Within the conch : anthology of contemporary Maltese prose translated into English

Abstract

It was only natural that English, as a lingua franca with such international usage, would be the chosen medium for this translation project. Moreover, English is constitutionally enshrined in Malta as an official language together with the native tongue, Maltese, with the latter duly recognized as the national language. The native tongue, unique in the sense that it is only spoken by the native population (c. 500,000) together with some other 150,000 spread among the Maltese diaspora, is also unique in that it is the only Semitic language written in the Latin script. Although Malta is not, in the strictest sense of the word, bilingual, English takes pride of place alongside Maltese in many a socio-cultural and administrative context. Interestingly enough though, only about half a dozen or so of Maltese writers have actually written their literary genres in English during the post-Independence period. The vast majority of local fiction authors prefer to write in Maltese, as attested by the books submitted for the National Book awards over the last few years. In fact, out of the twenty-five novels and five collections of short stories submitted to the 2018 literary competition organized by the National Book Council, only two entries were written in English. It is becoming increasingly apparent that targeting literary output in Maltese only to a very small Maltese readership is perhaps culturally restrictive. Consequently, local authors and publishers could stand to gain by having their work circulated worldwide through translation. Besides, through English translations, the Maltese literary world (in this case, literary prose) is opened up for show and scrutiny at an international level. The power of translation should, therefore, not be underestimated.