Dialects, education and social change in Malta and Gozo

Abstract

This chapter presents a comparison of dialectal vitality in two bidialectal environments found on the two main inhabited islands of the Maltese Republic. It is therefore appropriate to start by introducing the islands, Malta and Gozo (figure 1). Malta and Gozo are situated in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, 8olun south of Sicily, 284km east of Tunisia and 333 km north of Libya. The archipelago consists of the main island of Malta, the sister island of Gozo and a number of small uninhabited islands. The Republic, referred to as Malta (to include Gozo and all the small islands), is one of the world's smallest states with a population of 416 055 (National Statistics Office 2012). With a total land area of 316km2, it is Europe's most densely populated area with over 1300 persons per km2 (National Statistics Office 2012). Over 95% of the population is ethnic Maltese, with a very small British minority and a few nationalities (4.8% of the population) totalling 20 086 people (National Statistics Office 2012). [excerpt from Introduction]