Words have specific meaning and should be chosen carefully

The Nationalist Party’s daily newspaper, In-Nazzjon, in its print edition today, carries a front page story describing the Icelandic prime minister, in a headline, as the “first victim” (“l-ewwel vittma”) of Panama Papers.

VICTIM, REALLY? In English he would be the first casualty, not the first victim. But Maltese has no word for that so to make things easier, writers reach for the most convenient word and use that, without a thought for the loaded meaning of ‘victim’ and all that is implicit in it.

People who write in Maltese have to come to terms with the fact that the language has an extremely restricted vocabulary, and that the solution to this, for the sake of accuracy, is not using one word to serve several purposes, thereby changing or losing the meaning of what you wish to say, but using several words to describe something for which there is no single word. Yes, I know this is frustrating and tedious and needs more thought, but it has to be done.

In this case, it would have to be “Il-prim ministru tal-Islanda hu l-ewwel li jaqa’ fl-iskandlu tal-Panama Papers” (the first to go down/fall).