The attitudes of parents towards childhood trilingualism

Abstract

Since Malta is a bilingual country, partners in intercultural marriages can chose to bring up their children as trilinguals. This dissertation aims to discover factors that influenced these parents' linguistic choices. The first chapter includes previous studies conducted in relation to trilingualism. Owing to a dearth of information in this area, research on bilingualism is also presented. This chapter also gives a description of the language situation of the population under study. The second chapter discusses the reasons why the present author chose a qualitative research methodology. Fifteen families, ten trilingual and five bilingual were chosen and the data were obtained through in-depth interviews and observation. Chapter 3 describes the fifteen cases and zooming in on the reasons given by the parents regarding their language choices with the children. Chapter 4 gives an analysis of the variables the parents were asked about. It repeatedly revealed that parents act according to what they consider to be natural. Analyses of language use in trilingual families showed that they generally used two languages in the home and this may later shift to one of Malta's official languages that the children receive the most exposure to. Finally, the last chapter reveals that planning and dedication contribute towards a successful route to trilingualism. Recommendations are made for possible developments in this area of study.