Maltese Literature

It-traduzzjoni mill-Malti lejn lingwi oħrajn li tikkonċerna l-letteratura lokali għadha relativament fil-bidu tagħha billi ftit kienu dawk il-kittieba jew tradutturi Maltin li fl-imgħoddi kienu jħarsu lil hinn minn xtutna biex joffru lill-barranin dak li jinħoloq lokalment.

The 1930s are considered to be a crucial era for modern Maltese: In 1934, the British Colonial Government recognised Maltese as an official language, together with English, ending once and for all the great Language Question which had dragged on since the previous century. Thus, Maltese became one of the official languages of the colony's administration, used throughout the Law Courts and the Civil Service at the expense of the long-established Italian language. From the literary point of view, this decade gave us some of the best Maltese classics, both in prose and in poetry, particularly in 1938, the year our national poet Dun Karm completed his magnum opus Il-Jien u Lilhinn Minnu, Karmenu Vassallo published his book of poems Nirien and the year when Ġino Muscat Azzopardi, Ġużè Aquilina, Ġużè Ellul Mercer and Ivo Muscat Azzopardi published their novels in Maltese. It was during this same year that Fr Albert M. Grech O.P., a Dominican Latinist, finished the translation from Latin to Maltese of the first two books of L-Enejjija, Vergil's Aeneid. Two years earlier, this fervent lover of Maltese published L-Għanjiet dwar l-Ewkaristija, a translation from Latin of St Thomas Aquinas' five Eucharistic hymns. Who was Fr Albert M. Grech O.P.

Literature does not provide a mirror of society and does not pretend to do so either. But it does allow writers to explore the individuals and the community they choose to write about and their work often provides insights one would associate with qualitative research. Literature is essentially a “fashioning of language,” a “kind of aesthetic ‘forming’ [...] or ‘shaping’. The genre of fiction in particular is “characterised by a more overtly referential modality in purporting to relate to ‘real life,’” and this is because it “seems to form or shape the raw material of lived experience into the ‘world of the book.’”  Art fashions “a perceptible reality for us in its textual ‘shaping’ of the inchoate into comprehensible designs or patterns.”

Fundamental changes to discourse about the family in Maltese literature can both reflect what is happening in everyday Maltese life and construct and articulate relatively new realities. In particular, the emergence of women writers who refuse to perpetuate the patriarchal culture on which much of Maltese literature has stood and propose a literature and a discourse about literature that explores other value systems, perspectives and experiences, would have a very positive effect on literature in Malta. This can in turn help Maltese society to bridge the gap between beliefs and praxis, between what society says it believes in and what it actually tries to achieve in its daily life.

Abbozz kważi finali tal-ewwel appendiċi tat-traduzzjoni tiegħi tar-rumanz ‘La Nausée’ ta’ Jean-Paul Sartre. Dan l-appendiċi jiġbor fih traduzzjonijiet minni ta’ bosta siltiet minn ittri, intervisti, saġġi u noti personali ta’ Sartre dwar ir-rumanz. Il-materjal jagħti xhieda awtentika tal-iżvilupp intellettwali ta’ Sartre billi juri l-qagħda mentali u l-fehmiet filosofiċi tiegħu fi żmien il-kitba ta’ ‘La Nausée’ u kif tul is-snin dawn inbidlu, dejjem b’referenzi għar-rumanz. Is-siltiet miġbura jinkludu noti bikrin, it-takkwini filosofiċi li kiteb waqt is-servizz militari, sommarju tar-rumanz miktub minnu għal Gallimard, ittri bejnu u l-pubblikatur rigward kwistjonijiet editorjali, diversi intervisti, l-awtobijografija ‘Il-Kliem’, id-djalogi mill-bijodokumentarju ‘Sartre par lui-même’ u d-djalogi li kellu f’nofs sebgħinijiet dwar ‘La Nausée’ mas-sieħba Simone de Beauvoir. Is-siltiet jinkludu wkoll ittri relevanti li ntbagħtu bejn din il-koppja fis-snin tletin, li jixhdu kemm il-preżenza ta’ de Beauvoir kienet tassew importanti fil-ħajja ta’ Sartre. Magħhom ser jidhru wkoll reċensjonijiet minn Albert Camus u Maurice Blanchot. L-Appendiċi II imbagħad ser iġib – għall-ewwel darba f’ilsen barrani – bosta siltiet minn madwar ħamsin paġna kitba li Sartre kellu jneħħi mill-verżjoni finali minħabba ċ-ċensura tal-pubblikatur.

Kitba akkademika moqrija s-Sibt 22 t'Ottubru 2011 waqt il-Konferenza Dun Karm organizzata mill-Kunsill Lokali ta' Ħaż-Żebbuġ f'għeluq il-50 sena mill-mewt tal-Poeta Nazzjonali.  Din il-kitba ġiet ippubblikata f'Dun Karm: Patrimonju Malti u Żebbuġi, Kunsill Lokali ta' Ħaż-Żebbuġ, 2012.

Astratt: Din l-analiżi turi kif is-Semitiku, ir-Rumanz u l-Ingliż li minnhom magħmul il-Malti jippermettu dinamiżmu u flessibilità kbira fil-qasam tat-traduzzjoni kemm letterarja kif ukoll nonletterarja. Il-forma ortografika u t-tifsira semantika tal-kliem Malti-Rumanz huma ħafna drabi l-istess bħal dawk tal-kliem Malti-Ingliż u dan għax kemm l-Ingliż kif ukoll it-Taljan għandhom fil-lessiku għadd ta' għeruq komuni li etimoloġikament imorru lura għal-Latin Medjevali. Ir-rwol tat-traduzzjoni hu li jwassal it-test sors b'mod awtentiku lill-qarrej tat-test mira u mhux li jippreserva l-element Semitiku fil-Malti. Għalhekk għandha ssir distinzjoni bejn lingwa u traduzzjoni sabiex jiġi osservat id-determiniżmu lingwisitku stabbilit mill-awtur tal-lingwa sors fl-għażla tal-lessiku li twassal għar-replika vera tat-test oriġinali fil-lingwa mira tat-traduttur.

Dan l-artiklu jitratta l-possibbiltà ta' annotazzjoni kompluta ta' Ulied in-Nanna Venut fl-Amerika ta' Juann Mamo, fid-dawl tal-edizzjonijiet differenti tiegħu mill-1930-31 sal-2010 li jistgħu jolqtu r-riċezzjoni tal-qarrej ta' żminijiet differenti minħabba l-volum ta' referenzi kulturali li, bħal ma jissuġġerixxi Bernard MIcallef, kienu saru bħala kumment, anki satiriku, li jirfed il-ġrajja ġurnalistika magħruf mill-ewwel qarreja tar-rumanz.

EN

Synopsis: Through interdisciplinary description and analysis, this thesis investigates the city as a concept in the poems written by Norbert Bugeja. The founding discourse is elicited from the fields of architecture, philosophy (mainly phenomenology), and sociology. This research deals with the relation between the body (physically) and the house (mentally) on one side, and space on the other, whilst reference is made to verticality, horizontality, betweenness, roundness, and techniques of cyclicality, such as the chiasmic structure. I also investigate the relationship humanity has with the environment, plants and trees, animals, and individuals themselves. My critical outlook also includes the dialectics of haunting, that is, whether the inhabitants haunt (i.e. possess) the environment they live in, or whether it is the environment that haunts them. The works of Gaston Bachelard and Walter Benjamin proved inspirational to the analysis carried out in this research.

MT

Sinopsi: Din it-teżi tistħarreġ il-kunċett tal-belt fil-poeżiji ta’ Norbert Bugeja permezz ta’ deskrizzjonijiet u analiżi interdixxiplinarji, fost oħrajn b’diskors mill-oqsma tal- arkitettura, il-filosofija (primarjament il-fenomenoloġija), u s-soċjoloġija. Fost l-aspetti mistħarrġa hemm ir-relazzjonijiet bejn il-ġisem (mil-lat fiżiku) u d-dar (mil-lat mentali) fuq naħa, u l-ispazji fuq naħ’ oħra. Issir ukoll referenza għall-vertikalità, l-orizzontalità, il- bejjieni (betweenness), it-tond, u tekniki ta’ ċikliċità bħall-istruttura kjażmika. Nistħarreġ ukoll ir-relazzjonijiet bejn l-abitanti tal-ibliet, u l-ispazji li jgħixu fihom, b’referenza għar- relazzjonijiet mal-art, mal-pjanti u s-siġar, mal-annimali, u mal-bnedmin infushom. Tingħata wkoll ħarsa kritika lejn id-djalettika tal-ħkim, jiġifieri jekk humiex l-abitanti li jaħkmu l-ambjent ta’ madwarhom, jew jekk hux l-ambjent li jaħkimhom. Fost l- esponenti ewlenin li bnejt fuqhom hemm Gaston Bachelard u Walter Benjamin.

Traduzzjoni tiegħi tat-test “L-Anus Solari” ta’ Georges Bataille. Fil-bidu dan it-test kellu jkun l-iskritt ċentrali ta’ ġabra qasira ta’ traduzzjonijiet ta’ Bataille li kellha tidher bl-isem “L-Anus Solari u Skritti Oħra.” Kellu jkun ukoll is-suġġett ta’ koreografija tiegħi li kellha tittella’ fit-Teatru Nazzjonali tal-Lussemburgu kif ukoll hawn Malta f’Ħaġar Qim. Il-proġett kien sfaxxa, iżda l-ġabra maż-żmien kompliet tikber u l-pjanijiet huma li toħroġ bl-isem “Eċċessi Veġġenti.”
Georges Bataille kiteb dan it-test fl-1927 u ppubblikah fl-1931, voldieri fiż-żmien meta “l-virulenzi u l-ossessjonijiet” tiegħu wassluh biex jisfa’ taħt l-iskrutinju tal-psikanaliżi. Kien kiteb dan it-test simboliku b’għanijiet konfrontattivi, ġieli wkoll distruttivi, li jiżvelaw bosta mit-tendenzi intellettwali ewlenin tiegħu. Fil-qalba tal-mira hemm l-edifiċji kunċettwali ta’ Descartes u ta’ Hegel. (Ilaqqtuha wkoll ir-Romantiċi u s-Surrealisti.) Fid-diskorsi filosofiċi ta’ dawn kollha, minkejja d-differenzi, insibu t-tentattiv komuni li jwettqu l-istess bravura impossibbli: l-“identifikazzjoni totali” tas-suġġett li tasal tħaddan lis-“sħiħ traxxendentali.”
Bataille jwaqqa’ dan kollu għan-nelħ billi joħloq kosmogonija “għalkollox parodika” li mit-tifrik tad-dijalettika taċ-ċrieki magħluqa ta’ Hegel u mill-istħarriġ filosofiku benfondat fuq veritajiet ċertissimi ta’ Descartes tibni viżjoni t’univers instabbli b’ċentru dejjem mobbli. Fid-diskors kollu ma tonqosx il-vjolenza tas-simboloġija oxxena, ġaladarba, ma ninsewx, f’Bataille l-univers huwa fenomenu intrinsikament vjolenti u oxxen – tumakka taħt iċ-ċinturin tas-Surrealisti u tar-Romantiċi.
“L-Anus Solari“ huwa parodija daqskemm mhux. Fil-kollija tal-iskema parodika ta’ Bataille kull bersall tal-parodija jkun dejjem ukoll huwa nnifsu parodija ta’ bersall ieħor, u sejrin. Għaldaqstant kull tentattiv ta’ parodija jisfa’ inutli b’tali mod li jxejjen il-possibbiltà li l-parodija jseħħilha tiżgiċċa minnha nfisha u ssir diskors jew valur ġdid u traxxendentali.

Artiklu akkademiku preżentat waqt il-Konferenza Doreen Micallef nhar is-Sibt 3 ta' Diċembru 2011 fil-Kavallier ta' San Ġakbu l-Belt Valletta f'għeluq l-10 snin mill-mewt tal-poetessa Doreen Micallef. L-istudju jinsab ippubblikat fil-ktieb 'Doreen Micallef: Il-Konferenza', Ed. Victor Fenech, pubblikazzjoni tal-Akkademja tal-Malti u Klabb Kotba Maltin, 2015.

Fl-20 ta' Ottubru tal-1836 waslet Malta Kummissjoni Rjali magħmula minn George Cornewall Lewis u John Austin biex jistħarrġu l-liġijiet u l-kostituzzjoni ta' Malta, jiflu s-sitwazzjoni ta' diversi setturi fil-gżira, jiktbu rapport u jagħtu suġġerimenti. Magħhom ġiet mart John Austin, Sarah Austin (1793-1867, ritratt lemin), editriċi Ingliża li kienet taf il-Latin, il-Franċiż, il-Ġermaniż u t-Taljan u traduttriċi ta' xogħlijiet mill-Ġermaniż u l-Franċiż għall-Ingliż. Hi l-aktar magħrufa għat-traduzzjoni tagħha mill-Ġermaniż Characteristics of Goethe from the German of Falk ta' Von Müller u oħrajn li ppubblikat fl-1833. Sena wara ttraduċiet The Story without an End ta' Friedrich Wilhelm Carové, ktieb li ġie stampat ħafna drabi. Mill-ewwel ġranet li waslet Malta u matul is-sena u disa' xhur li damet hawn, Sarah Austin ħadet interess fl-affarijiet tal-Maltin u bis-saħħa tat-Taljan li kienet taf indiehset man-nobbli Maltin li l-Ingliżi kienu qed iwarrbu u ma jagħtux kas. Minkejja li hi ma kinitx waħda mill-Kummissarji hi għamlet ħafna suġġerimenti dwar kif tista' tittejjeb il-ħajja tal-Maltin. Barra minn hekk hi ħadet interess fl-arti Maltija u fl-industrija tal-bizzilla. Mhux ta' b'xejn li f'Malta kienet magħrufa bħala "La Signora Commissionaria". Sarah Austin tatna kronaka estensiva talkolera f'Malta tal-1837 fl-artiklu 'The cholera in Malta' li deher fl-edizzjoni ta' Jannar 1866 tal-Fraser's Magazine.

Translation was an important tool in the development of the Maltese language and the country’s identity. This dissertation seeks to distinguish the qualities of translation, adaptation and appropriation, and to use these classifications to examine one of the earliest examples of narrative translation into Maltese, Il Haỹa u il Vinturi ta’ Robinson Krusoe, in an attempt to find its place in the literal-liberal translation spectrum.
Along with this, the research also seeks to identify the methods in translating linguistic, pragmatic, social and cultural elements of the source text in order to understand its standing within the Maltese context. This work hopes to facilitate the deeper understanding of the importance of translation in early Maltese literature and to the development of the Maltese language

F’għeluq il-ħamsin sena mis-sejba tal-Kantilena ta’ Pietru Caxaru, li seħħet fit-22 ta’ Settembru, 1966, sejrin jiġu mgħoddija  ħsibijiet fuq l-aktar kitba antika li tħalliet  bil-lingwa Maltija, miktuba minn id Brandan Caxaru, fl-ewwel reġistru tal-atti notarili tiegħu.  F’dawn il-ħsibijiet sejrin jiġu miflija dettalji bijografiċi fuq dawn iż-żewġ personaġġi biex forsi tiġi mifhuma aħjar it-tifsira ta’ din l-għanja.  Huwa l-għan ta’ din il-kitba li ssir interpretazzjoni tal-versi li għadhom meqjusin bħala oskuri u li bil-misteru tagħhom għadhom jaffaxxinaw lil nies li jaqraw il-Kantilena.  Is-simboliżmu tal-kuluri użati, kif ukoll it-tifsira tal-aħħar vers f’din il-kitba ser jingħataw interpretazzjoni totalment ġdida f’dan l-istudju.

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Dan il-ktieb jiġbor fih traduzzjoni mill-Franċiż, mill-Ingliż u mit-Taljan ta’ diversi poeżiji tal-poetessa Sirjana Maram al-Masri. Il-proġett nibet wara laqgħa bla ħsieb waqt festival tal-letteratura Għarbija f’Belt il-Lussemburgu fis-sajf tal-2009.

Il-prassi li nżomm bħala traduttur is-soltu tesiġi li fejn jista’ jkun it-traduzzjoni għandha ssir dejjem mill-ilsien oriġinali. B’danakollu, ġaladarba l-ilsien oriġinali tal-poeżija ta’ al-Masri huwa l-Għarbi, din id-darba ftit li xejn kien possibbli nżommha. Għaldaqstant ħafna mill-ħidma kienet saret bl-għajnuna talawtriċi.

L-ewwel parti, “Il-Libsa ta’ Għerti”, tiġbor fiha diversi poeżiji mill-ġabra “A Red Cherry on a White-tiled Floor” (Ċirasa Ħamra fuq Madum Abjad, 2007), li kienet l-ewwel ġabra tagħha li qatt ġiet ippubblikata fl-Istati Uniti. It-tieni taqsima tinkludi l-ġabra “Residenta tal-Art” filwaqt li t-tielet waħda tinkludi ħdax-il poeżija mhux riveduti li kienu deheru bit-titlu “L-Iżjed Waqt l-Għabex.” Dawn iż-żewġ ġabriet ġew ippubblikati flimkien għallewwel darba bil-Franċiż fil-ġabra “Je te menace d’une colombe blanche” (Qed Nheddek b’Ħamiema Bajda, 1984).

It-titlu ġenerali ta’ din il-ġabra jirreferi bix-xieraq għallpoeżija “Nisa Bħali” – stqarrija skjetta minn poetessa ribelli li dejjem fittxet – kemm fil-politika u kemm fl-imħabba – li tkun il-personifikazzjoni poetika tal-ħajja ħielsa. aktarx fi żmienna, meta art twelidha tinsab imtertqa mill-madmad ta’ forzi brutali, din l-għajta tagħha saret ferm iżjed relevanti.

Nixtieq niżżi ħajr lil sħabi l-poeti Antoine Cassar u Walid Nabhan, lill-poeta Lussemburgiż Lambert Schlechter, u b’mod partikulari lil Mark Camilleri, lil Maria Muscat u lill-bqija tal-membri tal-Kunsill Nazzjonali tal-Ktieb talli għoġobhom jipprovdu l-appoġġ u l-fondi meħtieġa għat-tbiegħ ta’ din il-ġabra u għat-tnedija tagħha waqt il-Festival Nazzjonali tal-Ktieb 2015.

‘Il -Manifest tal -Killer ’ is the latest novel by writer and journalist Karl Schembri. The novel is about a group of Maltese anarchist students, followers of the anonymous internet activist who signs his messages as ‘il-Killer’. “Din mhix storja bhall-ohrajn” (this
story is not like many others) says a note instead of the usual dedication at the beginning of the book. Indeed, there is very little of the ‘usual’ and conventional in this novel. Schembri takes us underground to a subversive sub-culture where an angry young man exposes all the double standards of an insular ‘democratic’ society. The author takes to language as his prime tool and dissects the media (pluralism) to expose the manipulation and abuse of the word in contemporary society. “Part of my story is really wishful thinking; a wish that young people still uncorrupted by greed and power reclaim their public space and voice their radical ideas, outrageous as they may be on this conservative island,” Schembri said, “It is also fuelled by a specific question: After years of absolute control of the media, what are the Maltese to do with their new found pluralism and freedom of expression? What kind of language will finally come out on the air waves as the
microphones are opened for ‘the citizen’ to speak out?” As the avenues of expression start closing down one after the other for the anonymous internet activist who signs as ‘il-Killer’, a group of anarchist students devise a plan to infiltrate the media and eventually to come out in an explosive way on the night of the Eurovision Song Contest. They plan to hijack the contest
in a plot that implicates a school (Sixth Form) watchman, who also
ends up investigated by the police in connection with the escape of a circus tiger that is terrorising Malta.
Schembri creates a riveting story, in his inimitable and descriptive
style, in the current everyday language of Maltese society. ‘Il-Manifest tal-Killer’ hails unrest from social conventions and general acceptance as the only cathartic ‘way-out’ of a disillusioned society. His true heroes are depicted as Marxists of sorts but true to their reformist social mission.
In his introduction to the book, Mario Azzopardi not only describes the historico-literary backdrop to the book but he also provides very interesting insights about the relationship which Schembri makes between the anarchist role of his ‘il-Killer’ and violence as his final resort. Awarded the Julian Manduca Award 2006, Il-Manifest tal-Killer is the first book to be published by Choppy Books, the book publishing arm of MediaToday and set up to publish works of Maltese authors.