Multilingualism and language choice in five settings from contemporary television programmes in Malta : a sociological analysis

Abstract

This study aims to provide a sociological analysis of multilingualism and language choice in five settings from contemporary television programmes in Malta. This research examines the current body of literature on multilingualism, code switching, the sociolinguistic context of Maltese, and social aspects that facilitate multilingualism. The research design employed a mixed method approach to gain a comprehensive and detailed understanding of the relationship between the use of English in Maltese discourses and sociologically significant categories. This was achieved through a content analysis of five contemporary television programmes in Malta, as well as a focus group discussion to further explore the findings obtained from the content analysis. The findings of this study indicate that varied social contexts utilise distinct language patterns and preferences. Furthermore, this study also indicates that the utilisation of English in Maltese conversations can be linked to sociologically significant categories.