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Matthew Vella
The state of the Maltese language was described as still being a “problem child” in the EU, as recruitment tests will only be held once the courses at the University of Westminster in London have ended in May 2005, according to Brussels-based Parliament Magazine, a monthly round-up on the European Parliament and European Commission affairs.
According to author David Ferguson, there are currently only six Maltese students on the course, and no major influx of fully qualified interpreters can be expected.
Malta is currently exempted from translating all EU documents for two years, following a derogation obtained on Accession Day, May 1 2004, which could also be extended for an additional year. According to an unnamed translator quoted by Ferguson however, “the situation is really catastrophic as there are currently only three Maltese translators at the European Council.”
With the exception of Maltese, it looks as if by 2006 the Commission will be working normally in the new official languages. The report said with official EU Languages shooting up from 11 to 20, “enlargement is causing headaches for planners concerned about finding translators for Maltese and the Baltic languages.”
Ever since Malta received its derogation on the translation of EU documents, Maltese translation firms have complained that not enough translation work had reached them from the European Commission. The matter was taken up personally with Permanent Representative to the EU Richard Cachia Caruana.
Maltese is the EU’s only Semitic language and enjoys a specific exemption because not enough translators were available at the time of accession. A post-graduate course in translation was only instituted after accession.
matthew@newsworksltd.com
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