No prizes in this competition
Does anyone out there have any idea what the Labour spokesman on youth and culture meant by this title? I tried translating it literally into Maltese, to work out whether it’s a literal translation into English, and still no joy. The closest I can come is some confusion over the expression ‘putting X out to grass’. But then there’s a reference to shattered glass at the end of the piece: “Not caring for your native language is like looking at the world through shattered glass.” I don’t know what that means, either. I just don’t get the metaphor. I know plenty of people who don’t care about their language or any other one, for that matter (most of them seem to work as ghost-writers for politicians) and they see just fine.
The Times, Wednesday, 7th January 2009
Putting glass to the Maltese language
Owen BonniciIt seems that by and large, the Maltese society shared the same feeling of utter disgust that I felt at the idea that the Maltese language could not be used during an official European conference on languages, held at the European Parliament, because of lack of translators.
Let me put it straight. The government should be ashamed that after nearly five full years of European Union membership it is still allowing the Maltese language to be treated as a kind of third class language in the EU. It is not only a question of nationalism but, an issue of holding our heads high about being Maltese and, even more so Maltese in Europe.
Truth is there is more to Maltese than it merely being an official language of the EU. Of course, placing Maltese among the 23 official languages of the EU is an important feat but Maltese did not need this “stamp” of approval to certify it as one of the most exciting languages in Europe. Its beauty literally speaks for itself.
For the benefit of foreigners who might be reading this article, Maltese is the epitome of inter-cultural dialogue in that it is structurally unique and rich, embracing two apparently distinct worlds: the Semitic and Latin worlds. Irrespective of the fact that it is spoken by fewer than half a million people worldwide, Maltese per se is every linguist’s dream and music to the ears.
There’s yet another dimension. In a world where globalisation is slowly turning peoples and nations into a pallid imitation of each other, distinguishing factors like native languages are the buttresses that trumpet the diversity and richness of each and every other people.
And we Maltese, the smallest people in the EU in terms of numbers, have an extraordinary language that makes us stand out from the rest. It is time to realise that we need to promote and celebrate our own language, not only for culture’s sake, but also for our own good as a nation. Of course, we need to do so within the context of bilingualism.
I am sick and tired of seeing us ditching the Maltese language, even in the smallest, mundane things like filling a cheque in English with no provision of “cheque templates” in Maltese or the government placing a sign near a public building or a monument exclusively in English when the two languages could have been used next to each other. In a country where even the authority which has the aim of promoting and preserving our patrimony as a country is named in English (I am referring to Heritage Malta), I really believe that us lawmakers should use the force of law to implement regulations aimed at increasing respect to our mother language within the context of a bilingual nation.
We need a Maltese Language Act. We need a law that would create a regulatory authority promoting the use of Maltese and ensuring compliance with a basic set of rules, like obliging all organisations and quangos in the public sector providing services to the public to treat Maltese and English on an equal basis in everything they do. And, why not? It would also be a good idea to give this authority power to scold journalists who repeatedly use horrendous Maltese in their stories!
Ludwig Wittgenstein, the famous philosopher of language, said that had we spoken a different language we would have perceived a somewhat different world. This is the extent of the impact of our language on the world as we see it.
Not caring for your native language is like looking at the world through shattered glass.
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He may have meant gloss. Yet another misprint?
“…because of (a) lack of translators…” or lack of interpreters??? surely such a budding politician and recently graduated lawyer (who I am sure sat most of his University exams in English) should know the difference…
apart from that….stop taking cheap shots at the government….there’s so much more you can criticise this Government for! And there are so many other possible reasons for the lack of translators…most of which are totally not under the control of the Maltese government…
yaaaaaaawwwwnnn…..our “new” political class….some imagination please!..and some English language lessons while you’re at it….
[Daphne – Yes. The greatest problem, according to the people whose job it is to recruit translators from Malta, for Luxembourg at least, is the fact that they can’t find anyone to do the job. Some individuals actually accept, then – I’m sorry, but this is typically Maltese lack of awareness on how to behave – don’t turn up on the appointed day. When the Luxembourg office calls them to find out what’s happened, they’re told: “Oh, I decided not to take the job, after all.” What, and you don’t bother to call and say so? Unbelievable.]
Luxembourg’s population corresponds roughly to Malta’s population. Wikipedia offers following:
[Three languages are recognised as official in Luxembourg: French, German, and Luxembourgish, a Franconian language of the Moselle region very similar to the local German dialect spoken in the neighbouring part of Germany, except that it includes more borrowings from French. So in principle Luxembourgish is a High German dialect with the status of a national language. Apart from being one of the three official languages, Luxembourgish is also considered the national language of the Grand Duchy; it is the mother tongue or “language of the heart” for nearly all Luxembourgers. ……]
Why is it that Maltese nationals on/in Malta wish to flaunt their Maltese to a higher degree than that to which the citizens of Luxembourg aspire for their Luxembourgish?
I have a nasty feeling that a “correct” Maltese is being invented on the hoof, one possible reason being provision and facilitation for the Maltese translators/interpreters now working for the EU.
I beg pardon because another reason could be that “little things please little minds”.
‘Putting gloss on the Maltese language’ ? (I’m being very imaginative here). Or maybe it’s a class issue – ‘giving the Maltese language class’ ? The reference to shattered glass is beyond me though.
I got curious since there is a phrase from Wittgenstein in the German language regarding a fly in a glass.
I found that English text below in the internet.
I am not quite sure if it’s the missing link to Mr Bonnici’s
article.
Way Out
by Dirk Vaughan
“To show the fly the way out of the bottle was the life’s hope of Ludwig Wittgenstein, but the truth is that human beings don’t want a way out of the bottle; we are captivated, enthralled by the interior of the bottle; its glassy sides caress and console us; its glassy sides are the perimeters of our experience and our aspiration; the bottle is our skin, our soul; we are accustomed to the visual distortions of the glass; we do not wish to see clearly, without the barrier of the glass; we could not breathe a fresher air; we could not survive outside the bottle.”
Found it: Looking-glass!
http://muse.jhu.edu/login?uri=/journals/philosophy_and_literature/v031/31.1may.html
There goes my respect for Owen Bonnici. ‘Extraordinary language’, ‘makes us stand out’, ‘epitome’ … the man needs to get out a bit more. I hope for Owen Bonnici’s good that the ‘authority with the power to scold’ will limit itself to Maltese. Should they broaden their brief to include English, he’s in for a very sound scolding indeed. Pathetic.
PS: Anyone seen a buttress trumpet of late?
The nerve of this fellow. First he fights to keep us out of the EU, so that anyone who might have become a translator wasn’t sure if they’d be in Brussels or on the dole come referendum day. Then he puts the blame on the government.
And then there’s the overused feeling of “utter disgust” at an insignificant little incident, which has occurred countless times due to practical reasons (how many interpreters can you recruit out of a pool of 400 000?). Disappointment perhaps, but utter disgust? We’re the EU’s petulant spoilt brats, what.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe it is the editor who comes up with the title of an opinion piece. As you pointed out, it is undoubtedly a reference to the last sentence in the article… not sure what Mr Bonnici meant by it, though. Perhaps he was watching the movie “Shattered Glass” while writing the piece.
[Daphne – It is standard newspaper practice in the western world at least for sub-editors, not editors, to write headings. But with opinion pieces in Malta, it’s usually the writer who does it, and it’s changed only if it is considered inappropriate, or if it doesn’t fit the space.]
I’m pretty sure he meant “Putting a glass to the Maltese language” … as in “looking glass” … as in “mirror” … as in “let’s carry out some self-analysis”.
The mind boggles… could it be he meant something on the lines of ‘holding a mirror up to the Maltese language’? As in mirror = looking glass? Although that doesn’t make much sense either…
maybe it’s a really babelfish-esque translation of “nitfghu lenti [fuq]”?
Maybe Dr Bonnici wants to protect the Maltese language by encasing it in glass – a sort of semi-literal translation from the Maltese “iqeghdha f’bozza”?
As for the actual theme of his article, we are now feeling the after-effects of the government’s nonsensical patriotic (?) achievement (??) in having Maltese declared an official language. Let’s face it, we speak and understand English. When I attend EU committee meetings, I receive minutes in Maltese, but sometimes they are so convoluted, that I find it easier and more practical to resort to the English version.
[Daphne – I don’t think it was done for the sake of patriotism, but was a case of needs must when the devil drives. They did it because it helped swing the opinion of some nay-sayers. In that respect, I agree with the efforts made, because anything that brought more Yes votes into the equation was welcome. But I would have dropped the whole thing quietly afterwards. As you say, practically every Maltese person who knows English prefers to read English to Maltese when it comes to documents of this nature. English is better suited to them, and so easier to read. There’s another reason why, which I brought up elsewhere on this blog a couple of days ago: English is read by word recognition, like Chinese characters. That means you only have to glance at a sentence to pick up its meaning instantly. Maltese, on the other hand, is read syllable by syllable, which takes much longer.]
I think he meant a showcase – a glass cover over something valuable
By some stretch of the imagination, could Owen Bonnici have meant putting the Maltese language under glass to protect it as one would do to a museum piece for example?
@ Leo Said
Luxembourgish is a German dialect – Maltese is a language with its own grammar and literature.
[Daphne – Actually, it is as Arabic as Luxembourgish is German.]
It’s not the EU’s fault if there aren’t enough Maltese translators and interpreters so I cannot see what Dr Bonnici is going on about when he laments that “The government should be ashamed that . . . . it is still allowing the Maltese language to be treated as a kind of third class language in the EU.”
Oh well. I’m not exactly worried because I cannot make any sense of what Owen Bonnici says.
I don`t think this is either a misprint or even a misunderstanding of an English expression. It would seem that, in his questionable wisdom, Owen Bonnici is not in fact trying to use a recognised metaphor but is attempting to coin one of his own. I`d say he just about got away with the “Not caring for your native language is like looking at the world through shattered glass.” In terms of comprehensibility if little else.
However, not content with that, he got got cocky and overstretched himself, pushing himself right off into the semantic abyss with the “putting glass to the Maltese language” in the title. If not caring about your native language is like looking at the world through “broken glass” then surely what you need to do is replace the broken glass around your native language, not “put glass” to it.
Why do you need any glass around your native language anyway? Can`t you look at it as it is without any glass covering? Is he afraid his native language is going to get cold or wet or something?
I tend to agree with Peter. Perhaps he was trying to be (too) clever and was making an allusion to the Lewis Carroll classic! If so, the heading should have read “Through the Looking Glass: The Maltese Language” or “The Maltese Language Through the Looking Glass”.
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Through+the+Looking-Glass%2c+and+What+Alice+Found+There
“Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (1871) is a work of children’s literature by Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson), generally categorized as literary nonsense. It is the sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, although it makes no reference to its events. In it, there are many mirror themes, including opposites, time running backwards, and so on.”
@ Daphne
[Daphne – I don’t think it was done for the sake of patriotism, but was a case of needs must when the devil drives. They did it because it helped swing the opinion of some nay-sayers. …]
I used to think this way until quite recently, until the topic came up at the dinner table, and I was convinced otherwise. It’s true that those who are actually reading EU texts (be they lawyers, bureaucrats etc …) find it easier to use the English texts, but if we believe in the fundamental right of every individual to be heard, and to be able to plead before a court in one’s mother tongue, then by consequence Maltese HAD to be made an official language of the EU. I rankle when I think of the huge dent this principle causes in our precious tax-money, but we either believe in fundamental principles of justice or we don’t. Cettina from Qrendi, who can speak and understand nothing but Maltese needs to have the same rights as Wojtek from Warsaw and Gunnhildur from Stockholm.
If we didn’t believe in this principle, then very possibly in Malta we would still be trying people before our Courts in Italian, as we used to do until the late 1930’s. Maltese lawyers (to this day) still speak an Italianate form of legalease, and would probably get things done more quickly if they weren’t hampered with the limitations of having to express themselves in Maltese – but it’s not the needs of the lawyers and the bureaucrats that count here. It’s the needs and rights of the individuals concerned.
It’s a costly principle, but a principle nonetheless.
[Daphne – Oh dear, who told you these things? Which court would that be before which we should have the right to plead in Maltese? If it’s the one in Valletta, then we have that right already. If it’s some sort of European court you’re thinking of, then stop right there: there is no such thing before which you go and actually plead. The stuff goes in writing, and is translated into a language which the judges understand. Please don’t be so gullible when listening to explanations of this nature. It was a pragmatic decision and not an idealistic one. And I find it interesting that an explanation for this crass waste of money hinges on an excuse which is an indirect admission of the failure of our education system, which is still churning out people who understand and speak no other language but Maltese. That’s the real tragedy.]
@ Daphne
Another thing …
“English is read by word recognition, like Chinese characters. That means you only have to glance at a sentence to pick up its meaning instantly. Maltese, on the other hand, is read syllable by syllable, which takes much longer.”
This isn’t entirely true.
Consider these groups of letters:
LBS KSR RQD
Just by glancing at them, most people can easily decipher that they refer to the concept of clothing, breaking and sleeping respectively.
If you jumble the “LBS” combination into “SLB” you can again decipher that the association is now with crosses and no longer with clothing. We’re using the same letters; simply altering their sequence.
Maltese is in fact closer to English than it is to Italian in terms of word-recognition, and is not a phonetically-dependent as you’d think. Just by identifying the order of the three-consonant “gherq”, your brain immediately (and sub-consciously) works out the association with meaning. This obviously doesn’t work for that part of our vocabulary which was derived from non-Semitic sources.
[Daphne – I was referring to entire sentences and paragraphs, not to random words. The fact is that you can’t scan a Maltese sentence in the same way that you can scan an English one, and that’s what people mean when they say they find Maltese ‘tiring’ to read.]
I am a speedreader…I usually finish books in one sitting, and in a matter of hours. I don’t read much Maltese nowadays, but I don’t recall having problems reading it, and certainly not syllable-by-syllable. I remember speed-reading Oliver Friggieri’s Fil-Parlament ma Jikbrux Fjuri.
That said, I also dislike reading official documents in convoluted Maltese that is nothing more than a pidgin dialect of English. The horror is actually finding these words in Maltese books. Niffollowjaw, nimaxxinganjaw. While Friggieri may have rather “pompous” prose, I found his Maltese impeccable. Trevor Zahra’s prose was both down-to-earth and perfect, in my opinion. We need more authors like these.
Given a choice, I prefer using English. I was raised in a bilingual household, and exposed to many books – of both languages, but inevitably, I had, and still have more English books. Not to mention my teenage fascination, nay, obsession with Tolkien’s literature, which contributed to my preference for the Anglo-Saxon tongue. That, and the fact that most of my reading and communication takes place on the Internet nowadays, firmly cements me in the English-speaking camp. I am fluent in both, but I think in English.
[Daphne – Oh my god, a Lord of the Rings anorak…..]
[Daphne – Oh my god, a Lord of the Rings anorak…..]
Now, now, that was an avoidable most cruel remark.
[Daphne – Even Lord of the Rings anoraks know how to laugh at themselves.]
@ Jean Azzopardi. I congratulate you on your teenage obsession with Tolkien. I first met an excerpt from one of his works in a comprehension text book in 1969 and it somehow struck a huge subconscious chord. When I read The Lord of the Rings in the early 70s I became obsessed in my teenage years too. Words cannot describe the genius of the man nor the immense amount of work and dedication he put into his writing. Magnificient, superb, profound, immense…
@ Daphne – What on Middle Earth do you mean by ‘anorak’?
[Daphne – An anorak is somebody obsessed with the minutiae of computers, Lord of the Rings and latterly, computer games involving dark lords and warriors. ‘Lord of the Rings fan’ is a particular type of young/ish male.]
Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, feel free to add to the list…
Don’t worry, I’m used to similar comments. Daphne’s description of anorak fits me to a T, so I’m not offended :P