Exploring trilingual development : a study of children’s language acquisition in Malta through English, Russian and Maltese

Abstract

The aim of this dissertation is to investigate the different factors in trilingualism within the local landscape. Since the Maltese Islands are officially bilingual, the number of trilingual children from mixed marriages have only increased in the past few years. Thus, this study aims to discover how these trilingual children are growing up and what factors impacted their linguistic upbringing. The first chapter explores the reasoning behind the choice of this study, its aim, and the research questions this dissertation will attempt to answer. The second chapter delves into previously conducted research which covers the sub-topics within the sphere of trilingualism and what one might expect from the results of this dissertation. This chapter also aims to portray how these sub-topics tie in with trilingualism and their relevancy to the study within the local context. The third chapter provides the reasoning behind the choice of the qualitative methodology of in person interviews. Three trilingual children and one bilingual parent (on behalf of the fourth trilingual child) were spoken to and their responses were compared and analysed. The fourth chapter recounts the cases of the four children through factors of their place of birth, parents, the ways they were brought up and their schooling. The fifth chapter presents the analysis of the previously set sub-topics from the first chapter. This is done through the lens of each of the children’s experiences whilst comparing and considering the differences in the results from studies which were done prior. Ultimately, the sixth and final chapter describes the possibilities which trilingualism can bring through the positive reinforcement of not only parents but also the environment. A ‘successful’ trilingual does not only come out of mixed marriages, but also depends on the Maltese language spectrum and the influence it has on the future generation’s linguistic capabilities.