.
We also have to realise we're not on our own within the EU. All EU peoples should understand this. Today or tomorrow we will be communicating in a single language anyway. I really believe that one day, with all this globalisation going on the whole world will have a common working language.
Rather than being proud that our language made it to the EU, we should be proud that our language is unique to us Maltese and can be used between us wherever we are on the planet. Let's deal with the rest of the world in English! Forcing the Maltese language in all our communication is most surely a lost battle.
Raymond Sammut
Oct 31st 2010, 15:07
You don't sound like someone who is unpatriotic, but you obviously got it all wrong. The reason for these translations is not because we are "patriotic".
These translations into Maltese are meant to be used amongst us (and those who wish to think the same as we do), just like you are saying. You contradict yourself entirely in your last paragraph.
Translations are not mechanistic processes (or at least they are not meant to be). They are thought processes. This is where you, and many others like you, are getting it all wrong.
Each time you are forced to think in English --or in some other language-- other than your native language, you are being put at a disadvantage. It's a situation which one may need to resist, especially where "law" (and hence one's own interests) is involved.
S Zammit
Oct 31st 2010, 23:40
Unfortunately we've been forced to think in english at school. I can only speak for myself and in my case i studied most subjects in english, i read most book in english. I personally feel more comfortable reading law in English on the gov.mt website (english is the default language!) if i have to. Reading such things in Maltese sounds way too detatched from the language I use everyday. I would have to translate that Maltese to my maltese anyway. I happen to feel more disadvantaged if I'm not reading the same language as other EU citizens.
Again i don't think we can stop the inevitable. We have to be realistic.
George Cassar
Oct 31st 2010, 12:40
SO WHAT. THEY WASTE AND SQUANDER SO MANY BILLIONS.
J. Borg
Oct 31st 2010, 12:15
investing a fraction of the Eur.30m into effective measures to raise the standard of Maltese locally and assisting writers and publishers - would serve the long-term interest of our language much more than the EU translations that nearly nobody reads!
But it seems that we are after form rather than substance....
Raymond Sammut
Oct 31st 2010, 13:36
"Nobody reads" is inaccurate. For example, no-one ever reads more than a third of a dictionary's content (typically). At the same time, no-one can underestimate the importance of dictionaries.
These translations are of referential, but durable, material. What is essential here is that whenever some section is referenced and read (by whoever), the message conveyed is strictly in accordance with the way the Maltese mind operates. The fact is that Maltese people think in different ways from the way Europeans do. This is precious to us, and it's in our interest to preserve this national feature.
Raymond Sammut
Oct 31st 2010, 11:36
The fact that "jargon" creeps in in these translations clearly indicates that we, as a people, are not thinking all that well when we try to relate with our European counterparts. The larger the extent of jargon content, the less clear we are in our minds on what EU laws stand for and how they affect Malta's interests. This gap should serve as a warning. Reducing jargon would bring our thinking closer to the understanding needed to secure Malta's positioning in all the legal aspects within the EU. Eliminating jargon, and ensuring that Maltese phrases used genuinely reflect the way Maltese people think, is a clear obligation of those who are in charge of these translations.
Ramon Casha
Nov 1st 2010, 05:24
No, there is jargon in every language - including English - where laws are concerned.