Dr Claudine Borg
Translation is not the first thing that usually comes to mind when thinking of Maltese identity and what shapes it. However – as Michael Cronin writes in Translation and Identity –translation must be at the centre of any attempt to think about questions of identity in human society. Translation, in fact, had and still has a significant role in shaping our national identity, especially when it comes to Maltese and Maltese literature. How?
Translation spurred Maltese writing. According to Storja tal-Ilsien u l-Letteratura Maltija – kronoloġija by Mario Cassar, after the Kantilena, one of the first known literary works in Maltese is a translation: the poem ‘Lill-Granmastru Cottoner’ by Giovanni Francesco Bonamico, which he wrote in French and then translated it into Maltese. Next, we find the poem by an anonymous Gozitan author ‘Jaħasra Mingħajr Ħtija’, and then there is the Maltese translation of the Pater Noster. When analysing this list, one realises the big boost given by translation to the Maltese language. Apparently, the first book printed in Maltese was also a translation, this time from Italian, of a religious text: Tagħlim Nisrani, by Cardinal Bellarmine and translated into Maltese by Fr Franġisk Wizzino.
Translation still has (and will always have) an influence on our language and literature. When Malta became a full member of the European Union (EU) and Maltese one of the official EU languages, our language was enriched through translation. Since Regulation No. 1 determines that EU law shall be drafted and published in all the official languages, translators and terminologists had to create terms in Maltese for many specific fields: from legal and scientific to financial and technical. Prior to 2004, we did not need terminology related to such fields in Maltese because European law did not apply directly to us, otherwise we would have used English terminology. Certainly, this was not an easy and smooth process, however thanks to translation, today there is a Maltese equivalent to thousands of terms.
Itamar Even-Zohar stresses the importance of studying the position and function of translations in a literary system. In major and established literatures, the tendency is for translation to play a rather peripheral role and a conservative function while in minor literatures, it is more central and spurs innovation. Thus, in literatures like ours, translation enlarges, multiplies and fertilizes national literature by importing canonical works as well as innovative and experimental ones. Translation also shows the potential of the Maltese language: when books such as En attendant Godot are translated into Maltese, one recognises the possibilities offered by our language, as well as its flexibility and resourcefulness. And once a literary work is translated, it becomes an integral part of the literary system receiving it. Translation, then, affects the target literature and contributes to the shaping of its linked identity(s).
Through translation, we not only import but also export. The translation of Maltese literature into other languages serves to bring literature that, for the most part, is only accessible to the half a million people who speak Maltese, to a much larger audience. It is another means of transmitting and showcasing local literature. And this happens with the support of national entities, mainly the National Book Council, which support and finance translations from and into Maltese. When exporting literature, we are exporting part of our identity.
This article forms part of the campaign ‘l-ilsien Malti għal qalbi’, organised by the Office of the President and the Maltese language organisations.