Nhar it-Tlieta 17 ta’ Diċembru 2019, fis-6.00pm, fil-Librerija tal-Fakultà tal-Arti tal-Università ta’ Malta, Tal-Qroqq, Abigail Deguara se tagħmel taħdita dwar “Minn ta’ min int? Analiżi Lingwistika tal-Laqam Personali”.
Din se tkun il-ħames attività mis-sensiela fuq It-Tradizzjoni Orali, proġett immexxi mid-Dipartiment tal-Malti fl-Università ta’ Malta bil-Fondi tar-Riċerka tal-Università ta’ Malta u bl-appoġġ tal-Klabb Kotba Maltin.
Din it-taħdita hija dwar il-laqmijiet ta’ individwi u familji Maltin;
tikketti li għal xi wħud huma ħelwin u għal oħrajn imbarazzanti, imma li lkoll ifakkru ħsibijiet antiki li baqgħu jintirtu minn ġenerazzjoni għall-oħra bil-fomm. Ħafna studjużi Maltin isemmuhom fix-xogħlijiet tagħhom però ftit li xejn jiffukaw fuq aspetti formali bħal kif jinbnew u x’tip ta’ struttura jista’ jkollhom. Għal din ir-raġuni, l-istudju li għamlet Abigail Deguara jħares lejn numru ta’ laqmijiet minn perspettiva lingwistika, janalizza l-binja tagħhom u jikklassifikahom skont għadd ta’ kriterji. B’hekk it-taħdita mhux biss se tagħti informazzjoni ġenerali dwar il-laqmijiet personali imma se tiffoka wkoll fuq l-elementi varji li jsawruhom.
Abigail Deguara, għandha 21 sena u toqgħod il-Mosta. Tħobb iżżomm ruħha impenjata matul il-ġurnata u għandha għal qalbha l-ivjaġġar, u t-tagħlim. Din is-sena għadha kemm lestiet il-kors tal-Baċellerat fl-Arti bl-Unuri fil-Malti u issa tinsab eċitata sabiex tara fejn se jwassalha l-vjaġġ tal-Masters fit-tagħlim.
It-Tradizzjoni Orali 
Ghandi interess fil-laqmijiet. Ghamilt database tal-passaporti kollha minn Malta minn 1900-37 total ta
65,000 u uhud minnhom ghandhom il-laqmijiet ukoll. Jekk jinteressah nghaddilek minnhom ftit ftit.
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Hi Mark, nistgħu nitkellmu bl-email, jekk jogħġbok? adrian.grima@um.edu.mt
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Hi Adrian
Issa qed nikkonfondi. Bghatt email lil Yanika.
Jidher li t-tnejn minnkom tahdmu l-Universita.
Jimporta tfehmni ma’ min ghandi nikkorrespondi?
Mark
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Exerpt of a paper I gave to Maltese in Makay in 1994
Nicknames are another a field of study on their own. Some family names have had their origin in Australia, as the well-known name of the Habana grocer Andrew Vella as Tal-Kajser, which in Mosta was Tas-Serafin. His wife Antonia became Tal-Kajsrina.
Similarly Joe Camilleri – Il-Qanzaz & Il-Qanzazina, Anglu Borg Tal-Hanx & Tal-Hanxina, Tat-Trilla & Tat-Trillina and many other pristine Maltese nicknames.
The importance of nicknames today tends to be under-estimated.
In an oral history interview I did in 1988 with a Paul Camilleri from Zebbiegh (Imgarr Malta) who cut cane in Farleigh from 1927-45, he told me that there were three Paul Camilleri’s in Mackay at his time and the letters at the post office always got mixed up. The postal clerk was an elderly man who simply handed all the Camilleri letters to him to select his own. You might be thinking now, but who was this Paul Camilleri? I only need to tell you that he was known as Ta’ l-Ahmar and he was a cousin to Jim Chetcuti, il-Mazzozu, and the penny drops!
If you happen to come from Mgarr or Mosta, a whole family scenario opens up to you, like an enlarged computer print preview. I find it fascinating that even with second and third generation Australian Maltese, the last piece in the jigsaw family-identification puzzle always begs the question “Ta’ min jghidulhom?”
This linguistic pool of Maltese-Australian vocabulary and folk tradition such as family nicknames, which have remained intact or have adapted themselves to Australian surroundings, deserve the attention of university scholars in Malta or in Australia.
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