Through the years, I've encountered a number of linguistic ways in which Maltese people express themselves concisely, without sacrificing clarity to make profound observations. I will be mentioning the forms I've encountered.
Those like me, cared for with the Maltese language, will surely appreciate the tendency of a Maltese person to speak with ancient wisdom, to reply indirectly to direct questions or real situations, that in a couple of words can provide a message containing his thoughts, philosophy or morals.
I'm referring to the proverb, where in a few dry words, the Maltese can gather and pass on a profound thought and useful lesson to those able, or willing, to understand.
To give an example, when a parent tries to explain to his child that beyond play and enjoyment there is a need for study and hard work to establish a career, he might say (all poor translations in this article are mine) 'no money, no hugs and kisses'. Another observation made in today's consumer society, where products we buy hardly make it to our homes, is 'cheap stuff is expensive'.
The characteristic of these expressions in Maltese is that despite their brevity, they contain a metaphor for the general context and a wise lesson. Generally they don't contain structure or rhyme.
As a teacher of Maltese, I relish observing my students being presented with Maltese proverbs. They initially find it hard to arrive at its meaning or message, as their tendency is to extract its literal meaning, that on the face of it makes no sense, like 'with money you could build a road on the sea'. This incomprehension rapidly changes to appreciation when the message is understood, and enthusiasm for the Maltese language is not only undiminished but is strengthened.
A similar construct is the aphorism, where a generally (but not always) short sentence is used to make a thoughtful observation. One of the most illustrious Maltese persons to write aphorisms was Manwel Dimech, a philosopher before his time who is still being discovered today, a hundred years after his death, who wrote thousands of them while in exile in Egypt just before his death. These were all written in English, for reasons we can only speculate about. A couple which struck me were these:
It's not easy to write a proverb or aphorism, especially those that are retained through the ages. We are all aware of traditional ones, which have come through many generations, when knowledge used to be passed orally from grandparents and parents to grandchildren and children.
Nevertheless, writers are still today penning their proverbs. A collection of new proverbs was published by my friend Frank Zammit, an author and poet, in 2010. On the contrary to the traditional Maltese proverbs, these ones are poems with a specific structure called haiku, containing three verses with 5, 7 and 5 syllables respectively, though without rhyme. This structure originated in Japan.
If throwing a stone
And twain are the birds you hit
Twice you will be fined.
However today another two books are being launched by Frank, one of which called Ġabra ta' Epigrammi (Collection of Epigrams). An epigram is a short form poem with a Greek tradition, with witty or satirical observations. The verses of poetic epigrams in the English tradition are even in quantity and rhymed.
In this collection, Frank deals with social themes like immigration, emigration, refugees, injustice and the environment; personal attitudes as optimism, pessimism, hypocrisy and nostalgia; academic subjects like science, psychology and philosophy; reflections on the Maltese language and finally some humour to boot.
I'll point out two or three that struck me (translated). The first is a timely observation on the unjust and subtle discrimination against immigrants in our society:
In Australia, a fresh immigrant makes achievement
The hero is quickly boasted as Australian
Yet another though being here sixty years or more
You can hear the author's cry of anguish for the Maltese language's state, shunned and forgotten, or the lack of respect shown to it by those who should know better:
Ah! Grown 'n' forgot your country's tongue
Foreign language not from mother
Don't remember that Maltese was
The below brought a smile to my lips:
Punchy advert on a paper
Woman divorce wants to make
'Wedding dress - hundred pounds only
I congratulate Frank Zammit and his colleagues for this contribution to Maltese literature and culture.
(Today 27th July 2016, at the La Valette Social Centre, Blacktown, NSW)
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Matul is-snin, iltqajt ma' diversi forom lingwistiċi fejn il-Maltin jesprimu ruħhom b'mod konċiż, imma xejn inqas ċar u b'osservazzjoni profonda. F'dan li ġej, se nsemmi l-forom li ltqajt magħhom.
Min bħali trabba ndukrat fil-lingwa Maltija, żgur li japprezza t-tendenza tal-Malti li jitkellem b'għerf antik, li jirrispondi b'mod indirett għal mistoqsija diretta jew sitwazzjoni konkreta, li f'kelmtejn jagħti messaġġ li jwassal il-ħsieb, filosofija jew morali tiegħu.
Qiegħed nirreferi għall-qawl, jew proverbju, fejn fi ftit kliem xotti, il-Malti jiġbor u jwassal ħsieb profond u anke jagħti tagħlima siewja lil min kapaċi, jew irid, jifhem.
Biex nagħti eżempju, meta ġenitur jipprova jispjega lil ibnu li apparti l-logħob u t-tbaħrid hemm bżonn li jistudja u jistinka biex jibda' xi karriera fis-sod, jista' jgħidlu 'bla flus la tgħannaq u lanqas tbus'. Osservazzjoni oħra li spiss nagħmlu fil-ħajja konsumista ta' llum, meta dak li nixtru bilkemm naslu d-dar qabel ma nsibulu xi difett, huwa li 'l-irħis għali'!
Il-karatteristika ta' dawn l-espressjonijiet fil-Malti hija li minkejja l-qosor tagħhom, fihom metafora ta' kuntest ġenerali u tagħlima b'għaqal liema bħalha. Ġeneralment ma fihomx struttura jew rima.
Bħala għalliem tal-Malti, niggosta ħafna lill-istudenti tiegħi meta jiġu ppreżentati bil-qwiel Maltin. Fil-bidu jsibuha diffiċli li jaslu għat-tifsira jew il-messaġġ tal-qawl, għax it-tendenza hi li joħorġu tifsira litterali li fil-wiċċ ma tagħmilx sens, bħal 'bil-flus tagħmel triq fil-baħar'. Din l-inkomprensjoni dlonk tinbidel f'apprezzament meta l-messaġġ jinftiehem, u l-entużjażmu għal-lingwa Maltija mhux talli mhux mittiefsa imma tisseddaq.
Struttura simili hi l-aforiżmu, fejn sentenza ġeneralment (imma mhux dejjem) qasira tintuża biex tagħmel osservazzjoni bil-ħsieb. Wieħed mill-iktar persuna illustri Maltin li kiteb aforiżmi kien Manwel Dimech, filosfu qabel żmienu li għadna niskopruh sal-ġurnata ta' llum, mitt sena wara mewtu, li kiteb eluf tagħhom waqt li kien f'eżilju ġewwa l-Eġittu ftit qabel ma miet. Dawn kitibhom ilkoll bil-lingwa Ingliża, għal raġunijiet li nistgħu biss nispekulaw għalihom. Traduzzjoni ta' tnejn li laqtuni huma dawn:
Huwa mhux faċli li wieħed jikteb qawl jew aforiżmu, aħseb u ara dawk li jibqgħu jissemmew matul iż-żmien. Dawk tradizzjonali li nafu lkoll, ilhom ġejjin ġenerazzjonijiet sħaħ, meta l-għerf kien jingħadda bil-fomm min-nanniet, il-missirijiet u l-ommijiet lin-neputijiet u l-ulied.
Madankollu, kittieba għadhom sallum jaqbdu l-pinna biex iħożżu l-qwiel tagħhom. Ġabra ta' qwiel ġodda, kien inħareġ mill-awtur u poeta ħabib tiegħi Frank Zammit fl-2010. Għall-kuntrarju tal-qwiel tradizzjonali Maltin, dawn il-qwiel huma poeżiji bi struttura definita imsejħa ħajku, kollha bi tliet versi ta' 5, 7 u 5 sillabi rispettivament, imma mingħajr rima. Din l-istruttura oriġinat fil-Ġappun.
Jekk titfa' ġebla
u tolqot żewġ għasafar
il-multa doppja.
Imma llum qegħdin jiġu mnedija żewġ kotba oħra ta' Frank, wieħed minnhom imsejjaħ 'Ġabra ta' Epigrammi'. L-epigramm huwa forma poetika qasira bi tradizzjoni Griega, b'osservazzjonijiet spiritużi jew satiriċi. In-numru ta' versi ta' epigrammi poetiċi fit-tradizzjoni Ingliża jkun biż-żewġ u bir-rima.
F'din il-ġabra, Frank jittratta fost l-oħrajn temi soċjali bħall-immigrazzjoni, l-emigrazzjoni, ir-rifuġjati, l-inġustizzja u l-ambjent; attitudnijiet personali bħall-ottimiżmu, il-pessimiżmu, l-ipokrezija u n-nostalġija; temi akkademiċi bħax-xjenza, il-psikoloġija u l-filosofija; riflessjonijiet fuq l-ilsien Malti u finalment xi ftit tal-umoriżmu.
Se nipponta lejn tnejn jew tlieta li laqtuni. L-ewwel hija osservazzjoni f'waqtha fuq id-diskriminazzjoni inġusta u fina kontra l-immigranti fis-soċjetà tagħna:
Fl-Awstralja, immigrant frisk jagħmel xi bravura
malajr jiftaħru li hu eroj Awstraljan.
Iżd'ieħor l'ilu hawn xi sittin sena w aktar
Tista' tinstema l-karba tal-awtur għall-istat tal-lingwa Maltija, imwarrba u minsija, jew in-nuqqas ta' rispett muri lilha minn dawk li minnhom wieħed jistenna aħjar:
Ah! Issa kbirt u rmejt ilsien pajjiżek,
għax drajt ilsien għarib illi mhux t'ommok.
U kif insejt illi Maltija kienet
Waħda minn dawk li ġabuli tbissima kienet din:
Darba f'gazzetta deher riklam li jolqtok
minn mara li miż-żwieġ riedet tinħall.
Dar-riklam jgħid: 'Libsa tat-tieġ - Mitt lira -
milbusa darba biss - u kien bi żball.'.
Nifraħ lil Frank Zammit u lil sħabu għal din il-kontribuzzjoni għall-letteratura u l-kultura Maltija.
(Illum 27 ta' Lulju 2016, fiċ-Ċentru Soċjali La Valette, Blacktown, NSW)
1Manwel Dimech - Aphorisms: Wisdom of a Philosopher in Exile; Mark Montebello & Francis Galea (edituri); 2012; SKS; nru. 2032
2Ibid., nru. 1630
3Qwiel Minn Fomm l-Imġarrab: Poeżiji fuq stil Ħajku; Frank Zammit; 2010; nru. 6
4Bejn Demgħa u Tbissima - Ġabra ta' Epigrammi; Frank Zammit; nru. 87
5Ibid., nru. 218
6Ibid., nru. 175
7Trifolju ta' Lwien; Mario Attard, Patrick Sammut & Frank Zammit; 2014
1Manwel Dimech - Aphorisms: Wisdom of a Philosopher in Exile; Mark Montebello & Francis Galea (edituri); 2012; SKS; nru. 2032
2Ibid., nru. 1630
3Qwiel Minn Fomm l-Imġarrab: Poeżiji fuq stil Ħajku; Frank Zammit; 2010; nru. 6
4Bejn Demgħa u Tbissima - Ġabra ta' Epigrammi; Frank Zammit; nru. 87
5Ibid., nru. 218
6Trifolju ta' Lwien; Mario Attard, Patrick Sammut & Frank Zammit; 2014
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