Tony C. Cutajar, San Ġwann
Bad Maltese
I was so pleased to notice on timesofmalta.com, following my letter Bad Maltese (December 2), that an increasing number of people are really concerned about the bad use of the Maltese language in our media, whether written or spoken.
I can assure them that in my novels I never use such words as teacher, birthday, parents, bathroom, etc. as people do when they speak on TV when we have the equivalent in our language. And I certainly never dream of using such ugly words as bajsikil, woxmaxin and xelta when we have proper words for them. However, words like wiski and brandi are accepted as much as kejk and kowt since we don’t have the equivalent in Maltese.
I do agree with some correspondents that the Akkademja tal-Malti and/or the Broadcasting Authority should take things more seriously where our language is concerned and even penalise somehow those who don’t abide by their regulations.
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Jacob J. Micallef
Dec 14th 2011, 23:54
Nitlobkom kollha biex tressqu s-suġġerimenti tagħkom lill-Kunzill Nazzjonali tal-Ilsien Malti għalix bħalissa qed issir ħidma intensiva fejn qed jiġu miġbura kliem (ħafna minnu Ingliz / Amerikan) li qed jew ġa daħal fil-Malti.
Dan kif ħa jinkiteb? liem kliem ħa niktbuħ kif jinħass bħal "kompjuter", "Televixin" eċċ u liem kliem ħa nħallu miktub bl-Ingliż. Eż: "Fire extinguisher" ħa niktbuha "fajer ekstingwixer"? jekk le, kif ħa tinkiteb u jekk ħa nivvintaw kelma oħra flokha, il-poplu - li dejjem uża l-verżjoni Ingliża, ħa jaċċetta l-kelma l-ġdida (eż: Teffiħ in-nar) jew xi kelma oħra.
Nitlobkom tiftakru li kliem li llum il-ġurnata hu aċċettat bħal "gowl", "futbol" eċċ xi darba kien ġdid u ħasad lil min rah qabilna iġifieri li kliem bħal "skennja", "ittre" - email, "issejvja" u oħrajn, huwa normali li għall-bidu ħa jaħsdu xi ftit jew forsi xi ħafna :) Jien personalment kelma bħal "fajer ekstingwixer" tweġġani e! Imma flimkien mal-kollegi tal-kors tiegħi qed niddiskutu u nipprovaw niġġeneraw ideat biex jittressqu u jitqajmu fit-taħdidit tal-kunsill Nazzjonali tal-Ilsien Malti.
Billi targumentaw (mhux f'sens negattiv) - (avolja hemm ċerti kummenti personali), m'aħna ħa naslu mkien l-aħwa.
Ma qrajtx il-kummenti kollha iġifieri jekk hemm xi kumment simili jew identiku għal tiegħi, mela allura skużawni ħlejtilkom il-ħin...uijja wħud minkom jqattgħu l-ġurnata tagħhom jaqraw il-kummenti tan-nies iġifieri swejt għal xi wħud in any case;) - ittraduċu dik ħirows :p
G G Debono
Dec 13th 2011, 15:09
Just another point - -
RE "..........YES, if (a German speaker ) does not speak English he is more likely to read it as 'brovzer' rather than 'brawzer'...."
Well, most people learn from hearing the language --- so a German would simply say der (it's a male too!) browser - ( ie 'brawzer'..if you like.) and pronounce it correctly from having heard it countless times...
G G Debono
Dec 13th 2011, 15:02
To………………Wally Vella-Zarb (Yesterday, 20:43)
Just in case this thread is still alive.
RE “You still don't get it do you?” and “For the Nth time, Maltese is a PHONETIC language with the letters of its alphabet largely having ONE sound”
Eh ? - - - It’s getting a bit like the queen in Alice in wonderland. ---- when the queen says ‘when I say something I mean what I mean – not what you think I mean!’
Now German (which I speak fluently ) is phonetic (if I understand you correctly) too – it is pronounced exactly as written – unlike, say, French or English.
There also many (probably hundreds) French words in German and they are left as they are !
eg Hotelier Etui Fassade Salon Teint Feuilleton Galerie -Garderobe etc
A few have been converted to german spelling over time (eg krawatte) but most are untouched.
These are mostly pronounced as the original French but some are not and have gradually taken on Grerman pronunciation (Eg Fassade) . The point is that the vast majority are left the same spelling whereas in Malta there are those who try to convert EVERY word into a bastard offspring.
Anyway you agreed with me elsewhere on the point that we seem to be (wrongly) accepting every possible sloppy word - - which is what I wanted to say - - and so we are talking at cross-purposes!
Mr l. theuma
Dec 13th 2011, 12:25
Nobody can transmit that which he does'nt master.
Members of the Akkademja tal-Malti should first master the language themselves relying on the rules laid down by their pedicessors and not changing them to suit their egoistic authority ignoring the merit of those who sacrificed their time to built up our language.
Steve Sant
Dec 12th 2011, 20:11
Exactly right, who comes up with this ridiculous words, taken from English and malticised ? I mean when we needed a word for bus, the Maltese chose a funny yet our own word to describe the "Xarabank". Why don't we do the same with words for 'mouse and any word related with a computer, Goal and a lot more football words including the latter. Why not associate or come up with our own genuine words instead.
Wally Vella-Zarb
Dec 12th 2011, 20:54
Pardon my intrusion but the word 'xarabank' is the Maltese writing that reproduces the sound of the French "char à bancs" : char, coach, carriage (from Old French, cart) + à, with (from Latin ad, toward) + bancs, benches, pl. of banc (from Old French). Until quite recently, the word 'xarabank' was commonly used, especially in Gozo, instead of the English word 'bus' which, as you are probably aware, sounds exactly like the Maltese word for 'wind' that is best let loose!
Joseph Micallef
Dec 13th 2011, 09:56
The reason why is that words are not born that way! Words are not coined artificially, and when they are, they are mostly rejected, such as the artificial word "mitjar" - which is only used on the media but nowhere else!
Giovann Demartino
Dec 12th 2011, 17:45
Erbat ijiem ohra jisparixxi l-Malti minn wicc l-art. Idhlu f-dipartimenti tal-gvern, bank lokali, ghasses tal-puluzija, sptarijiet, kull xorta ta' ufficcju jew post fejn jintllaqghu in-nies, avvizi, jaghmilhom min jaghhmilhom,, IKUNU XI JKUNU L-ISTRUZZJONIJIeT... reklami tal-Maltin, ghall-Maltin u fuq gazzetti Maltin u fuq radjijiet u TV's, Jekk taraw xi haga bil-Malti minn dawn, uruhieli. Anki l-istess magazines li johorgu mal-gazzetti Maltin -li zgur jixtruhom BISS il-Maltin - xorta jkunu bl-Ingliz.
Ms Joyce Grech
Dec 12th 2011, 18:18
Nahseb li ridt tghid rivisti mhux magazines!!
Joseph Micallef
Dec 12th 2011, 19:36
Ms. Grech. Magazines kelma ingliza, u rivisti minn "riviste" mit-taljan!
G G Debono
Dec 12th 2011, 16:01
Just as a matter of interest here are a few words (mostly letter B) which are accepted as they are in German - - -
Action (also Action film ! ) Aids Airbag Airbrush Airline Airport Alcopop American Way of Life Analyst Annual Report Assembler Audio-Book Audio-Stream Babysitter Beefsteak Bestseller bodybuilding Brain-Drain Brainstorming browser Business Business as usual Business-Class
The list is endless - many of these do have a German alternative but most do not – yet these have not been disfigured by changing their spelling as our linguists love to do in Malta ! All that has been done is to allocate a gender – this die Action (F) or das Beefsteak (neuter) etc
Now according to Mr Wally Vella Zarb’s argument “browser” would be pronounced ‘brovzer’ by a german – but everyubody says (the english version) browser.
Wally Vella-Zarb
Dec 12th 2011, 20:43
"Now according to Mr Wally Vella Zarb’s argument “browser” would be pronounced ‘brovzer’ by a german – but everyubody says (the english version) browser."
You still don't get it do you? For the Nth time, Maltese is a PHONETIC language with the letters of its alphabet largely having ONE sound. German is NOT. As for how a German would read the English word 'browser', YES, if he does not speak English he is more likely to read it as 'brovzer' rather than 'brawzer'. I still remember a coach driver in Austria who was complaining that English passengers always wanted him to drive slowly. He did not speak much English. What he said while referring to them sounded like "Immer zlov! Immer zlov!"
G G Debono
Dec 12th 2011, 15:34
To ………………Wally Vella-Zarb(Today, 14:22)
Sorry Wally I beg to differ. I don’t really buy any of your arguments !
RE “……Maltese is, unlike English, French, Italian or German, largely phonetic………..letters in our alphabet have a totally different sound……… in other languages” “ letter 'C' …………letter combination
'C' in Cat, nor of that in Cake” (isn’t the “C” bit tikka?)
So what ??
You could say the same for French or English. For instance “penchant” would be pronounced PEN-Chent in English but we say paaanchaaaan(t) (or whatever).
And “w” is pronounced ‘v’ in German and “y” (rarely used) is pronounced ‘oo’ in German (and scandinavianm languages) so whisky would theoretically sound like “viskoo” but everybody is happy & has no problem with the original English pronunciation.
Re - - - uisge beatha" interesting…………….. But - so what? Like any language English has evolved from a great number of languages. But if whisky has now become an international word in its original spelling why do WE have to fiddle with it in Malta when everybody understands it as it is? After all “Whisky” it has embedded it self happily in practically every language – so why not Maltese ? (after all, wiski had been a drink originally brewed in Malta .... other nations would accept its spelling as wiski, - - - don't most english people who live here in the old days will refer to0 "karrozin" and not "currotsin" or hansom cab or whatever)
IN any case, what I am railing against is the whole-sale importation of words resulting from SLOPPY Maltese. Of course there are many words (thankfully latin/Italian from next door) which have crept gradually into Maltese and become part of it – like our Karrozzin or "lembut" from imbuto - both from Italian - - - but what we have now are mostly gratuitous, unnecessary wishy- washy new words for which we already have a valid word. - and our so-called linguists are making a joke of Maltese by immediately altering their spelling.. Two unfortunate clumsy words are iddajilja and ikklikja - instead of simply ghazel and ghafas.
For decades, we have had nice-n-easy ‘rota’ for bicycle why discard it?
Wally Vella-Zarb
Dec 12th 2011, 20:01
Mr Debono, in the Maltese alphabet there is ONLY a C "bit-tikka" (Ċ); the letter C (without the 'tikka') does not exist! The sound of the English letter K (as in 'key' - or 'Cake' for that matter) would ALWAYS be written as K in Maltese. The letter Y as mentioned earlier, just does not exist in OUR alphabet. Contrary to what you and many others seem to think, the Germans do NOT pronounce the letter 'W' as 'V'. What for us is a 'double U' for them is a 'double vee'. Their letter V sounds more like our letter F. German is not phonetic; their letters do not always have the same sound as ours. Granted that we all use the same sound for the Scottish / Irish drink; we just cannot write it in the same manner because that would turn our orthography upside down!
As for "railing against (is) the whole-sale importation of words resulting from SLOPPY Maltese" I am with you 100% on that, as evidenced throughout my continual contributions on the matter. Unfortunately, the atrocities that are regularly uttered on the media by popular presenters (who, incidentally, do not appreciate the difference between popularity and quality) tend to be mopped up by the lazy members of the population. Expressions like "Żid il-kaler mal-likwid u mmiksja tajjeb" are enough to make one weep!
Please do continue to stand up for our dear language but always keep in mind that we have our own alphabet that has to be used according to our own language's rules of orthography.
Daniel J. Spiteri
Dec 12th 2011, 14:58
Tinsewx li hemm nies bhali bil-problemi fil-Malti. Jien tjibt ghax sirt naqra iktar bil-Malti. Jekk ktibt hazin, ghiduli.
Joseph Micallef
Dec 12th 2011, 13:56
I keep wondering how we should write "to download" properly ie "niddawnlowdja"! Does it exist actually? I mean one may tell me we should use "innizzel" but is it really the same thing? Woudln't that really translate into "Bring down" instead of "download"? Can someone illuminate me?
Wally Vella-Zarb
Dec 12th 2011, 15:38
When you download you are effectively bringing a virtual load down. There is nothing wrong in saying "Niżżilt minn fuq l’internet". What I strongly dislike is the neologism "Nissejvja". Saving to a disk is more akin to storing (e.g., material inside a space) than 'saving' (e.g., money in a bank). I therefore prefer to use the word "Naħżen", which portrays the action and the effect without any ambiguity.
But who am I to tell the 'experts' what to do? ;-)
G G Debono
Dec 12th 2011, 13:55
To…………….A. Tonna (Today, 12:15)
RE “Maltese………….blatantly copied from the Arabs”
Copied ??? Inherited, maybe…
RE “……………with a few add-ons from Italian and French…..”
This was part of the ongoing gradual evolution of Maltese. Further sophistication resulted from the intervention of writers and academics. THE POINT IS THIS: until more recently, any interference, if any, from academics was done sensitively so that our language has retained its beauty - but, it must be repeated, only until recently.
Over past recent decades, there has been a significant contemporary threat to most languages through so-called ‘westernisation’ – and Malta was not spared. On the contrary, the door to this threat seems to have been thrown wide open in Malta by so-called linguists and academicians who seem to be bent on destroying Maltese by facilitating the intrusion of foreign elements into Maltese to an excessive degree.
And so we get abominations like bejbi etc which are unneccary as we have a good word already.
RE “…………..Why do you force us Maltese……..to find an equivalent from the language we copied for the most part from the Arabs?? .. ..”
Nobody is forcing you. The problem is the low standard of spoken Maltese on our media and obsession with respelling every word.
By all means continue with a “sensible” mix of our languages ..with your brethren…….and call a whisky a whisky but, pleeeeezzz NOT WISKI because this word an English (Scottish?) word.
That’s all – orrajt ! - - - er …. Sorry, maybe what I wanted to say is OK ? but NOT “ew-kaj” !)
G G Debono
Dec 12th 2011, 13:54
To…………….A. Tonna (Today, 12:15)
RE “Maltese………….blatantly copied from the Arabs”
Copied ??? Inherited, maybe…
RE “……………with a few add-ons from Italian and French…..”
This was part of the ongoing gradual evolution of Maltese. Further sophistication resulted from the intervention of writers and academics. THE POINT IS THIS: until more recently, any interference, if any, from academics was done sensitively so that our language has retained its beauty - but, it must be repeated, only until recently.
Over past recent decades, there has been a significant contemporary threat to most languages through so-called ‘westernisation’ – and Malta was not spared. On the contrary, the door to this threat seems to have been thrown wide open in Malta by so-called linguists and academicians who seem to be bent on destroying Maltese by facilitating the intrusion of foreign elements into Maltese to an excessive degree.
And so we get abominations like bejbi etc which are unneccary as we have a good word already.
RE “…………..Why do you force us Maltese……..to find an equivalent from the language we copied for the most part from the Arabs?? .. ..”
Nobody is forcing you. The problem is the low standard of spoken Maltese on our media and obsession with respelling every word.
By all means continue with a “sensible” mix of our languages ..with your brethren…….and call a whisky a whisky but, pleeeeezzz NOT WISKI because this word an English (Scottish?) word.
That’s all – orrajt ! - - - er …. Sorry, maybe what I wanted to say is OK ? but NOT “ew-kaj” !)
G G Debono
Dec 12th 2011, 13:30
I agree with what you say. Er…well, nearly all ! - - -
I simply cannot understand how any right-minded person can accept abominations such as wiski, kejk etc
This leads me to suspect that you are also infected by the ghastly obsession with converting spelling of certain words unnecessarily - which is ruining Maltese.
Therefore while I agree with you about bajsikil, woxmaxin and xelta - I disagree strongly about wiski kejk or that disgusting yukky word kowt !
I am no linguist but I am fluent in the major Eruopean Languages from having had to speak them over almost 3 decades while working abroad - and so feel qualified to comment. If we take whisky; this is whisky in FRENCH it is whisky in ITALIAN and it is whisky in GERMAN. What is difficult to understand is this obsession with changing the spelling.There are hundreds of authentic English words which are used in spoken and written German and conversely even more German and French words which are current in English – both spoken and written – this includes thoroughly German words like schadenfreude and weltschmerz or french words like amour proper or penchant. No English loopy linguists have ever tried to convert this spelling. Now how do you explain the obsession of our Allademja Maltin to convert EVERY possible word which has crept into Maltese as a result of the abysmally low standard of most of our radio and TV media and all that awful whacky westernised Maltese which is being propagated by them?
Wiski is an abomination – please let us say whisky and no nonsense about it. Finally linguists are not language designers. Rather than indulging in the stupidity of fiddling around with spelling they should be protecting Maltese against erosion from low standard of our media -
WHY DIDN'T THE AKKADEMJA MAKE A FUSS WHEN RADJU BRONJA WAS REMOVED ? This was the only source of good Maltese and it should have been added to - not removed.
y
Wally Vella-Zarb
Dec 12th 2011, 14:22
Mr Debono, my compliments for being "fluent in the major Eruopean Languages". What you need to learn now is that Maltese is, unlike English, French, Italian or German, largely phonetic. Some of the letters in our alphabet have a totally different sound to those that are similarly written in other languages. Our letter 'C' has the sound of the letter combination 'CH' in the English words 'Church' , Lurch or Birch - but not as in 'Loch'. It does not sound like the 'C' in Cat, nor of that in Cake. Writing 'Cake' in Maltese would elicit a sound like the Maltese word for Pebbles!
Other letters simply do not exist in our alphabet; one of them is the letter 'Y'. How then would we pronounce a letter that, as far as our language is concerned, does not exist? Note that in some other languages even the letter 'Y' has a different sound; in Russian it sounds like 'U'..
Whisky or whiskey should be, quite correctly 'Wiski' in Maltese. After all, transliteration is what the English resorted to when they absorbed the Gaelic "uisge beatha". Why is it OK for them to change the spelling but not for us? ;-)
A. Tonna
Dec 12th 2011, 12:15
In my humble opinion, “Language” is there for one purpose only !! It is there to communicate with others.
The Maltese population has primarily 2 languages at their disposable. One is English, spoken by millions and inherited from the British, and the other is Maltese that we blatantly copied from the Arabs with a few add-ons from Italian and French.
My point is this:
1) Why do you force us Maltese to always find an equivalent from the language we copied for the most part from the Arabs?? .. ..
2) How in the name of the Lord do you intend “ to penalise those who don’t abide by their (and seemingly your) regulations? - quite a treacherous imposition if you ask me!!)
3) If by means of a sensible mix of our languages, I am communicating successfully with my brethren, then please let me be!
Although well within your rights, my opinion is that, your insistence on using “an equivalent in Arabic cum Maltese” <or else be damned and punished> is probably born out of a totally misplaced partisan stance that is irrelevant in today’s “Practical” world.
Having said all of the above, I am well prepared to absorb the undoubted pointless onslaught from our SPMIA. <Stanch Purist Maltese Idealist Association>. They all relish a piece of “The Patriotic Cake”
Bongu my friend, stammi bene, healthy u relaxed .. All the rest is secondary.. ..
G G Debono
Dec 12th 2011, 15:38
A small point
Re "(Maltese) is there to communicate with others.
But surely it is better to communicate nicely ?
And there is, of course, poetry literature.......... which put us well above monkeys etc.
AnnMarie Pawley
Dec 12th 2011, 16:18
'at their disposal'
Claire Busuttil
Dec 12th 2011, 12:10
Regarding this matter, please Arriva Malta, can you correct the spelling in your MIN and MINN in the conditions of boarding, fixed at the back of the driver`s seat??
Joseph Micallef
Dec 12th 2011, 13:18
What about the word "Switċ" pasted at the rear end of each Arriva bus when it should be "Swiċċ"?
Mr Peter Barbara
Dec 12th 2011, 10:29
The situation has grown so abysma lon the local TV channels and especially on radio, that I rarely tune in or view certain discussion programmes where so called experts flaunt their knowledge of anything and everything under the sun and shoot themselves in the foot whilst expressing themselves in manglish.