The Rat of Delimara

Last night TVM covered Din L-Art Helwa’s excellent conversion of the Delimara lighthouse into holiday accommodation. They called it Il-Far ta’ Delimara (the Rat of Delimara).

The Maltese word for lighthouse is fanal. But they took the Italian word for lighthouse, faro, and dropped the final vowel to make a ‘Maltese’ word.

This is the problem when languages are taken over by the partially educated with their limited vocabulary and lack of knowledge of the animal kingdom.

A rat is far.

A mouse is gurdien.

But people in Malta no longer distinguish between mice and rats, even those who grew up speaking only Maltese and in a context where you’d see mice and rats routinely (no aspersions there – I see them routinely myself). They are all grieden/gurdien.

So now the word for rat has become the word for lighthouse and if you wish you can book a stay at the Rat of Delimara.