Duncan Campbell: EU Translation Industry Enormous
On the table of Charles Briffa's study in the University of Malta is a copy of Poter u Glorja by Graham Greene.
The Power and the Glory, to give it its English title, is one of many translations from English into Maltese by Dr Briffa but now he believes that the language spoken by the 400,000 islanders has been given a new lease of life that could lead to translation going in the opposite direction.
The EU enlargement last year increased its official languages from 11 to 20. EU proceedings and documents must be translated into those languages at a cost that has reached $ 1bn (£568m) for the first time. A total of 1,600 people work for the directorate general for translation, making it the largest EU department.
The cost may seem enormous and may eventually create pressures for a reduction in the number of official tongues but Dr Briffa and many linguists, academics and cultural historians believe that the boost to minority languages should be celebrated. "Culturally, intellectually, academically and even psychologically, the more languages you have, the better," said Dr Briffa. "This cultural aspect is much more important (than saving money). It would be a disaster to reduce the EU to just, say, three languages. If one language becomes dominant, there could be an expansion of nationalism."
Last week, a survey by the Eurobarometer agency showed that last year's enlargement had boosted the position of English and German at the expense of French. English is now spoken by 47% of EU citizens, while German has overtaken French as the second most widely spoken language. The poll also showed that Russian is now spoken as the second language by 5% of EU citizens, mainly in eastern Europe where it used to be mandatory in schools.
But while English may have increased its power through enlargement, the smallest languages in the EU have also come into their own. Earlier this summer, Gaelic achieved official EU status which the Irish foreign minister, Dermot Ahern, greeted as a "real psychological boost for the Irish language". In the Irish parliament, only 2% of business is conducted in Gaelic but politically it has a resonance far beyond its use. It will become the EU's 21st official language from 2007.
In Malta, Dr Briffa believes that the EU offers a chance for the creation of a translation industry, although initially there has been a shortage of willing interpreters. "The principle problem is that our young people find it difficult to go and work abroad, to move to Brussels or Luxembourg, because of their family attachments here," said Dr Briffa. "It's a cultural thing because the Maltese have always travelled as a family group."
The language, which is 1,000 years old, also faced problems with some of its own citizens, he said. "There is lots of prejudice against the Maltese language," he said. "We tend to believe that English is a better tool. But in the past two or three years people have discovered that there is a great potential in it. With the EU this tiny language could find a place in a continent. Translation has become another industry."
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Backstory:
Maltese , the only Semitic language to be written in Latin script, has its roots in Arabic . Its origins can be traced to the North African dialect of Arabs who invaded in 870AD, yet its development owes much to the Romance languages of the Normans , who occupied it in 1090, and the Italians , 500 years later. The English made Malta a colony in 1800. Maltese became the national language on independence in 1964. English also has official status.
The Power and the Glory, to give it its English title, is one of many translations from English into Maltese by Dr Briffa but now he believes that the language spoken by the 400,000 islanders has been given a new lease of life that could lead to translation going in the opposite direction.
The EU enlargement last year increased its official languages from 11 to 20. EU proceedings and documents must be translated into those languages at a cost that has reached $ 1bn (£568m) for the first time. A total of 1,600 people work for the directorate general for translation, making it the largest EU department.
The cost may seem enormous and may eventually create pressures for a reduction in the number of official tongues but Dr Briffa and many linguists, academics and cultural historians believe that the boost to minority languages should be celebrated. "Culturally, intellectually, academically and even psychologically, the more languages you have, the better," said Dr Briffa. "This cultural aspect is much more important (than saving money). It would be a disaster to reduce the EU to just, say, three languages. If one language becomes dominant, there could be an expansion of nationalism."
Last week, a survey by the Eurobarometer agency showed that last year's enlargement had boosted the position of English and German at the expense of French. English is now spoken by 47% of EU citizens, while German has overtaken French as the second most widely spoken language. The poll also showed that Russian is now spoken as the second language by 5% of EU citizens, mainly in eastern Europe where it used to be mandatory in schools.
But while English may have increased its power through enlargement, the smallest languages in the EU have also come into their own. Earlier this summer, Gaelic achieved official EU status which the Irish foreign minister, Dermot Ahern, greeted as a "real psychological boost for the Irish language". In the Irish parliament, only 2% of business is conducted in Gaelic but politically it has a resonance far beyond its use. It will become the EU's 21st official language from 2007.
In Malta, Dr Briffa believes that the EU offers a chance for the creation of a translation industry, although initially there has been a shortage of willing interpreters. "The principle problem is that our young people find it difficult to go and work abroad, to move to Brussels or Luxembourg, because of their family attachments here," said Dr Briffa. "It's a cultural thing because the Maltese have always travelled as a family group."
The language, which is 1,000 years old, also faced problems with some of its own citizens, he said. "There is lots of prejudice against the Maltese language," he said. "We tend to believe that English is a better tool. But in the past two or three years people have discovered that there is a great potential in it. With the EU this tiny language could find a place in a continent. Translation has become another industry."
...
Backstory:
Maltese , the only Semitic language to be written in Latin script, has its roots in Arabic . Its origins can be traced to the North African dialect of Arabs who invaded in 870AD, yet its development owes much to the Romance languages of the Normans , who occupied it in 1090, and the Italians , 500 years later. The English made Malta a colony in 1800. Maltese became the national language on independence in 1964. English also has official status.