chanting gibberish with a pure heart?

[lojong1]

Some locals have been chanting this Pali line while 'sharing the merit with others': "Edam te punnakamma, asavakia viham hontu."
What they think it means is this: "By virtue of these [my] wise actions [having practised anapanasati] may all the cancers/hindrances be eliminated."

Is this Pali correct (it seems not to me), is it appropriate to use in this situation, and what's wrong with chanting gibberish anyway?

[Reductor]

...and what's wrong with chanting gibberish anyway?

Nothing, if the heart is pure. Plus, you may put a smile on the face of another, or make them laugh... and really, isn't that the greatest gift of all? Haha.

EDIT: Oh, and I don't think that pali is right. Shouldn't punnakamma be inflected as punnakamma.m, for instance? That's the first thing that comes to mind, but I'm a long way from competent in pali.

[David N. Snyder]

I think the Pali should be:

Idam me ñātinaṃ hotu-sukhitā hontu ñātayo

which means:

May my relatives share these merits and
May they be well and happy!

[David N. Snyder]

is it appropriate to use in this situation, and what's wrong with chanting gibberish anyway?

As long as there is a pure heart, then it is appropriate.

It's not gibberish if you know the meaning and the heart is pure, imo.