Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1533584
KARL AZZOPARDI kazzopardi@mediatoday.com.mt 10 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 23 MARCH 2025 NEWS TikTok meets mission to teach More women served as jurors in 2024 MALTESE can be a hard language to master. A blend of semitic roots and romance influences, it has puzzled students and adults alike, but Kurt Meli wants to change the way we look at our mother tongue. Armed with his phone, social media, popular culture and a hint of sassiness, Meli wants to change how we look at the Maltese lan- guage. From the etymology of għoxx (vagina), pepè and Mnarja, to answering more complex ques- tions such as the pronunciation of Maltese words, a self-proclaimed 'homosexual apprentice to Mikiel Anton Vassalli', Kurt Meli is doing it all. An interpreter in Brussels, Me- li describes himself an introvert, despite racking up thousands of views on his TikTok and Insta- gram pages. "I was always a reserved child, and as a teenager it was a hurdle I wanted to overcome," he said. "Nowadays I am very proud of how much I have grown." His love for Maltese came at an early age, and he explained how in secondary school he realised how deep his love for the language is. Meli said he enjoys the linguistic aspect of the language the most. "The little details are what fasci- nate me, such as why we use cer- tain terms and not others, or why we use certain pronunciation. I am a bit of a nerd you know," he said jokingly. A fresh perspective on an old language Kurt's decision to take on the social media stage started around two years ago. "I was in Brussels for work, and it was around 1am, and I couldn't sleep because the bar down stairs was pumping out music. I always wanted to combine my love for Maltese with entertainment," he said. "At the time I was studying proof reading in Maltese, and in the course, they teach you how the language has evolved, and that is one of the most interesting as- pects for me in Maltese." He said he was champing at the bit to share what he had learnt, and decided to film a video in "Gen Z style." "I wanted to speak from a per- spective of someone who grew up in the 2010s and was raised in the internet age. I also wanted to share the perspective of someone who understood cultural references," he said. Meli said his target audience are native Maltese speakers, as he hopes people start to appreciate the language "a little bit more". He said he hopes his videos help to keep the language fresh. "I re- ally hope I can contribute in do- ing that. I continue doing them because people really seem to like them, and while I try to make the videos entertaining, I try to in- clude information which is edu- cational." MALTA'S jury system saw more women than men serve as jurors last year, information tabled in parliament by Justice Minister Jonathan Attard shows. In 2024, 53.3% of jurors were women, while 13.3% of jurors were aged 60 and over, Attard said in reply to a parliamenta- ry question by Opposition MP Chris Said. Aditionally, there were 18 re- quests from people to be perma- nently exempted from jury duty last year. The minister said 14 of these requests were accepted while four were rejected. The Criminal Code states that every citizen of Malta aged 21 and over, residing in Malta, is qualified to serve as a juror pro- vided they have an adequate knowledge of the Maltese lan- guage. The person also has to be of "good character and is compe- tent to serve as a juror". People who have been found guilty of a crime liable to impris- onment exceeding one year, or who are interdicted or incapaci- tated, or unfit to serve because of "any notorious physical or men- tal defect", cannot serve as jurors. However, the law also allows certain people to be exempt from jury duty. Members of parliament, mayors and exec- utive secretaries of local coun- cils, judges, honorary consuls, priests, soldiers, heads of gov- ernment departments and their deputies, magistrates, the court registrar, police officers, profes- sors and full-time teachers of the university, headmasters and teachers of primary, secondary and technical schools, district medical officers, health inspec- tors, and probation officers are automatically exempt from serv- ing as jurors. The court may also exempt from jury duty chemists, doc- tors, surgeons and obstetricians, and people aged 60 and over un- less the court deems otherwise "for the ends of justice". Persons who are caring for their family or someone who suffers from any physical or mental in- firmity shall also be exempt from serving as jurors. Lists of potential jurors are published in the Government Gazette in August of every year and the finalised list in Novem- ber. Jurors tasked to serve in tri- als are then drawn by lot from these lists. Kurt Meli works as an interpreter in Brussels but has taken it on himself to teach Maltese through short, colourful videos on TikTok and Instagram (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday)