Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1062629
4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 16 DECEMBER 2018 NEWS KARL AZZOPARDI THE last word on the debate on loaning of English words into the Maltese lexicon may have finally been uttered, as the National Council for the Maltese language releases new rules explaining which English words can be used in the native language. Code-switching between English and Maltese has al- ways been an accepted fact of the way the Maltese commu- nicate, in much the same way Hindi speakers also communi- cate, frequently alternating be- tween two or more languages in a single conversation. But debate has always raged on how to write loanwords in Maltese: some words like 'fut- bol' from 'football', have been integrated from the English with orthography adapted from the receiving language… just like 'music' emanates from the French 'musique', or to go back to Maltese, 'xufier' from the French 'chauffeur'. But the phonetic spelling of words such as 'bus lanes' to 'baslejns' have always jarred when they first appeared in Maltese news headlines. Now, new guidelines by the National Council for the Maltese lan- guage are hoped to make it easier to integrate words from technological and foreign in- fluences. According to the rules, a writer should always try to use an already established word in Maltese, if available, and holds the same meaning – 'naħmi' (to bake) instead of 'nibbekja torta', which imports the Eng- lish word into the Maltese construct of the verb. The new rules point out that when in need of using the Eng- lish word to explain yourself, and the already existing Mal- tese one does not convey the sense you wish to express in a particular context, the English word can be used: 'mouse' as a gadget versus 'mouse' the animal, which would be 'gurdien' in Maltese. There are also cases when the already existing English word represents a totally new meaning, such as 'rock' as a music genre, which means the English word should be used. English spelling should be kept in its original for- mat if two or more words are present: 'roundabout' and 'shock absorber' for example, and not trans- lated as 'rawndabawt' or 'xokkabzorber'. If an English word has already been integrated in Maltese grammar, it should be written in Maltese – such as 'faj- jar' (verb, to 'to fire away' or 'to fire'), 'ggaraxxjat' (adjective, 'garaged') and 'brejkijiet' (noun, 'brakes'). If the word is not inte- grated in Maltese gram- mar or if it is a noun tak- ing the 's' in its plural form, such as 'wajers' (for 'wires'), the writer can opt between both Maltese and English spelling. Words which are not visually very distinctive when spelled in Maltese, such as 'kamera', 'plastik' and 'alkoħol', can be written in Maltese. Instead, words which visu- ally differ from English spell- ing, can be written in English – 'plain' not 'plejn' or 'shutter' not 'xatter' for instance. Loanwords rules for Maltese hope to put end to raging debate