After hearing what the Kunsill Nazzjonali tal-Malti and the Akkademja tal-Malti had to say about the new Maltese orthography last week, Josanne Cassar asks for the viewpoints of those who use Maltese in their work

Charles Casha

Maltese author

“I agree with the process and the work that went into these guidelines. It was a good idea, as was the setting up of KNM; it was a step in the right direction as we needed it.

I also feel that they went about the new orthography in a democratic way as the consultation was widespread; it wasn’t something done in a hurry.

However, having said that, with every change there are consequences which can create problems. What about the dictionaries and books which have already been printed? Even though publishers have been given three years to update them and the existing books will continue to be valid, it is still quite a costly feat.

Although language develops naturally and people create it, I believe you do need an authority in the way it is written, otherwise there will be mayhem. You have to have some kind of order.

When it comes to English loan words, there are three choices: you can either write it phonetically, you can leave it in English or else you should only write words in Maltese spelling if it comes naturally, like kompjuter. Something like ‘fire extinguisher’ on the other hand, should be left in English. I personally feel we should keep all loan words in English, without any inverted commas, but that’s just my opinion.

Ultimately, I agree that someone needs to decide on the correct spelling in Maltese. I am fearful that if there are a lot of variations of the same word, you can really have chaos. You need some discipline, otherwise you will confuse children.

I feel better that there are now guidelines and rules collected in a handy reference list which I can refer to. Even if there are some rules which I don’t agree with, I still believe we can’t have everyone writing every which way they wish. I hear some people say ‘I don’t want to write Ammen or Awwissu, and I will keep writing it the way I used to...’, but you can’t have that either. After all, the guidelines are coming from competent people, experts in the field, who have given this a lot of thought and study.

Our language has absorbed a lot of English words, sometimes at the expense of a Maltese one, but you cannot stop this. In my writing I don’t mind using words such as airport, picnic or drink, because we use them when we speak. It’s no use writing an outdated word like mitjar (Semitic word of airport) because no one uses it, and that’s a sure way to kill a language.

On the other hand, we have also turned a lot of English words into ‘Maltese’ by giving them Maltese grammar, especially when it comes to IT. We say ‘issevjajt il-fajl’ (I saved the file) it’s a new word which can be used, and which people understand whereas ‘faddalt il-fajl’ sounds strange, and no one speaks like that. We only use ‘faddal’ when we are speaking about saving money. We also say ‘ipprintjajt’ (I printed...). These are all acceptable in my view.

What hurts me, however, is when I hear concocted words on TV for which we do have proper Maltese words, as happened recently during sports commentaries of the World Cup, for example ‘immuvja ‘l fuq’ (he moved up) when there’s a perfectly good Maltese word for this. Broadcasting is the worst culprit, perhaps because presenters are in a hurry and don’t have time to think, so sometimes they just take a word in English and twist it.

But the absolutely worst thing, for me is when people speak a hotchpotch of the two languages ‘agħmillu bye’ ‘ħa nara in-nosey’. Children get confused and they start using these expressions in their schoolwork. We need to speak to them properly in either one language or the other.

I have also realised that we use English to create a new definition of something which has social class connotations such as in the property market. For example, ‘farmhouse’ sounds better than razzett to sell a property. This is where Maltese needs to be protected and safeguarded since it is the language which we use every day.

Having said all this, I believe the KNM are doing incredible work and I admire them for their dedication. In fact, they deserve support and to have more people helping them in this process.”

Chris Gruppetta

Publisher, Merlin Books

“Obviously it’s not the publisher’s role to decide what spelling is correct and which not. Our role is to apply these rules in our publications – which is why certainty is a plus. Every publishing house worth its salt has a ‘house style’, and having tonnes of variants is very unhelpful, because it makes enforcing a house style virtually impossible.

On the other hand, orthography relies on stability, so changes should be extremely rare and far between. Having too many changes – for example, the current KNM’s updating initiative is planned, I believe, over three stages – is very harmful to the publishing industry. With each change, we have to pulp thousands of copies of books and reissue them conforming to the new orthography. So just now, for example, we’re in the process of updating our titles. As soon as we finish that, probably the second batch of ‘updates’ will be released, meaning we have to start pulping all over again. Which is a huge cost, both environmentally and financially.

As with most other literature-related issues in Malta, publishers are rarely consulted. Instead of embracing the creative industry that is ultimately the gatekeeper of what gets published, publishers are viewed as ‘necessary evils’ and sidelined as far as possible. Which is a pity, and ultimately counterproductive because one of these days we’ll all just go our own ways and then it’ll be back to bedlam.”

Clare Azzopardi

Maltese author and editor

“Right now I feel very frustrated because I almost feel that I’m living in a fundamentalist Malta. As an author in Malta I cannot write about a pervert bus driver who only thinks about women, who is constantly swearing and who insults tourists – because I would probably be branded as a pornographic writer, they might throw me in jail and make me lose my job.

So in that respect I feel very hurt... but I don’t feel frustrated because the KNM comes out with new rules for orthography. Naturally, no one can standardise spoken Maltese…but someone does need to standardise written Maltese. As a writer that does not confine me at all. Nor does it anger me. The writer doesn’t look at orthography, although this is an important tool, but looks more at the voice, the plot, the characters and the narrative – those come first, and then he works according to the rules…so that’s not a problem for me.

But what a writer does need to do now, is to read and learn by heart sub article (1) of article 208 of the Criminal Code... or else emigrate.” 

Pierre J. Mejlak

Maltese author living and working in Brussels

“It took me a while to get used to the changes in orthography and obviously it upsets me that I have quite a number of books written in Maltese which is not 100% correct. On the other hand, I appreciate that the work of the KNM is not easy. I’m not an expert in orthography so I accept what the experts have to say without too much protest. I’m convinced that the KNM took its decisions with complete respect towards the language. However, I also hope that now that we have these new rules, that they will be retained for at least a few generations.”

Correction

In the article Language Please (TMIS 11.7.10) Mr Carmel Azzopardi was quoted as saying that “There were a few differences of opinion with the KNM because of the way things were being run, so in the meantime a new Kunsill committee was formed. Today, the relationship is a good one....” 

In fact, he was referring to the Kunsill of the Akkademja which was resolved by the appointment of a temporary Kunsill ta’ l-Akkademja.  At the time (2004) the KNM wasn’t even set up.  Therefore it is not correct to say that the Akkademja had some disagreement with the KNM.  The Akkademja never had any disagreement with the KNM.

We apologise for the mistake and regret any inconvenience caused.