The making of a documentary : Djaletti Għawdxin

Abstract

Several scholars are surprised to find that despite the smallness of the Maltese Islands, the people not only have their own unique language but use also various dialects. There are even some villages in which people speak more than one dialect. There was a time when everyone spoke a dialect on these islands, but eventually, one of them was chosen and became known as the Maltese Standard. Over the years, many Maltese began to recognise the Maltese Standard as superior, whereas dialects were perceived as inferior. Soon, the use of dialects began to decrease at an alarming speed and some predicted that they would die out within the next generation. Curiously, on the island of Gozo which is only a step away from Malta, this phenomenon did not take place. Whereas the Gozitans do recognise the Maltese Standard as the country’s formal language, they still use dialects in their everyday speech. Isolation is one of the main factors leading to dialect creation, and Gozo’s double insularity enhances this aspect. Yet there is much more than the mere distance to explain this different reality. Diversity among communities has always been fascinating, especially for linguist scholars. Back in the 18th century, one already finds those who were documenting Maltese and Gozitan dialects. One of the first was Mikiel Anton Vassalli who went around Malta and Gozo to collect words for his dictionary and began to notice variations in dialects. He observed that in Gozo, people used some words which he had never heard of before. In Għarb, one of the remotest villages in Gozo, he went to investigate the dialect even more closely since he had been informed that it was unique. There he discovered that the community had come up with an invented language, a secret way of communicating between them so that others will not understand what they are saying. This secret language, known as Brejku, seems to have dwindled considerably by the early 20th century. It is hard to find someone who can speak it nowadays. Remarkably, in this documentary, it is a Maltese woman with an interesting past, who reveals how Brejku is spoken. Since it is not feasible to interview a representative from each Gozitan village, and also to avoid repetition as neighbouring villages tend to have very similar dialects, four Gozitans from different parts of the island were chosen to present a general perspective. They hailed from the villages of Għarb (the westernmost point of the island), Nadur (the easternmost hill of Gozo), Xagħra (the north-east part) and Xewkija (the south-east part). They are: an 11-year-old boy, a 15-year-old girl, a 58-year-old man and an 85-year-old woman. Differences in gender and age were purposely selected to cover distinct generations. From their interviews, it is evident that these persons feel Gozitan first and then Maltese. They are all very proud of their dialects since it gives them an identity. Several images were shown to them so that they can pronounce what each object is called in their dialects. While some pronunciation is shared between the four of them, there is very evident variety between the dialects. The four experts (three Maltese and one Gozitan) explain how dialects are influenced by the societies which make use of them. Education in schools has been one of the principal factors which have led to the lack of use of dialects in Malta. Dialect-speaking children in Gozo face more difficulties than their Maltese counterparts when they start writing in Maltese at school since it differs from the language they speak at home. Nevertheless, once they get a good hold of the Maltese language, Gozitans perform better in Maltese exams since their idioms and expressions are richer due to their dialects. Faced with the opinion of other scholars who believe that there are no dialects in the Maltese Islands but simply different accents, I researched this theme, however, I could locate no pertinent local academic studies. Nevertheless, I made it a point to discuss this with the four experts who participated in the documentary and all agreed that this theory is incorrect. They insist that accents are just one of the most obvious elements of dialect. A dialect is a whole system of communication. It can vary from a standard language and also from other dialects on various levels, such as pronunciation, phonetics, vocabulary and grammar. Studies have shown that Maltese who hail from distinct villages are unable to speak together in their dialects even if they try. Yet in Gozo, dialects are so strong that people from various villages will communicate in their different dialects with no difficulty at all. This perpetuates the validity of the Gozitan dialects. Moreover, the social fact that Gozitans have a diocese of their own, a university campus, a sports complex and two opera theatres enhances their sense of vitality and gives them a social strength which is also reflected in their language. Although Gozitan dialects are still strong, they have changed over the years. The Maltese and foreigners who move to live in Gozo, have their effects on the use of dialects too, particularly when Gozitans adjust their way of speaking to include them in the community. Yet Gozitan dialects will remain alive as long as parents continue to use them at home. Dialects will only fade away if Gozitans will find themselves unable to use them. Notwithstanding the prediction that local dialects will soon die out, both Maltese and Gozitan dialects are still alive among us.