Il-funzjonijiet u l-motivazzjonijiet tal-ironija fil-versi popolari Maltin

Abstract

Dan l-artiklu nbena fuq ir-riċerka li saret għat-teżi tal-Masters fl-Arti fil-Malti dwar l-ironija fil-versi popolari Maltin, b’mod speċjali l-analiżi tad-diskrepanzi ironiċi, anke jekk imsaħħa minn mekkaniżmi letterarji oħra, l-aktar f’kompożizzjonijiet b’interess soċjali. L-ironija fit-tradizzjoni orali Maltija qajla ġiet irriċerkata, u din hija ħasra meta wieħed iqis kif il-wirt orali ta’ missirijietna huwa miżgħud b’kuntrasti kontinwi bejn dak li qed jingħad u dak li qed jinftiehem, bejn espressjoni u qawwa insinwattiva. L-inkongruwenzi maħdumin bil-mekkaniżmu tal-ironija qdew lill-popolin għal diversi skopijiet, kuntesti, temi u avvenimenti meħudin mill-ħajja ta’ kuljum tiegħu. Id-diversità ta’ applikazzjonijiet u effetti ironiċi timmanifesta l-implikazzjonijiet varji li sikwit jitnisslu mill-mekkaniżmi ambivalenti tagħha, speċjalment fil-kuntest ta’ taqbiliet popolari dwar il-pika, il-ġibdiet sesswali u l-apparenzi foloz, fost motifi oħra. Il-kunfidenza miżjuda tal-versifikatur ironiku ġejja mill-fatt li permezz ta’ gradazzjoni umoristika jkun qiegħed jesponi l-għerf komuni ta’ poplu sħiħ maħżun f’għadd ta’ botti u risposti dwar id-difetti, l-istramberiji, il-makakkerija u l-kwalitajiet l-oħra ddisprezzati jew irridikulati tal-komunità u l-mentalità tipika tagħha. Il-versi mogħtijin bħala eżempji u l-kuntest tagħhom mhumiex biss minn kompilazzjonijiet analitiċi tat-tradizzjoni orali, imma wkoll direttament minn fomm il-poplu. Dan għandu l-vantaġġ aktar bażiku ta’ wirt tradizzjonali li ma jintilifx fid-diversi forom ta’ reġistrazzjoni oriġinali tiegħu permezz ta’ intervisti li daqqiet kienu awdjoviżivi u oħrajn tal-ħoss biss, kwestjonarji bil-miktub li ngħataw lill-parteċipanti li ma xtaqux jiġu rrekordjati, u l-Formola Google bħala mezz alternattiv biex inġabret firxa ġmielha ta’ eżempji f’rabta ma’ sitwazzjonijiet uniċi bħall-buscades.

This article is based on the research done for the Master of Arts thesis in Maltese regarding irony in popular Maltese verses, especially the analysis of ironic discrepancies, even if reinforced by other literary devices mostly in compositions with a social interest. Irony in the Maltese oral tradition has hardly been researched, and this is unfortunate considering how our oral heritage is full of contrasts between what is being said and what is being understood, between expression and insinuating power. The incongruities achieved through the mechanism of irony served the common people for various ends, contexts, themes and events taken from their daily life. The diversity of ironic applications and effects manifests the various implications that are often derived from its ambivalent mechanisms, especially in the context of popular verses about motifs like rivalry, sexual attraction and false appearances. The increased confidence of the ironic versifier comes from the fact that through a humorous gradation he would be exposing the common wisdom of an entire people’s repartees about the defects, the oddities, the shrewdness and the other despised or ridiculed qualities of the community and its typical mentality. The exemplifying verses and their context are not only from analytical compilations of oral tradition, but also directly from the people’s mouths. This has the more basic advantage of a traditional heritage not being lost in its various forms of original recording through interviews that were sometimes audio-visual and at other times aural only, written questionnaires given to unwilling participants be recorded, and the Google Form as an alternative means to collect a wide range of examples in relation to unique situations such as buscades.