Page 8, 21st April 1939

21st April 1939

Page 8

Page 8, 21st April 1939 — MALTESE RACE Language and Traditions
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MALTESE RACE Language and Traditions

SIR,—In your issue of March 17 there appeared a contribution by the Rev. Father H. Bugeja, 0.P., regarding the racial and linguistic aspect of the Maltese people. The tone of such contribution seems to be both. incorrect and misleading, when he affirms dogmatically that our people are racially Latins, and by origin Italians. He further asserts that since about 800 years, Italian has been the official and cultural language of Malta, and through which Maltese traditions have been transmitted.
With regard to the origin of the Maltese race nothing definite has been reached, and as to its Italianity it is too complex a point to be affirmed offhand,, Consequently, Fr. Bugeja's views upon this matter are purely misguided assertions.
Had the Rev. Father thoroughly taken correctly into consideration his own family name "Bu-gejja," he would have restrained himself on the racial point, as in his name one finds nothing less than a pure Semitic and Oriental offspring. On the contrary, there is nothing at all in it to testify an Italo-Latin and Western parentage. Likewise, in the same category of names we meet Bu-hagar, Bu-tigieg, Bu-suttil (an alteration of Bu-sittin, literally meaning "a father of sixty "), besides, pretty commonly many others indicating the same Semitic derivation, such as Abele (Habbiela), Abdilla (GHabd Alla), Casha (Qasgha), Dimech (Dimek), Ebejer (GHabajjar), Ellul (Hellul), Fenech (Fenek), Griscti (Grixtil, Meilak (Mejlaq), Naudl (Nawdi), Psaila (Bsajla), Said (Said), Teuma (Tewma), Vella (Wella), Xriha, Zahra, etc., etc. Coming to the linguistic point, Fr. Bugeja's assertions clearly show that he seems not to be aware of the many important advanced studies in Maltese' Philology, for he gives us as a proof his repetition of an almost obsolete myth, held as fundamental in this respect by only a limited number of persons of a decidedly political standing. Therefore, with regard to the 800 years of Italian as the official and cultural language, and moreover as a testifying means of Maltese y ustraditions, he is completely, According to existing original docu ments, the official language of our Island from the year 1391 was Latin (v. Archive-Royal Malta Library), and later, under the Aragonese Kings, the
n c
Spanish and Sicilia were introduced whilst Italian proper (as quoted by Fr. Bugeja) appears to have come into existence under the rule of the Hospitallers, although other documents demonstrate that this language was in use co-jointly with Latin. So, for instance, in 1782 Grand Master De Rohan, by a decree, permitted the usage of Italian in Notarial Acts; and in 1786 the same Grand Master decreed the Italian as official, meantime permitting the Latin to be used in commercial acts, or con clusion the foregoing brings us to a nclusion that it is a real illusion to insinuate that for 800 years Italian was our official language.
e
By culture on understands a very advanced stage of knowledge and Now known w it
instruction. N is a know fact
that the first public school in Malta came into being in 1467 and the second in 1537, which were subsidised for by the Maltese themselves through their Council, who invited Masters:
Popular Cou
from Sicily ad docendum puer08 adolescentes ac juvenes eivitatis et in8illae. (Mifsud, Archivil ed Universita. di Malta, Malta 1913.)' Moreover, as our Historians affirm, the Maltese people were purposely left in ignorance by all their Dominators, and to such a grade that the Islanders could understand nothing else but their own language. In fact, when the Royal Commissioner' of the Aragonese Sovereigns used to come over from Sicily to make his yearly visit to the Island, the inhabitants used to grumble on account of their impossibility ofu understanding his language. So much so, that upon the presentation of frequent protest, Emperor Charles V by enactment dated December 15, 1520, expressly prohibited Judges from dispensing with justice unless they thorough knowledge possessed a thorowledge of Maltese. Therefore, I leave it to the readers to conclude as to the kind of Italian culture the people of Malta could have had in the period assumed by Fr. Bugeja's supposition. Finally, whatwe Maltese may claim as traditional is that which comes to us intact every day through the m exclusive medium of the Maltese language, and this is both in the sense of Religion proper and Lore.
What is common to us all Maltese
are the Commandments and some fundamental prayers, such as the Lord's Prayer, the Apostles' Creed, the Act of Contrition, etc., taught to our forefathers in the first instance by St. Paul in A.D. 58. and these we actually recite in the 20th century in the same pure Maltese as were originally pronounced by our said ancestors. Does not Fr. Bugeja begin the Act of oconIelytrmasasYcyo.re
Contrition in Maltese thus: "Mulejja Alla tieghi, jisghob bija b'ryalbi kollha mid dnubiet ta' hajti 7collha. . . ."
Another undeniable fact is that the
Maltese spoke neither Roman nor Greek (the cultural languages of those times) when forming part of the Roman Empire as a Municipium, but spoke only their native language, which brings us to the classic saying of St. Luke " BARBARI " (Acts of the Apostles, xxviii). Therefore, since our fathers spoke Maltese, and their Lore was transmitted to us from generation to generation in the same language with which we express ourselves to-day, the Maltese language remains the sole medium of whatever is traditional to our race. A careful consideration of Vassali's work on the subject (Motti, Aforiemi e Proverb'', Maitesi, Malta, 1858) will wipe out all arguments to the conclude by saying that the of this letter is to rectify mistakes frequently committed regarding Maltese race and language. Louts M. GRECH, 3, Addolorata Street, Birzebbuga, Malta.




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