The influence of Italian television on the speech of selected Maltese individuals

Abstract

This study explores the correlation between the exposure to Italian T.V. and the presence of Italian in selected Maltese individuals. This study departs from an analysis of mixed Maltese-Italian utterances collected randomly. It analysis the various linguistic features of this new phenomenon, which constitutes what linguists term as 'code-switching'. Furthermore, a survey and test were carried out and administered to 173 Maltese primary school children in which a positive correlation between Italian T.V. exposure patterns and knowledge of Italian in children, was registered. The survey and test yielded data of statistical and linguistic nature which underlines the extensive and far reaching linguistic influence of Italian T.V. on Maltese children and subsequently on their native speech patterns.