Mayor Pete is causing quite a stir across the pond with his efforts in the US’s 2020 Presidential Election, but his proposals are quickly being eclipsed by the public fascination surrounding his particular (and very Maltese) surname.
Deemed “unpronoundable” by President Trump, The Washington Post – a major American daily newspaper, took it upon itself to divulge some pretty interesting facts about the popular Maltese surname.
The article opens with an interesting statement: “three of the past four mayors [in Qala, Gozo] have had the same last name: Buttigieg. The opposition leader is a Buttigieg, too. So is the baker. And one of the priests. And many of the retirees,” it reveals.
The article post also reveals an interesting statistic: “There are, in fact, 2,850 Buttigiegs in Malta, according to the last census, one in every 170 people,” it says.
Tackling the issue of pronunciation: “For non-Maltese unfamiliar with the surname, it can be a bit challenging to pronounce, what with the collision of drumlike consonants at the end. Mayor Pete has tried to give some guidance of his own: His campaign posters say Boot-edge-edge. But Maltese tend to hit the notes a little differently, speeding through the first two syllables and drawing out a “geeeech” at the end,” it reads.
Read the full article here.
That's a pretty interesting read!