Uffiċċju tal-Front u Uffiċċju tal-Back

Uffiċċju tal-Front

Uffiċċju tal-Back

That’s how Identity Malta has translated ‘front office’ and ‘back office’ on its official website. How is this sane? Uffiċċju tal-Front means something else altogether in Maltese, because ‘front’ actually is a Maltese word, except that it doesn’t mean anything like what it does in English.

And if you are going to translate ‘back office’ and ‘front office’ into Maltese, why translate only ‘office’? Why not go the whole dumb hog and say ‘Uffiċċju tal-faccata’ and ‘Uffiċċju ta’ wara l-kwinti’?

Or, if that sounds way too ambivalent, how about doing away with literal translations altogether, and calling them ‘Uffiċċju miftuħ għall-pubbliku’ and ‘Uffiċċju administrattiv (mhux miftuħ ghall-pubbliku)’ – which is exactly what front and back office mean?