Young children living bilingually in Malta

Abstract

Malta presents a unique and interesting sociolinguistic scenario of widespread bilingualism in Maltese and English. Over 95% of the population are ethnic Maltese, learn and use Maltese in their everyday life as a first language, in parallel co-existence with English. In fact, over 85% of Maltese people are also fluent in English. This paper takes a look at the bilingualism of Maltese children aged four to seven, and describes the ways in which the children interact bilingually in the home, at kindergarden and in public play areas across the two Maltese islands. All the studies reported here were conducted independently of each other in the last few years and they have produced remarkably similar results. In each instance a balanced use of each language was observed, such that it can be safely concluded that young Maltese children are already functioning bilingually by age 4-5. This is very similar to the situation found in primary and secondary schools, and in Maltese society in general.