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Abstract
In this contribution I present an overview of Italian in Malta, the third language of Malta, focusing on the role of this language within educational institutions and other domains of society. Italian was one of Malta's official languages till 1936 and, historically, it was used mainly within administrative and cultural spheres of society. Contact with Italian is evident in many Maltese words, which form part of the language as integrated borrowings. Although exposure to Italian television programmes is in decline when compared to the recent past, many Maltese still tune into Italian TV channels quite regularly. Italian is the most popular foreign language studied in local schools and there are regular political, commercial and cultural exchanges between Italy and Malta.
Notes
1. A national census has also been carried out in 2011 but, at the time of writing, results were unavailable.
2. See Azzopardi-Alexander and Borg (Citation1997), Mifsud (Citation2008) and Brincat (Citation2008).
3. This complex historical matter is described in detail by Hull (Citation1993), who focuses his analysis mainly on linguistic issues. Brincat (Citation2011, 269–80) also provides a comprehensive account of the language question in Malta.
4. This may be different in the case of interactive television (Fallahkhair, Masthoff, and Pemberton Citation2004) and of television programmes designed specifically for language teaching.
5. The role of typological proximity in language learning has been discussed extensively in SLA (e.g. Håkasson, Pienemann, and Sayehli Citation2002; Hall et al. Citation2009).
6. The ‘age effect’ on implicit and explicit L2 learning has been debated extensively in the field of language acquisition (e.g. De Keyser Citation2003).
7. This refers to the Secondary Examination Certificate examination, which Maltese students sit for at the end of their Secondary cycle of studies.
8. Frequency of use was determined through the Lessico di frequenza dell'italiano parlato (LIP) corpus (De Mauro et al. Citation1993).
9. This figure is calculated from the Broadcasting Authority (Malta) January to March 2010 quarterly report, which provides data ranging from October 2008 to March 2010.
10. Since these Private schools charge fees they are normally associated with the higher socio-economic strata of Maltese society which, in some cases, use English frequently for everyday communication purposes.
11. In most cases, students who sit for this examination would have studied Italian for five years at school. Receptive (reading and listening) and productive (speaking and writing) skills of candidates are tested and a global grade is issued. The level which they are expected to attain in order to pass the examination corresponds roughly to the B1 Threshold Level (Council of Europe Citation1996).
12. This is a term of local coinage, from pastizz ‘cheese cake’ and the Italian locative suffix -eria.
13. Both these figures refer to names which are entirely in Italian: they do not include mixed forms (which are partly in Maltese/English and in Italian), blends or terms in Maltese which derive from Italian.
14. The figures regarding Italian in Malta are reported from two press releases of the National Statistics office, respectively numbered 216/2011 and 230/2011.
15. These considerations regarding commercial exchanges between Italy and Malta are taken from the press release of the National Statistics office number 235/2011.
16. Further information is available from the Italian Embassy in Malta: www.amblavalletta.esteri.it