The National Council for the Maltese Language and the Department of Maltese at the University of Malta, in collaboration with the National Statistics Office, have conducted a national survey on the use of Maltese and English in different social situations. The survey was carried out on a sample of over 1,000 Maltese citizens between the ages of 18 and 80.
The results show that 97% of respondents consider Maltese to be their first language. The study also clearly shows that, in a bilingual country that is greatly exposed to English, especially in domains, such as commerce, education, mass communication, as well everyday life situations, Maltese is very strong, also among the younger generation. A general tendency that also emerges from the survey is that if you want to succeed and to offer your work, services and products on the local market, Maltese is and will remain important for communication with both employers and clients.
The survey shows that Maltese and English, rather than being in competition, complement each other and are used in different situations, for example, in speaking and in writing. It also emerges that the Maltese want more material in Maltese, though not at the expense of English. Most agree that government websites, letters and leaflets they receive at home, official forms and documents, and public signs and notices in public places and buildings should be in both Maltese and English. An interesting statistical fact that emerges from the study is that respondents consider adverts in Maltese to be more effective, and, moreover, that they would like to listen to more music in Maltese on the radio.
The National Council for the Maltese Language and the Department of Maltese believe that the survey also sheds light on those areas in which more work needs to be done to strengthen language skills in Maltese and English and, ideally, also in a third language, as recommended by the European Union. To this end, the two Maltese entities are committed to work with the individuals and organisations concerned, as well as with anyone who is prepared to work in favour of a balanced use of the two official languages of Malta so that we can have a society that is not only officially bilingual but also bilingual in practice.
The report associated with this study may be accessed online.