Understanding wor(l)ds

Abstract

S itting at her desk in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Malta, in an office lined with hundreds of books, there is nothing to attest to how much Professor Lydia Sciriha's work actually engages with society around her. But many of the conclusions of her work are testimony to her deep and practical engagement with society. "Men and women need to be aware that they have different conversational styles... The advent of mobile phones has made it much harder for parents to keep tabs on their kids ... It is not surprising that so many marriages are on the rocks since there seems to be little communication between the two partners ..." By delving into the linguistic worlds constructed by men and women - and the cultural practices they reveal - Professor Sciriha's work seeks to increase our understanding of what it means to be a Maltese person, to be aware of the linguistic and cultural practices by which we are surrounded and which we use to engage in significant relationships with others.