Unacceptable ‘Facebook Maltese’ invades O'level exam paper

Examiners have coined a new term to define the way students express themselves in Maltese: “il-Malti tal-facebook” (Facebook Maltese).

A report on the performance of students in the Maltese O'level exam ends with a cautionary warning that good Maltese expression does not rely on “Facebook Maltese” and “vulgarities”, adding that such expressions were inappropriate in an exam of the Maltese language.

A number of candidates wrote in a colloquial way either by shortening words using exceptions like “naqa” instead of “naqra” (a little) or even using vulgar expressions. One classic expression was “dik il-gurnata kienet fottitli ħajti” (that day f***** my life).

A number of students sitting for their Maltese O'level have shown a remarkable ability in importing words from Italian or English and inventing new words.

Among the inventions in last year’s exam one finds “lojali” instead leali (loyal), “nirrefugjaw” instead of “morna nfittxu kenn” (finding shelter), “kurrenzija” instead of munita (currency) and “advertazaw” instead of irreklamaw (advertising).

The report notes that some students did use words imported from English correctly as was the case of “noqgħodu niccettjaw fuq il-kompjuter” (we spend time chatting on the computer).

But others used English or Italian equivalents simply because they did not know the Maltese equivalent. Some striking examples were “biex induru c-citta ahjar” (to explore the city better, instead of using “rahal” or “belt”), “il-kontadini ibihhu l-ħaxix” (the farmers sell their produce instead of “bdiewa”) and “hemm hekk kollox mar downhill (when we arrived there everything went wrong, instead of “mar għall-agħar”).

When asked to write a formal letter to complain about the poor service in a restaurant, the examiners noted that some students still relapsed into colloquial expression “lacking in prudence or cordiality”. For example one candidate simply said “ħa ngħidlek ta, ma kontx nistennieha minn għandek,” (look here, I never expected this from you – employing a more colloquial tone,).

When asked to write an email after receiving the wrong model of a mobile phone they ordered, some students showed a lack of “prudence”, even resorted to threats of “giving the company a bad name”.

While only 31% did not get a pass required for entry for junior college only 3% were awarded Grade 1 while 38% were awarded Grade 4 or 5.