Facebook has officially added Maltese in their language settings. X’għandek fuq moħħok, fittex, and jogħġobni are just a few phrases that you’ll see once you set your Facebook to Maltese!

Two years ago, Facebook page Kelma Kelma shared this hilarious photo with the possible meanings of Facebook reaction emojis in Maltese, if the social media website were to introduce Maltese as a language setting. And well, they were pretty on point and at par with true Maltese emotions!

Intrigued by the new language setting, I experimented with Facebook in Maltese, and found that Kelma Kelma's reactions are waaaay funnier. The actual reactions in on the Maltese version on Facebook (in order of appearance) are named: jogħġobni (like), imhabba (love), ħaħa (haha), wow (wow), dwejjaq (sad), and irrabjat (angry). Not quite as colourful as Kelma Kelma’s interpretation, but still serve the purpose!

Now that everyone has gotten used to navigating through Facebook in English, seeing things in Maltese is more than a little weird. My eyes automatically went to the search bar, only to be confused when my brain registered fittex! I can now add a friend by clicking the Żid bħala ħabib button, or I can use the Ibgħat messaġġ button to send them a message! I was particularly baffled when my friend ippowstja (posted) in a group and qasam ħolqa (shared a link). I'm a little dizzy from all the translation that's going on in my head right now!

It takes a bit of getting used to, but Facebook in Maltese is pretty brilliant, even if is a little weird seeing your native language (written correctly) on social media. It could also be a good (and fun) tool for anyone interested in learning (or bettering) their Maltese. While content is still in English, many key navigation points have been translated quite well into Maltese. Maybe this could be an incentive for all Maltese Facebook users to type in correct Maltese from now on? One can dream!

What do you think about Facebook in Maltese?