Parlare italiano a Malta è un extra benefit. The linguistic repertoire of Italians in Malta and the use and maintenance of their L1.

Abstract

The recent influx of Italians in Malta is extraordinary insofar as numbers are concerned, to the extent that today they represent one of the the largest group of non-nationals in gainful occupation on the island. Their engagement within an Anglophone community broadens their linguistic repertoire and this can have long-term benefits, but they also have many opportunities to use their own language, both among other Italians and with the Maltese. In this contribution, based on data collected by means of an online questionnaire completed by 347 Italian nationals who reside, study or work in Malta, I investigate their language use, and I focus on how this is related to other variables including age, occupation, level of education and duration of stay. Results reveal that Italian is used widely, both through face-to-face interactions, social media and by accessing it via the media. Some also use their dialect/regional variety. Nevertheless, English is used extensively too, and could potentially