Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1504697
3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 30 JULY 2023 NEWS MARIANNA CALLEJA A project to create a Maltese elec- tronic spell checker has been ham- pered by high costs and technical obstacles with government now seeking alternatives to its original plans. Two companies had shown an interest in a government call for a Maltese spell checker more than two years ago, but the offers sur- passed the €7 million mark. Heritage Minister Owen Bonnici said the lack of alignment between IT and linguistic aspects proved to be a major obstacle, rendering the proposals inconclusive. "Financial considerations were also taken into account as to the cost-viability aspect of what was being proposed," Bonnici told this newspaper. The offers were made during the previous legislature when the same ministry, under the super- vision of former minister Jose Herrera, launched a preliminary market consultation to analyse whether the market would be able to provide a solution for a Maltese electronic spellchecker. The process was finalised in Oc- tober 2021 with the drawing up of a report by an internal technical committee. The initial plans were abandoned and during the current legislature the ministry held consultations with experts, including the min- istry's own IT division (IMU) and the Kunsill Nazzjonali tal-Ilsien Malti. "Work is underway to bolster the Kunsill Nazzjonali tal-Ilsien Malti's operational arm with the necessary expertise and human resources in order to be able to en- gage in this very important task, as well as to perform better promo- tion and safeguard of the Maltese language," Bonnici said. In the meantime, Traduzzjoni. mt was launched last June. This website offers a free service trans- lation from English to Maltese and vice-versa and provides access to the European Commission's e-translation service. "Traduzzjoni.mt is the result of a collective team effort by MITA, the Office of the State Advocate, the University of Malta, a pri- vate company, and our ministry through EU funding," the minister added. He explained that Traduzzjoni. mt is constantly being refined and improved with other functionali- ties. "The Ministry is fully intent on promoting the Maltese language and offering IT-based solutions to this effect," Bonnici said. But despite its utility, Traduzzjo- ni.mt is not a spell checker and the quest to have the latter tool devel- oped remains elusive for the time being. Herrera and Bonnici were not the first to work on this long-standing issue. Around 2016, Microsoft at- tempted to create a Maltese spell checker, with Evarist Bartolo, the education minister at the time, describing it as "an indispensable tool" for academics, journalists, and the public. And yet, despite the efforts, noth- ing came off the initiative. The subject arose again three years later when a PN billboard in the 2019 European parliament election campaign misspelt the word 'togħla' (rising), which was spelt as 'tgħola'. The Labour government sub- sequently pledged a renewed ef- fort to invest in a Maltese spell checker but despite setting aside money during the 2020 budget, three years down the line Maltese remains without an electronic checker. The elusive Maltese spell checker hindered by high costs, technical complexities Heritage Minister Owen Bonnici says original plans to rope in private companies to create a Maltese electronic spellchecker were abandoned but efforts are ongoing. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 After the first payment is made, the monthly rent would amount to €1,000, with the person renting out the vehicle informing the journalist they would be working "as though you are self-employed." When asked about the requisites for the job, she said the prospective car tenant would have to present a driving licence, and a tag for Y-plate vehicles issued by Transport Malta. The vehicle owner said the money received from cli- ents after using the cab service would go directly to her account, and at the end of the month, the earnings would be transferred to the tenant's account. However, she noted, the tenant will need to pay in- come tax on that sum since they "will be working as if self employed." Y-plate vehicles have been at the centre of a num- ber of controversies during the past months. Earlier this year, a parliamentary question from PN MP Al- bert Buttigieg to Transport Minister Aaron Farrugia revealed that the number of Y-plate vehicles that have been issued authorisation by Transport Malta had sky rocketed. While in 2013 and 2014, 84 and 81 Y-plates were issued, by 2018, more than 500 vehicles a year were issued Y-plates. Additionally, 2022 saw the high- est amount of Y-plates issued with 1,026 new vehicles, while Malta is on track to beat that record by the end of this year. In order to quell other forms of abuse while enhanc- ing the quality of Y-plate drivers, the Transport Min- istry issued a new set of rules for anyone seeking to become cab drivers. Among the changes, the Trans- port Malta-issued tag for vehicles with Y-plates will no longer be valid for those from outside the EU; in- stead, they will now need to pass a local driving test or possess an EU driving licence. Prior to this development, non-EU citizens were still eligible for the tag using the driving licence of their country and had a year to apply for and obtain an EU driving licence. Y-plates being rented out for €1,000 monthly, drivers to be self-employed