I want to pass some quick comments on a potpourri of topics that have attracted my attention in the past few days: the spectre of abortion haunting us again, literature, the new English-loanword rules, the Minister for Gozo and the Reġjun Tramuntana’s Malta Christmas Choir Festival – not necessarily in that order.

The new language rules

I am relieved that, finally, we have been given permission to write ex instead of the gruesome eks, and that we can write ‘shock absorber’ instead of ‘xikapsowver’. Thank heaven for small mercies.

That said, at least two things do not seem right to me. The Maltese Language Council, in writing the rules on the use of loan-words from English, made use of grassett and korsiv, when everybody says bold and italics. As they were devising the rules for English loanwords, why not use bowld and ajteliks?

OK, seriously now: what is this novelty with the visual form of the word? There is now a new rule stating that if the word looks more or less the same in English and in Maltese, then write it the Maltese way; if not, then don’t. So, use ħelikopter and kamera only because they look like helicopter and camera, etc. The problem is obviously the plural. With ħelikopters and kameras it’s fine; but what about fridge – friġġ and... brace yourselves... friġis. The problem is compounded because then (I assume) we are being “invited” to write puzzle not pażil and therefore puzzles not pażils.

Yes, puzzled: that’s the word. And I think I’m not the only one. I’m curious to see how our authors will react.

Literature

Loranne Azzopardi won the National Book Prize with her novel Rokit. I must admit I have not read it yet, so I do not have an opinion on the novel. But I was struck by the interview she gave TVM in which she said that she expects critics to react to the latest literature. What struck me actually was her insistence on the need of authors to have “feedback”.

Ms Azzopardi is right: art is bi-directional. The artist makes a statement expecting both public and critics to make a counter-statement. If the writer manages to strike the right chords, the public will react by buying the book and critics by reviewing it. The reaction gives the psychological satisfaction the writer seeks – essentially what Ms Azzopardi was referring to.

When critics are silent, it means there are (to my mind, at least) two alternative explanations: either the book itself is not relevant to the collective unconscious at the time of its publication, or else literature as a whole is no longer relevant.

For a novel to be successful, it has to provide either pure entertainment (plot-driven) or deep satisfaction (character-driven).

Dan Brown’s pot-boilers, for instance, are not worth a dime in literary terms because they are essentially a plot: there is no insight into the psychology of the characters. Gabriel García Márquez’s novels, on the other hand, are works of genius because they take us on a psychological journey (spiced up with those wonderful plot twists that provide the magic in his magic realism). Both Brown and Gabo are reviewed, but Brown is not taken seriously, whereas Gabo is regarded as one of the best novelists of the last century.

But the public too reacted: Brown’s The Da Vinci Code sold 80 million copies; Gabo’s One Hundred Years of Solitude, 50 million. There are many reasons for this enormous success of two books that are so inherently different: stylistically, thematically and even from the point of view of the craft of writing. The most important reason is that they somehow resonated with a psychological need on the part of the public.

In the case of Brown, it is probably the widespread dilemma with regard to institutionalised religion. In the case of of Gabo, it is not just that Gabo paints lush literary landscapes of his native corner of the world, but that what he writes is at once universal. Just consider the scene when Colonel Buendía, one of the leaders of the civil war between the conservatives and the liberals, explains that ultimately they’re doing it just for their pride.

Then again, it might also be that literature is no longer serving its historical purpose: as a vehicle for the bourgeoisie to experience the cultural symptoms of political events. An example of this historical role is the disappearance of the father figure from French novels following the beheading of the French King.

If, indeed, literature is going down the path of redundancy, then writers should not invite critics to review, but should instead retreat into self-analysis to discover whatever needs to be discovered.

Childhood’s Garden

Last Monday, Ħaż-Żebbuġ Local Council (re-)opened Childhood’s Garden (Ġnien it-Tfulija), inviting to the event the Minister for Transport and the Parliamentary Secretary for Local Government. The latter delivered a speech which I liked. It is PS Parnis who made that courageous declaration in the House some time back, that he is not in politics for the money. He was obviously referring to that other MP, the honorary Panamanian, who is into the opening of secret companies. But let us not deviate from the opening of public gardens.

Reacting to the fact that the Garden offers free Wi-Fi, Mr Parnis observed that free Wi-Fi has pervaded our lives, erecting walls around each one of us. Regrettably, TVM did not report his speech; instead, TVM reported Minister Ian Borg’s speech. Unfortunately, however, Dr Borg’s speech was replete with statistics and references to funds (used and unused) and all that – sounding very much as if he were in election mode. I would have preferred Dr Borg to have explained how a garden dedicated to childhood ended up with the busts of three gentlemen – Philip Muscat, Philip Saliba and my father – who were neither paediatricians nor otherwise involved with anything related to childhood.

Philip Muscat was a Labour Minister, Philip Saliba a Nationalist MP and deputy Speaker of the House and Frans Sammut was a writer and public intellectual. I fail to see the link between these three public figures and  childhood.

I thought the Mayor would enlighten us as to why this location for these three busts. Instead, she took the cue from the Minister and maundered through more statistics and administrative stuff. No vision on childhood and why children should play, jump and have fun in this garden (rather than – as PS Parnis intelligently pointed out – wasting their childhood, their golden years, on their mobile phones ‘enjoying’  free Wi-Fi). No vision as to why those three busts ended up in this particular garden.

Christmas Choir Festival

I attended the last evening of the first edition of the Malta International Christmas Choir Festival at Mdina Cathedral last Sunday. I must compliment the brains behind this wonderful event, George Abdilla, and all the people involved in the Reġjun Tramuntana. It was a beautiful evening!

When the Festival was over, I talked to the Mayors of Mġarr, Mdina, and Ħad-Dingli and to the administrator of the Cathedral Chapter – a most delightful lady – and her husband. I encourage all of them to organise the event again next year: I am eagerly looking forward to it. It’s really something to write home about.

The Gozo Minister...

... apparently left the House on the verge of tears, according to a news portal, because she has been living under police protection for a year or so as her husband is, or was, the police officer in charge of the Caruana Galizia murder investigations.

I feel truly sorry for the Minister’s plight. However, I have to say something. Many years ago, I needed police protection when a disgruntled client (the ex-chauffeur of a former Labour Minister) thought I had wronged him and came over to my office, accompanied by his lawyer (who is today a Cabinet member), and threatened to kill me. When I spoke to the Gozo Minister’s husband at Police Headquarters in Floriana, I was offered no protection. The only thing he told me at the time was to pay this client what he was asking. (Years later, the Court decided I had to pay him nothing.)

Up to this very day, I wonder why the Minister’s husband told me what he did and why I was never given police protection. I would not have cried, had I been given police protection then. I would have felt safe.

Abortion

If it is true that a referendum is being planned to pave the way for the introduction of abortion, then it is high time that all conservative forces in this country close ranks. There is nothing more important than life; anything else just fades into insignificance.

Before the 2017 general election, I said publicly that I had heard from abroad that a certain Maltese lobby was aiming to have abortion legalised. I was abused by Labour supporters: they accused me of making it up because “I wanted something”. Well, fellas, I didn’t want anything, except not being part of the plan to legalise the murder of fellow human beings.

My personal library (33)

Joseph M. Brincat’s Maltese and other languages: A linguistic history of Malta (2011) is a must-read for anybody intrigued not only by the Maltese language but also by the relationship between the Maltese and English languages in Maltese society. It is of particular interest as background to the new rules on English loanwords, and the psychological dynamics of having two languages (the international lingua franca and a very small language) sharing the same social space. Absolutely one of the best books ever to be published in Malta.