The visibility and salience of Maltese in bilingual Malta’s linguistic landscape
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Lydia Sciriha
Abstract
According to the Census 2011, the overwhelming majority of the Maltese population in officially bilingual Malta returned Maltese - their indigenous language - as the one in which they are orally most proficient (Census 2011). In view of such data is one correct in assuming that Maltese also dominates Malta’s linguistic panorama? This paper presents the results of a scientificallyrepresentative study on the frequency of languages in the public sphere, notably in public signs, notices and house names, and seeks to trace the relative use of the two official languages in different contexts by using the three-stage model by Bagna & Barni (2005) based on (i) frequency or presence of languages on signs; (ii) dominance - in the case of a bilingual sign, which of the two signs is given prominence and (iii) autonomy - which of the two official languages appears without being accompanied by another language.
Abstract
According to the Census 2011, the overwhelming majority of the Maltese population in officially bilingual Malta returned Maltese - their indigenous language - as the one in which they are orally most proficient (Census 2011). In view of such data is one correct in assuming that Maltese also dominates Malta’s linguistic panorama? This paper presents the results of a scientificallyrepresentative study on the frequency of languages in the public sphere, notably in public signs, notices and house names, and seeks to trace the relative use of the two official languages in different contexts by using the three-stage model by Bagna & Barni (2005) based on (i) frequency or presence of languages on signs; (ii) dominance - in the case of a bilingual sign, which of the two signs is given prominence and (iii) autonomy - which of the two official languages appears without being accompanied by another language.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter i
- Contents v
- Maltese linguistics: What is new? vii
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Part 1: New looks into the past
- On the phonology of Sicilian Arabic and early Maltese 3
- Aspects of the comparison between Maltese, Mediterranean Lingua Franca and the Occitan-Catalan linguistic group (13th–15th centuries) 39
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Part 2: Maltese, and just Maltese
- Modifiers and complements within the Maltese verb sequence 67
- Focus particles in Maltese: A corpus survey 87
- On prepositional ellipsis and the factors which block its application in Maltese 121
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Part 3: Beyond Maltese, now and then
- Verbal negation with muš in Maltese and Eastern Mediterranean Arabics 151
- Maltese kiteb vs. Tunisian (Sūsa) ktib 173
- The phonetic study of speakers along the Maltese-English continuum 193
- The visibility and salience of Maltese in bilingual Malta’s linguistic landscape 225
- The myth of the mixed languages 245
- Index of Authors 267
- Index of Languages 271
- Index of Subjects 273
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter i
- Contents v
- Maltese linguistics: What is new? vii
-
Part 1: New looks into the past
- On the phonology of Sicilian Arabic and early Maltese 3
- Aspects of the comparison between Maltese, Mediterranean Lingua Franca and the Occitan-Catalan linguistic group (13th–15th centuries) 39
-
Part 2: Maltese, and just Maltese
- Modifiers and complements within the Maltese verb sequence 67
- Focus particles in Maltese: A corpus survey 87
- On prepositional ellipsis and the factors which block its application in Maltese 121
-
Part 3: Beyond Maltese, now and then
- Verbal negation with muš in Maltese and Eastern Mediterranean Arabics 151
- Maltese kiteb vs. Tunisian (Sūsa) ktib 173
- The phonetic study of speakers along the Maltese-English continuum 193
- The visibility and salience of Maltese in bilingual Malta’s linguistic landscape 225
- The myth of the mixed languages 245
- Index of Authors 267
- Index of Languages 271
- Index of Subjects 273
