The futures of the Maltese language

Abstract

There are more than 6,909 known living languages. Writers predict that as many as 60 to 90% of the world's languages may be at risk of extinction within the next 100 years. This thesis originated in light of such predictions and preoccupations. With less than 500,000 speakers, is Maltese at risk as well? Is Maltese in decline or is it actually growing, albeit in ways to which the Maltese are unaccustomed to and of which many disapprove? The circumstances which determine the fate of a language can be numerous and diverse and cannot be divorced from that language's history and context. This study takes a look at the development of Maltese over time as well as the bilingual reality of the Maltese islands in which Maltese exists alongside English - a global lingua franca. Through the identifications of three key factors that feature in both language growth as well as in language decline, this thesis attempts to shed light on the possible futures facing the Maltese language. These three factors are analysed for their potential to contribute to mapping out such possible futures through a Causal Layered Analysis, utilising data retrieved through a thorough environmental scanning of local data dealing with the use of the Maltese language in the Maltese Islands. The dissertation comes to a number of conclusions on possible futures for Maltese. In setting out a set of possible futures for the Maltese language it not only takes into account the inevitable and 'organic' tendency of languages to change over time but also builds on the assumption that the factors identified as leading to possible decline can and should be addressed in such a way as to result in a potential reversal of the process leading to decline. In this way this dissertation also makes a contribution to a better understanding of the process of language growth and decline more generally