Placenames and definiteness in Maltese

Abstract

Certain geographical placenames, require the definite article in :Maltese, according to the context in which they occur, while others do not. This study investigates the use in different syntactic contexts, of the definite article with a representative group of selected names of countries by native speakers, from two different social classes and two different geographical areas in Malta. The results of a questionnaire administered to informants from one age group, selected according to these criteria, are analysed and a set of conclusions drawn from them.