Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/881840
16 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 1 OCTOBER 2017 it's perhaps good to remember that some things still have the power to unite us, or at least melt away that initial awkwardness and antagonism when we come face-to-face with fellow humans from different countries and cultures. And bonding over swearwords is always a sure-fire way of welcoming someone into the fold. It's something of a common joke to claim that the first words one has learned in any giv- en language are the vulgar ones: we're always happy so smudge the newcomers with linguis- tic dirt (to see how they'll handle it, perhaps?). Maltese is certainly no exception, and among the rich panoply of the Island's bad language lies that direct, handy gem: à la bieb żobbi. But unlike the more easily translatable swearwords in our repertoire, a foreigner may need a more tolerant guide to explain this multi-use term, which on the one hand simply expresses indif- ference, but on the other, does it in infinitely variable ways. Picking up on the term's unique power to contain a myriad of meanings in its simple five-syllable utterance, academics Gordon Sammut, Marilyn Clark and Greta Darmanin Kissaun explored how the flexible 'à la bieb żobbi' can mean different things in different contexts. In their paper, the trio endeavour to show how the term helps expose certain fault-lines in our social interactions. "At certain times, the use of this vulgar term serves as a semantic barrier, impeding further dialogue. At other times, the term serves to shift conversation to more neutral and less threatening grounds," they write. ABZ is to them a linguistic 'hinge', for the different ways in which it is understood by certain groups, and the way it is uttered, allows it to serve as a semantic barrier. In other words, à la bieb żobbi is a telling example of how the linguistic term can both divide and separate its speakers. And while the myriad meanings of the vulgar term are likely to be intuitive to most native Maltese speak- ers, they will not be so evident to those who have just learned the language, to catch all the various nuances implied whenever someone yells out à la bieb żobbi. Fifty Shades of ABZ Going by their fieldwork alone, Sammut, Clark and Kissaun come across various uses for à la bieb żobbi. The term could serve as an 'identity marker' – as in the case of a young child who doesn't News THE SUBTLE ART OF NOT GIVING A F CK Three academics banded together to analyse the deeper meanings dormant behind that beloved term, à la bieb zobbi. Hardly believing his luck, TEODOR RELJIC takes a dive into this complex exploration of how this vulgar but perennially tempting term can serve to expose how the code of language reflects the social barriers we put up ABZ FOR BEGINNERS How Sammut, Clark and Kissaun break down the term for the uninitiated The term, à la bieb zobbi, is a conglomeration of words that translate as a vulgar expression of a careless or cavalier attitude. À la is a French term that means 'in the style of'. Bieb is a Semitic term for 'door'. Zobbi is a Semitic term for penis that includes the suffix 'i', denoting 'my penis', or rather 'my cock' in its vulgar equivalent. A number of variants of the term are used in Maltese that denote the same meaning but that can be tailored to suit different social contexts. Females may change the last term to g€oxxi, denoting 'my vagina'. A shorter and less vulgar version is to omit reference to genitals and round off the expression with biebi. Alternatively, a less vulgar use may replace the reference to 'Linguistic hinges' like à la bieb zobbi, "highlight the requirement for understanding the cultural worldviews that inform subjects' perspectives, if dialogue is to serve as a way to overcome semantic barriers" In a world that appears to be ready for conflict at every turn, A F CK