TT(O)M

Dictatorships are unpopular and the popular belief is that one day, someday, they will be eradicated.   I am unable to understand why the National Council for the Maltese language seems only interested in playing dictator with the language. The current trend seems to be that of phonetically Malteseizing foreign words; many a times foreign technical words.   I was researching the Maltese dictionary for Microsoft office and came across the page below.   Why Dawnload and not Download; why Softwer and not Software. In the same page we have words such as interface, drivers, patches, update and suite that have not yet been phonetically converted into Maltese. Hop over to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_English_words_by_country_or_language_of_origin for a list of words in the English language of foreign origin. Any adjustment to the original word was either to accommodate a non-English alphabet and because, over time and in a natural manner, it adj...

Episode three of the first season of the TV series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.  takes place in Malta, a baddie's haven immune from jurisdiction of the US, EU, S.H.I.E.L.D. and other law abiding enforcement agencies. The above is a shot from the episode. The correct translation of " Do Not Cross " is " Tid ħolx ". According to Bing's Translator " Do not cross " translates to " Ma jaqsmu " while Google's translation engine does not even bother to translate it.