Okay so these expressions may sound perfectly natural to the native Maltese speaker, but when translated into English they sound a little…. Strange.
Take a look and see what you think:
http://gty.im/463055503
Kemm inti basla! – – – – What an onion you are!
– Basically this is a way to call someone an idiot or a dope.
Dejjaqtni! – – – – You narrowed me!
– You made me angry. It’s one of those where the word in Maltese has a double-meaning.
Nigi nitmejjel – – – – I come leaning
– Another one where a word has two meanings, but basically this is telling somebody to ‘get lost’. Except probably a bit stronger than that.
Halib ommok fi snienek – – – – Mother’s milk in your teeth
– This describes someone who is very young/immature
Blajt kanna – – – – I swallowed a pipe
– Something bad happened, which I had to accept.
Mur ghand boxxla xjaten – – – – Go to a compass of devils
– Go to a very bad place! In English you might suggest that someone ‘go forth and multiply’, except using only two familiar Anglo-Saxon words.
Hallejtu lampa stampa – – – – You left him a lamp and a picture
– You went off and left me to do all the work, all that you left behind was a lamp and a picture. (Don’t ask me why those particular items are used to illustrate this situation.)
Demmu jkeccik – – – – His blood chucks you out
– You have bad chemistry with this person, you just don’t get on.
Haditha qatta’ bla habel! – – – – She took a bundle without rope
– This suggests that the person was so furious that she stormed off without even roping her bundle. Imagine! Walking down the street carrying a bundle without a rope! I always make sure to securely rope my bundle before I go out to work in the morning.
Thallat il-hass mal-bass – – – – You mix lettuce with farts
– This is when somebody gets confused or mixed up. The words ‘lettuce’ and ‘farts’ rhyme in Maltese, but the English translation only makes things even more confusing.
I was helped with the translations and meanings by a panel of Maltese experts here, so any errors are due to my own misunderstanding, but if you see anything which needs to be changed then feel free to let me know – David.
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2015Share this:
Stampa is picture not stamp.
I’ve corrected that – thanks.
Catanese
– Fare una cosa immediatamente: Lampa e Stampa (i Catanesi up to date traducono “Flash and Print”)